U.S. Department of the Interior’s Internal Controls for Purchase Cards and Fleet Cards

We audited internal control processes for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) purchase and fleet cards to determine whether the charge card program had adequate and appropriate internal controls and oversight. We reviewed fiscal year (FY) 2014 transactions for 10 bureaus and offices—altogether, 337 statements containing 443 transactions, totaling more than $451,000.

 

We identified areas of concern associated with internal controls and documentation. The bureaus did not effectively implement internal controls and did not fully comply with departmental and bureau policies.

 

In FY 2014, there were 26,518 purchase card accounts across DOI, used to make almost 1.2 million transactions that totaled approximately $394 million. In this same time period DOI had 26,433 fleet card accounts, with more than 500,000 transactions totaling approximately $54 million. While our assessment involved a small sample of the total transactions, our findings highlight systemic issues for potentially all of DOI’s charge card policies and practices.

 

The concerns we found leave DOI and its bureaus vulnerable to financial mismanagement and an increased potential for fraud, waste, and abuse. We made 10 recommendations to improve management and oversight of DOI’s charge card program.