Audit Report on the Department of Records and Information Services’ Controls over Other Than Personal Service Expenditures

Executive Summary

The Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), established in 1977, preserves and provides public access to historical and contemporary records and information related to New York City government. Its Municipal Archives division preserves and makes available for research over 200,000 cubic feet of original documents, photographs, ledgers, maps, architectural renderings, manuscripts, and moving images. DORIS’ Municipal Library makes available electronic and hardcopy City reports and offers research space. The Municipal Records Management Division establishes and enforces the City’s records management policies and operates the record storage facilities.

To carry out its responsibilities, DORIS is provided with City office space and a budget appropriation to pay its staff of 61 full-time City employees and its operating expenses. For Fiscal Year 2018, DORIS spent $4.05 million for Other than Personal Services (OTPS) expenses, which covered the procurement of supplies, materials, and services.  For Fiscal Year 2019, DORIS reported OTPS expenditures of $5.13 million.

We conducted this audit to determine whether DORIS maintained adequate financial controls over OTPS expenditures as required by applicable rules, regulations, and policies and procedures.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

 DORIS has generally implemented financial controls over many aspects of its purchasing practices, as required by the Procurement Policy Board Rules (PPB Rules)  and applicable Comptroller’s Directives. As required by those guidelines, DORIS has established adequate segregation of duties, and the agency records all purchases it makes in the City’s Financial Management System (FMS). However, the audit revealed instances of DORIS’ noncompliance within certain aspects of those requirements. Specifically, we found that DORIS used Miscellaneous Payment Vouchers inappropriately  and did not always comply with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ (DCAS’) Citywide Purchasing Card Policies and Guidelines when using agency P-Cards for purchases.  In that regard, we found instances of one or more of the following violations: P-Card transactions that were not recorded on the transaction log;    written approvals that were not obtained prior to purchases;  and billing statements were not paid in full and therefore were subject to late charges. These matters are discussed in greater detail in the sections that follow in this report.

Audit Recommendations

The audit resulted in four recommendations, specifically, that DORIS should:

• Verify that the correct payment voucher type is being used before authorizing payment to a vendor.
• Use the transaction log and billing statements along with transaction receipts to conduct monthly reconciliations of P-Card purchase receipts in accordance with DCAS’ P-Card Policies.
• Obtain written approvals from DORIS management or an authorized supervisor prior to using P-Cards for purchases in accordance with Citywide P-Card Policies and Guidelines.
• Ensure that P-Card billing statements are always paid in full and on time to avoid being assessed late charges.

Agency Response

DORIS agreed with the audit’s findings and recommendations and in its response stated, “I believe these actions will ensure that our agency is in full compliance with all relevant rules and procedures.”