Golden – A draft audit report released Wednesday details sloppy accounting practices for millions of dollars in Jefferson County government assets.
The two-month audit is expected to be finalized next week and will be discussed by the Board of County Commissioners before new procedures are implemented. It states that “it appears there is no official procurement policy” for the county.
Employees have bypassed the competitive bid process by charging purchases costing less than $2,500 on county-issued cards, the audit states, and it is hard to determine if items are in the county’s possession.
County commissioners ordered the audit – hiring KPMG on a $48,000 contract to assist internal county auditor Susan Johnson – after receiving tips of possible fraud, including that county-owned items were being sold on eBay.
Johnson said she has not looked yet at that allegation.
The 35-page document focuses on gaps in financial controls in information technology, road and bridge, and the airport:
99 percent of all information-technology orders for equipment have been paid with county-issued credit cards.
If a monthly inventory of items to build computers, such as memory sticks, did not match the physical count, the inventory system would be changed.
Several years ago, the county began using asset bar-code tags to better control inventory. However, the bar-code scanner is not functional.
Little evidence was found of annual inventory counts.
Adjustments to a database of smaller- value information technology items could be made by anyone with network access within the county building, including outside contractors, meaning items could be removed from the database and physically removed with no indication of who made the changes.
Initial recommendations include employee training, standardized policies and procedures, reconciliation of inventory differences, and lower county credit card limits.
“I think there are some other things we need to do,” said Commissioner Dave Auburn. “My eyes are open now.”
County officials at first refused to release the draft document after it was handed to the commissioners, saying it was a “work in progress.”
The Denver Post challenged the county’s position. “There isn’t anything clearer in the statute than this,” said Post attorney Steven Zansberg.
Commissioner Kevin McCas ky, who entered the meeting after the release was denied, said: “We screwed up. In the future, if we are discussing a document in a public meeting, it shall be released to those in the meeting.”
