MAS NEWSLETTER
A quarterly publication distributed by UMBC Management Advisory Services
Web Site: http://www.umbc.edu/mas
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VOLUME 4, NUMBER 3 |
JAN, 2004 |
NOTIFY MAS WHEN YOU ARE CONTACTED BY AN AUDITOR
THE AUDITORS ARE COMING! THE AUDITORS ARE COMING!
SUCCESSFUL INTERNAL CONTROL EDUCATION SESSION
CELL PHONE INVENTORY
CELL PHONE – RELATED SUGGESTION
P-CARD CORNER
PeopleSoft Queries and Reports Available
Pyramiding Purchases Prohibited
NOTIFY MAS WHEN YOU ARE CONTACTED BY AN AUDITOR
Please remember to notify MAS as soon as you are contacted by an auditor. MAS is responsible for coordinating and monitoring audit activity on campus. We can only meet this responsibility when we are aware of all audits, whether the auditors are planning to come to campus or not. Some auditors perform desk audits. During a desk audit, the auditor will usually ask you to forward documentation to them and they may never visit campus in person. If you are not sure if the person contacting you is an auditor or plans to conduct an audit, call us anyway. We may be able to help you determine based on what you have been asked to provide.
THE AUDITORS ARE COMING! THE AUDITORS ARE COMING!
The legislative auditors, that is. We are expecting the legislative auditors to return for their next audit of UMBC around Summer 2004. Please revisit duties in your departments to ensure you still have adequate internal controls in place and operating. Think about functions such as Payroll (separation of duties), Procurement (receiving), Purchasing Cards (supervisory review), Cash Receipts (timely recording and depositing), Inventory (recording disposals), and Computer Security (don’t share passwords). If you have any questions about these or other areas, please contact MAS.
SUCCESSFUL INTERNAL CONTROL EDUCATION SESSION
MAS held an Internal Control Education Session in November to update the campus community on the importance of establishing and maintaining a proper system of internal controls. We had a great turnout and appreciate all the comments we received. The next training session will be in the Spring of 2004 and is open to anyone who feels they could benefit from understanding internal controls and how to apply them. We will be contacting departments with new employees, but anyone is welcome to attend. Look for our announcement on Insights in the Spring for the next date and time, or contact MAS.
A recent statewide legislative audit of cell phone activity revealed that State agencies often did not maintain adequate records to document the number of cell phones they paid for and the level of usage. Prudent business practices dictate that responsible agencies develop internal policies and procedures to govern the assignment, usage and monitoring of cell phones. UMBC recently conducted an inventory of the cell phones on campus. Communications Services received a great response and we now have a record of where we have cell phones on campus. Thank You for your quick response! This documentation will be helpful during the next legislative audit and will show that UMBC takes its fiduciary responsibilities seriously. The results to date have shown that UMBC has a reasonable number of cell phones on campus and the phones are being used by those employees who have a legitimate need for continuous communication. If you have not submitted your Cell Phone Inventory form yet, please contact Ron Weller, Assistant Director of Communication Services at ext. 51234. Also, the inventorying of our cell phones will become an annual process on campus – so look for a Cell Phone Inventory Update Form next year.
CELL PHONE – RELATED SUGGESTION
A frequent response from departments who responded to the cell phone inventory request was that they will be saving money in the New Year. Many departments purchase cell phones and sign up for a monthly plan – and then forget about it. However, cell phone plans and features change so frequently that departments are often paying much more for cell phone service on an older plan than if they renegotiate with a new plan. If you have cell phones in your department and haven’t thought about your plan costs recently, you should. You could also be saving money in the New Year. Contact John in Procurement (x52071) if you have questions about the State plans available.
PeopleSoft Queries and Reports Available
The Department of Procurement recently announced the availability of PeopleSoft Queries and Reports for reconciliation of p-card transactions. The descriptions and navigations for these queries/reports can be found on Procurement’s web site at http://www.umbc.edu/adminaffairs/procurement/peoplesoftinfo.shtml . The queries can be used by cardholders in the same manner they had previously used the P-Card Web History Report. That is, cardholders can verify the accuracy of their allocations by running a query and reconciling the results to their logs. For audit purposes, a copy of the query showing the chart string to which the charges were allocated must be maintained with the log. Reports similar to the AMO90/91 are not currently available. Please remember that you must reconcile all transactions since the implementation of PeopleSoft (i.e., since 6/26/03). If you have any questions with regard to these queries/reports, contact Ina Caplan at 53915 or caplan@umbc.edu .
Pyramiding Purchases Prohibited
Purchasing card program policy prohibits purchases in excess of the cardholder’s per transaction limit. Pyramiding is a series of transactions processed at the same time to avoid the per transaction limit imposed on the cardholder. There is more than one type of pyramiding. The first type is the split purchase. In a split purchase, the item or service is charged in two or more charges to avoid the cardholder’s per transaction limit. Another type of pyramiding can occur when more than one purchasing card is used for a single purchase in order to avoid the cardholder’s per transaction limit. The cards used for the purchase can belong to the same cardholder or to more than one cardholder. If a cardholder requests the vendor charge the transaction sequentially, or if the vendor suggests charging the transaction sequentially (e.g., over several days) to avoid the per transaction limit, then it is considered pyramiding and in violation of purchasing card program policy.
Purchasing card program policy prohibits anyone in a department from signing vendor contracts/agreements when using the purchasing card unless approved in advance by the Department of Procurement. The individual who signs a contract/agreement without prior approval may be considered personally liable for the contract. If you have any questions with regard to vendor contracts/agreements, call John Blecheisen, Associate Director of Procurement, at extension 52071.
KUDOS...
… to CHPDM. A recently completed follow-up purchasing card review by MAS has shown that the department is managing its program well. Thanks for your efforts and keep up the good work!
MANAGEMENT ADVISORY SERVICES
Michele L. Evans, CPA
Director
Email: mevans@umbc.edu
Extension: 51354
Frances Toth, CPA
Management Analyst
Email: ftoth@umbc.edu
Extension: 56257
Sharon D. Doherty-Ritter, CPA
Management Analyst
Email: doherty@umbc.edu
Extension: 51620
Shared Fax: 51009
