Audit Report on the Inventory Practices Over Major Office Equipment at the 18 Brooklyn Community Boards

Introduction

There are Community Boards for each of the 59 Community Districts throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Each Community Board (Board) has a Chairperson and a District Manager, who manages day-to-day operations.

This audit determined whether the 18 Brooklyn Community Boards comply with certain inventory procedures for major office equipment as set forth in the Department of Investigation’s (DOI) Standards for Inventory Control and Management. During Fiscal Year 2011, Other Than Personal Services (OTPS) expenditures for the 18 Boards totaled $421,209.

Results

The audit found that except for Boards #1, #2, #6, #14, #16, and #18, which had relatively few or no equipment inventory and inventory list control weaknesses, the Boards did not adhere to certain DOI Standards for Inventory Control and Management. Our examination of all major equipment items, including 12 items purchased in Fiscal Year 2012, found that some Boards did not maintain complete and accurate inventory lists of all their major equipment.

Audit Recommendations

The audit made six recommendations, including that the Boards should ensure that:

• Complete and accurate records of all equipment are maintained.
• Identification tags are affixed to all office equipment items and include sequential internal control numbers.
• Each item of equipment should be assigned a separate control number.
• They adhere to the relinquishment procedures as required by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services Agency Office of Surplus Activities when disposing of surplus property.

In their responses, the Boards generally agreed with the report’s findings and recommendations and described the steps they have taken or will take to implement the report’s recommendations.