--DA’s Office credited with adhering to majority of directives set forth by the Comptroller and City-

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In an audit released today by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., the Queens District Attorney’s Office was found to have generally adhered to Comptroller Directives, City procurement rules and City inventory standards.

“Our examination of the District Attorney’s Office Other Than Personal Service (OTPS) expenditures disclosed no instances in which monies were improperly used,” Thompson said in the audit, which covered Fiscal Year 2006.

The audit – which is available at www.comptroller.nyc.gov - determined that the Queens District Attorney’s Office showed steady compliance with Comptroller Directives #6 and #24, applicable Procurement Policy Board rules and the Department of Investigation Standards for Inventory Control and Management.  In this regard:

• Bids were appropriately obtained for purchases when applicable;
• Vouchers and purchase documents were properly approved and authorized;
• Appropriate documentation was maintained to support the sampled vouchers;
• All inventory items were found at the designated locations;
• All major equipment items were on hand; and,
• All major equipment was either tagged or etched as property of the District Attorney.

However, Thompson’s audit reported several minor concerns. For instance, from a sample of 28 purchase documents with 58 corresponding vouchers, the Comptroller’s Office found the DA had charged the wrong object code for 17 vouchers totaling $21,161.  In addition the Office found six miscellaneous vouchers were charged the wrong object code totaling $2,614.

The Comptroller’s Office, as well, reviewed all 1,474 miscellaneous vouchers at the DA’s Office, testing repetitiveness and type of business. The review produced a list of 12 vendors who were paid a total of $569,254 in violation of Directive #24, which bans payment for postal services, recurring monthly expenditures, such as monthly communication service expenses.

These vendors received payment using 118 vouchers for real estate taxes, requirement contracts, and monthly bills for telephone and communication devices, postal services and quarterly payments to the Police Athletic League’s anti-youth violence and anti-truancy programs.

To remedy the problems, the Comptroller recommended in part that the DA: ensure that all payments are charged to the correct object code and that miscellaneous vouchers are used only for the purposes allowable by Comptroller’s Directive #24.

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