Governmentwide Purchase Cards: Actions Neede to Strengthen Internal Controls to Reduce Fraudulent, Improper, and Abusive Purchases

摘要

Over the past several years, GAO has issued numerous reports and testimonies on internal control breakdowns in certain individual agencies purchase card programs. In light of these findings, GAO was asked to analyze purchase card transactions governmentwide to (1) determine whether internal control weaknesses existed in the government purchase card program and (2) if so, identify examples of fraudulent, improper, and abusive activity. GAO used statistical sampling to systematically test internal controls and data mining procedures to identify fraudulent, improper, and abusive activity. GAOs work was not designed to determine the overall extent of fraudulent, improper, or abusive transactions. To reduce fraud, waste, and abuse governmentwide, GAO made 13 recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA) to instruct agencies to strengthen purchase card controls in the areas of convenience checks and property, and impose financial liability for unauthorized purchases, among other things. OMB agreed and GSA partially agreed. Although it manages the purchase card program, GSA did not agree that it had the authority to help agencies improve controls over independent receipt and acceptance or asset accountabilitytwo areas where the use of purchase cards poses unique internal control challenges.