Internal Audit Management of IST Taxi Voucher Usage Office of Audit and Evaluation September 2007
Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2007 Cat. No. A22-439/2008E-PDF ISBN 978-0-662-47920-8 AAFC No. 10583E Aussi offert en français sous le titre : Vérification interne, Gestion de l utilisation des bons de taxi effectuée par l Équipe des systèmes d information (ESI), Bureau de la vérification et de l évaluation.
Table of Contents 1.0 AUDIT OBJECTIVE... 1 2.0 SCOPE AND APPROACH... 1 3.0 BACKGROUND... 1 4.0 AUDIT SUMMARY... 2 5.0 CONCLUSIONS... 3
1.0 Audit Objective This audit was undertaken to assess the adequacy of controls established by the Information Systems Team (IST) to mitigate the risk of unauthorized taxi voucher use in the National Capital Region (NCR). 2.0 Scope and Approach Our examination was conducted at senior management request and approved by the Department Audit and Evaluation Team (DAET). We focused our audit efforts on IST procedures to control taxi voucher use from September 1, 2004 to August 31, 2005. During that period, IST taxi expenditures in the NCR totalled approximately $50,000. In order to arrive at our assessment, we conducted interviews with various Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) staff members, reviewed relevant documentation and selected a sample of taxi transactions for detailed test purposes. Our audit did not include a review of the quality assurance practices carried out by the Finance Team for taxi vouchers under Section 33 of the Financial Administration Act. Our examination was conducted in accordance with the Treasury Board (TB) Policy on Internal Audit. Sufficient audit work has been performed and necessary evidence has been gathered to support the conclusions contained in this report. 3.0 Background The TB Taxis Policy which previously governed the use of taxi vouchers in the NCR has been rescinded and has not been replaced to date. Accordingly, individual departments are now responsible for establishing their own policies regarding taxis. Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) manages the issuance of taxi booklets to federal departments in the NCR. Each booklet contains 25 consecutively numbered taxi vouchers. Each voucher is comprised of three slips. The authorized custodian of the booklet is responsible for recording the name of the voucher recipient on the first copy (white slip). This copy is retained in the booklet for control purposes. The second copy (yellow slip) and the third copy (beige slip) are given to the voucher recipient for approved taxi use. The recipient is expected 1
to return the yellow slip, duly completed, to the authorized custodian after the taxi trip. This copy constitutes the receipt. The beige slip is given to the taxi driver as payment for services rendered. This copy supports taxi charges to the Department. The Carling Material Management Centre (CMMC), within AAFC, coordinates the procurement of taxi booklets from PWGSC and their distribution to Responsibility Centres (RCs) located in the NCR. Authorized custodians within each RC are responsible for controlling the inventory of taxi booklets assigned to them. They are also responsible for monitoring the use of taxi vouchers by departmental staff. 4.0 Audit Summary During our examination, we obtained from CMMC a listing of all taxi vouchers issued to IST in the NCR for the period under review. We then selected a random sample of 72 vouchers for detailed test purposes from the 4,635 entries on the listing. Subsequently, we visited IST to assess the adequacy of control over the selected items. Of the 72 vouchers included in our sample, we found 32 were used by IST employees while 40 remained unused at the time of our examination. Unused Taxi Vouchers Of the 40 unused taxi vouchers included in our sample, we found 6 vouchers assigned to 3 IST custodians were either issued or otherwise removed from the corresponding taxi booklets without identifying the voucher recipients on the white slip (control copy) retained in the booklet. This represents 15% of the sample items. We also noted taxi logs were not being maintained to track vouchers issued to employees. As a result, we concluded control over the issuance of unused taxi vouchers requires improvement. Used Taxi Vouchers During our examination, we were unable to locate the yellow slip for 7 of the 32 used taxi vouchers included in our sample. This represents approximately 22% of our sample items. Without a copy of the receipt it was not possible for us to determine the propriety of taxi usage and the reasonableness of the taxi charges. 2
Consequently, we concluded control over the authorized use of taxi vouchers needs to be strengthened. AAFC Procedural Guidance At the time of our examination, the Department had yet to document policies, guidelines or procedures related to the management of taxi voucher usage in the NCR. 5.0 Conclusions Based on the results of our audit findings, we concluded IST controls to mitigate the risk of unauthorized taxi voucher use in the NCR were not satisfactory. However, since the completion of our examination, the Finance Team has issued a Bulletin which provides guidance to employees regarding the issuance and appropriate use of taxi vouchers in the NCR. We also noted IST has drafted its own policy and procedures to supplement the departmental Bulletin in an effort to improve control over the custody of taxi booklets and the issuance of taxi vouchers. The Internal Audit Division plans to undertake a follow up audit in the future to assess whether the new control measures are working in an effective manner. 3