What are common audit recommendations on Disbursement and Purchasing?

Purchasing

  • Assign to separate people the duties of approving purchases, receiving and reconciling transactions to the My Financial Desktop (FD).
  • Purchase must be approved by an authorized individual
  • Ensure disbursements are supported by appropriate documentation which includes purchase authorization, invoices, and evidence that goods and services were received prior to payment.
  • Do not use signature stamps to authorize transactions

References:

Purchasing – Who Can Purchase?

Procard

  • Monitor procard transactions to ensure users do not split purchases to avoid exceeding the transaction limits and competitive bid requirements.
  • Establish procedures for issuing and cancelling procards.
  • The cardholder and reviewer must sign and date the “UW Transaction Detail with Notes & Accounting Codes” report review for signifying appropriate business purpose, reasonableness and accuracy of transaction

References

UW ProCurement Card Services

Petty Cash and Revolving Funds

  • Separate the custodian’s duties so that no one person has custody of the fund, approves reimbursements, and reconciles the bank statement.
  • Retain voided checks
  • Ensure checks are not made out to “Cash”
  • Perform annual unannounced fund verifications.

References:

Financial Services – Revolving Funds

Cellular phone

  • Review cellular phone billings to ensure appropriate usage

Travel

  • Ensure that travel expense reports are approved by supervisors or a designee who does not report to the claimant.
  • Ensure that out-of-state and foreign travel is properly authorized in advance when require
  • Ensure personal leg of travel is not reimbursed by the University
  • Retain conference brochures to support ravel status and per diem reimbursements.

Travel at University of Washington