Audit Guide: Auditing and Investigating the Internal Control of Government Purchase Card Programs;Report to the Congress

摘要

The federal government of the United States-the largest and most complex organization in the world-expended approximately ;15 billion through federal organizations' purchase card programs in fiscal year 2002. As the steward of taxpayer dollars, federal agencies are accountable for how purchase cards are used and how the funds are spent. Recent congressional testimony and inspector general and GAO reports show that some federal agencies do not have adequate internal control over their purchase card programs. This guide focuses on audits of internal control activities-designed primarily to prevent or detect significant fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases-in government purchase card programs. It is intended to provide practical guidance for consideration by internal and external auditors, investigators, and program management oversight personnel in assessing the adequacy and performance of those control activities and identifying areas of internal control for potential improvement. This guide is based primarily on GAO's experiences in auditing and investigating internal control over federal government purchase card programs at the Departments of Defense, Education, and Housing and Urban Development and other federal agencies.