Audit Report on Queens District Attorney’s Office Controls over Its Inventory of Computer and Computer-related Equipment

This audit determined whether the Queens District Attorney’s Office (the Office) maintains adequate controls over its inventory of computer and computer-related equipment. The primary scope of the audit was July 1 through December 31, 2011.

The Office is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of criminal cases within Queens County, the City’s second most populous borough. The Office’s Systems Management and Information Services unit is responsible for the Office’s information technology, including its computer hardware and networking equipment. During Fiscal Year 2011, the Office’s expenditure for computers and computer-related items was approximately $110,900.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

The Office had adequate controls over its inventory of computer and computer-related equipment. Specifically, we determined that its inventory policies and procedures were appropriate and that the computers and computer-related items in our samples were properly identified on the inventory records, were appropriately tagged, and were at their assigned locations. However, the Office’s written procedures on the relinquishment of its computer-related equipment need to be updated.

Audit Recommendation

To address this issue, the audit recommends that the Office update and clarify its written procedures on the entire relinquishment process, including how the Office plans to safeguard any data that remains in stored computer-related equipment designated for disposal and how it plans to render any such data permanently unreadable prior to the item actually being relinquished.

Agency Response

In its response, Queens District Attorney’s Office agreed to implement the audit’s recommendation.