Audit Report on the Office Equipment Inventory Practices at the Twelve Bronx Community Boards

Executive Summary

We audited the twelve Bronx Community Boards to determine whether they comply with certain inventory procedures applicable to office equipment that are set forth in the DOI Standards for Inventory Control and Management.  We further audited the twelve Community Boards to determine if they maintain effective internal controls over equipment as required by Comptroller’s Directive #1.

New York City is divided into 59 administrative districts, each served by a Community Board, which is a local representative body authorized by the New York City Charter to advocate for the residents and needs of its administrative district.  Community Boards have various responsibilities which include assessing the neighborhoods’ needs, addressing community concerns, and vetting land use and zoning proposals.  The Bronx has twelve Community Boards that collectively cover the entire borough.  Each of the Bronx Community Boards has a District Manager and at least one full-time clerical staff person whose salaries are paid by the City of New York.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

Our audit found that four of the twelve Bronx Community Boards, Boards #1, #3, #6 and #11, were in compliance with DOI’s Standards for Inventory Control and Management and Comptroller’s Directive #1.  The other eight Community Boards failed to fully adhere to these City inventory control standards.  We found that 10 items identified on the inventory list of two Community Boards (Community Boards #5 and #8) could not be located during our visits to the Community Boards.  Further, during our visits, we identified 26 items at seven Community Boards (Boards #4, #5, #7, #8, #9, #10 and #12) that were not listed on their current inventory lists.  Finally, we found that eight of the Community Boards maintained incomplete inventory records (the exceptions with complete inventories were Boards #1, #3, #6 and #11) and that the items were not always labeled in accordance with DOI standards.  Based on the missing items and the inaccuracies in the inventory found during testing, we conclude that there is an increased risk of loss, misappropriation or theft at these eight Community Boards.

We found that seven Community Boards (Boards #1, #2, #5, #6, #9, #10 and #11) purchased 26 office equipment items using incorrect object codes on 17 payment vouchers.  In addition, we found that Community Board #8 had six unpaid invoices for electronic equipment that were past the 30-day payment requirement set in the Procurement Policy Board rules.

Audit Recommendations

The audit made the following six recommendations.  Each Community Board should:

• Ensure that complete and accurate records of all office equipment are maintained in accordance with DOI’s Standards for Inventory Control and Management and Comptroller’s Directive #1;
• Maintain equipment in a clean secure area;
• Update inventory lists appropriately when changes occur, including noting any change of location, properly recording the relinquishment of nonworking items, and removing any relinquished items from the inventory list;
• Affix identification tags to all major office equipment items and include a sequential internal control number;
• Charge office equipment purchases to the correct object code in accordance with Comptroller’s Directive #24, Agency Purchasing Procedures and Controls; and
• Process all payments in a timely manner in accordance with the Procurement Policy Board Rules, Section 4-06, Prompt Payments.

Agency Responses

The twelve Community Boards agreed with the report’s findings and recommendations and described the steps they have taken or will take to implement the report’s recommendations.