Audit Report On Expenditures For Other Than Personal Services By The New York County District Attorney’s Office

This audit determined whether the New York County District Attorney’s Office had adequate controls over its Other Than Personal Services (OTPS) expenditures to ensure that they were valid (i.e., for proper business purposes) and that payments were correctly executed. The scope of this audit covered the period July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005 (Fiscal Year 2005).

Audit Findings and Conclusions

We determined that the District Attorney’s Office has adequate controls in place to ensure that OTPS expenditures are valid and correctly executed. We also found that the District Attorney’s Office generally complied with the City’s purchasing guidelines as stated in the Procurement Policy Board (PPB) rules and the Comptroller’s Internal Control and Accountability Directives (Comptroller’s Directives). The District Attorney’s Office followed the Comptroller’s Directives relevant to purchasing and processing vouchers. It also had established proper controls that provided assurance that proper segregation of duties exists among recording, authorizing, and maintenance of custody. We also determined that goods and services purchased were reasonable expenditures related to the duties of the District Attorney’s Office.

However, we identified three weaknesses in District Attorney’s Office controls. The District Attorney’s Office used miscellaneous vouchers for some purchases that should have been made through purchase orders, did not always obtain bids as required, and did not have a consolidated procurement procedures manual.

Audit Recommendations

We made three recommendations to the New York County District Attorney’s Office that it should:

• Limit the use of miscellaneous vouchers to those purchases in which the estimated or actual expenditures cannot be determined, in accordance with Comptroller’s Directive #24.

• Obtain bids for purchases over $5,000, in accordance with PPB rules.

• Document its procurement process in a consolidated procurement procedures manual.