Management Advisory Services (“MAS”) conducts initial and follow-up purchasing card reviews and reports the results to department heads, the Purchasing Card Program Administrator (“PCPA”), and administrative departments, where applicable, to assist the campus to properly implement and administer the program, and to minimize future audit exceptions. MAS has established the following reporting hierarchy for the purchasing card review summary memorandums.

After a purchasing card review is completed, MAS will issue a written purchasing card review summary memorandum containing an executive summary and a review results section. The review results section will contain the findings and related recommendations in the areas of supervisory review, transactions logs and supporting documentation, reconciliations and other issues. If there are any recommendations made, MAS will request a written response within 30 days, indicating what actions will be taken to address the recommendations. The summary memorandum will be addressed as follows:

1. Initial Review
   1. Addressed to the head of the department reviewed (e.g., Department Chair, Director)
   2. Copied to:
      • PCPA
      • Director of MAS
      • Cardholder(s)
      • Card Supervisor (if other than addressee)
      • Business Services Manager (if applicable)
      • Assistant Dean for Financial Affairs, College of Arts and Sciences (for Arts and Sciences departments)
      • Dean, College of Arts and Sciences (for Arts and Sciences departments)
      • Director of Administration, College of Engineering and Information Technology (for Engineering and Information Technology departments)
      • Manager of Plant Funds and Inventory Control (if there is an Inventory Addition Form finding)
      • Assistant Comptroller for Contracts and Grants (if the card(s) reviewed is used to purchase on contracts or grants)
      • Assistant Comptroller for Financial Reporting and Accounting (if there are unallocated purchases at the time of review)
2. Follow-up Review
   1. If there are no findings or minor supervisory review findings, the summary memorandum will be addressed to the department head and copied to the same persons as the initial review.
   2. If there are significant supervisory review findings, the summary memorandum will be addressed to the supervisor of the head of the department and will be copied to the same persons as the initial review, plus:
      • Vice President of area reviewed (if not the addressee)
      • Vice President for Administration and Finance
      • Assistant Vice President for Administrative Services
      MAS will consider significant supervisory review findings to be defined as lack of or untimely (i.e., more than 45 days past the statement closing date) review and documentation for at least 4 months during our review period.
3. Timing of Reviews
   1. MAS has established a 3 year schedule to review every department with purchasing cards. For larger using departments, MAS will review their activity and record keeping on a 1 – 2 year schedule. A larger using department is defined as a department with over $100,000 of purchasing card charges in a 12 month period. MAS will also ensure that individual users with higher than normal volumes are included in departmental reviews each 1 – 2 years.

This information will be distributed to the department head at the start of each purchasing card review. If there are any questions or concerns that cannot be answered by the MAS team member conducting the review, please feel free to contact us Sharon Doherty-Ritter at doherty@umbc.edu or x51620.