Audit Report on the Financial and Operating Practices of the Queens Borough President’s Office

AUDIT REPORT IN BRIEF

New York City’s five Borough Presidents are elected by the people of their respective boroughs for a term of four years and are the executive officials of their boroughs. Among their duties, Borough Presidents prepare and review budget proposals; recommend capital projects; hold public hearings on matters of public interest; consult with the Mayor and the City Council on the preparation of the City’s executive and capital budgets; and provide technical assistance to the borough’s community boards

This audit determined whether the Queens Borough President’s Office (Borough President’s Office) is complying with certain purchasing and inventory procedures and whether it maintained adequate controls over the cash receipts from map sales and topographical services.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

The Borough President’s Office generally adhered to Comptroller’s Directives #3, #11, #23, and #24; applicable PPB rules; and the Department of Investigation Standards for Inventory Control and Management. In addition, our examination of the Borough President’s Office Other Than Personal Service (OTPS) expenditures disclosed no instances in which monies were improperly used. However, the Borough President’s Office did not always comply with certain purchasing, cash control, and inventory procedures. Specifically the Borough President’s Office:

• did not maintain bidding documentation on file for ten purchase documents totaling $194,948;

• paid $54 in sales tax on four of the 446 vouchers;

• charged the wrong object code for 23 of its 446 vouchers, totaling $13,485;

• used 11 of its 32 miscellaneous vouchers, totaling $44,262, to pay for transactions to postal service providers, which is not allowed under Comptroller’s Directive #24;

• did not maintain a list of principals and directors for 36 of 77 organizations receiving grants, totaling $209,694;

• did not deposit cash collected on 4,437 sales transactions on the same business day it was collected; and

• did not maintain complete and accurate inventory records.

We make seven recommendations to the Borough President’s Office. The Borough President’s Office should ensure that:

• documentation of bidding is maintained on file.

• sales tax is excluded from all payments made to vendors.

• all payments are charged to the correct object code.

• miscellaneous vouchers are used only for purposes that are allowable.

• a complete listing of an organization’s principals and directors is on file at the time a grant is made available.

• cash collected is deposited on the same business day it is collected.

complete and accurate inventory records are maintained.