purchase card | The Contracting Education Academy

October 9, 2014 By AMK

IG: GSA reduces credit card spending, needs more reform

Although more controls are needed, legislation to assist General Services Administration efforts to prevent waste, fraud and abuse at charge card programs has largely been helpful, an internal investigation found.

In an audit dated Sept. 29, the GSA’s inspector general said that GSA’s purchase card spending between fiscal years 2011 and 2013 fell from more than $69.3 million to about $33.6 million, and travel card spending declined from $17.1 million to about $4.2 million.

“We determined that the risks of illegal, improper, or erroneous purchases and payments made through GSA’s purchase card and travel card programs are medium and low, respectively,” the report states. “As such, we do not plan to conduct any audits of the purchase card or travel card programs in FY 2015.”

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/ig-gsa-reduces-credit-card-spending-needs-more-reform/2014-10-01

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August 30, 2013 By AMK

VHA could save $24M with wider use of purchase cards

Wider use of purchase cards could save the Veterans Health Administration $24 million annually, a report from the Veterans Affairs Department office of inspector general says.

Using purchase cards saves money because writing purchase orders is more time-consuming and complex. The banks that provide purchase cards also offer rebates, around 2 percent, for money spent on the cards, says the OIG report, dated Aug. 9. The VHA spent about $3 billion on purchases worth $3,000 or less in fiscal 2012, earning it more than $65 million in rebates.

From April 2011 through March 2012, VA medical facilities did not use purchase cards for $432 million worth of purchases under $3,000. For $244 million of that spending, the OIG found they had acceptable reasons not to use the cards. Some vendors don’t accept purchase cards, and the VA can’t use them to pay veterans for pharmacy copayments or tort claims.

For the remaining $188 million, spent on medical supplies, office equipment, patient transportation, employee training and more, the VA could have used purchase cards, the report says. The OIG estimated that it could’ve saved $20 million in processing costs and could’ve earned about $4 million in rebates.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/vha-could-save-24m-wider-use-purchase-cards/2013-08-13

August 16, 2013 By AMK

DOT employees made $58 million in improper purchase card charges, IG says

Nearly a quarter of all Transportation Department employee purchase card transactions in fiscal 2010 and 2011 did not comply with DOT rules for employee spending, a departmental Inspector General report says.

During those years, DOT employees spent $277 million in 450,000 transactions on their purchase cards, the report says. About $58 million of that did not comply with DOT employee spending controls, the report says.

Purchase cards are routinely used to supplies and services, the report says.

DOT auditors based the results on a sample of 413 purchases in which 84, totaling $254,000, did not comply with DOT rules.

Offenses ranged from not receiving approval prior to card use, receiving approval for purchases from officials that were not authorized to approve the purchases and not verifying fund availability prior to purchases.

In the sample, about $93,000 in improper charges were made due to not getting preapproval for a purchase. About $65,000 came from the wrong person approving the purchase. And $47,000 came from purchases made without checking if the funds were available, the report says.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/dot-employees-made-58-million-improper-purchase-card-charges-ig-says/2013-07-31

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