-Office Generally Complied with Procedures, Though Certain Inventory Records Were Incomplete-

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New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today released an audit examining the financial and operating practices of the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President during Fiscal Year 2007.

Thompson’s audit – which can be viewed at www.comptroller.nyc.gov – found that the Borough President’s Office generally complied with the applicable payroll, personnel, purchasing, cash receipts, and inventory policies and procedures as mandated by directives issued by the Comptroller’s office and the Department of Investigations, as well as New York City Leave Regulations.

However, the audit disclosed that the Borough President’s Office did not maintain complete and accurate inventory records for its furniture and equipment, did not deposit cash collected as fees for Topographical Unit services in a timely manner, and evidenced slight weakness in the payroll distribution process.

“Overall, we found that the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office has been adhering to the directives put forth by both my office and the City,” Thompson said. “There were only minor instances of non-compliance, and these conditions were not of sufficient materiality to detract from our overall opinion.”

In Fiscal Year 2007 the Borough President’s Office had actual expenditures of $6.1 million, including $4.7 million for Personal Services and $1.4 million for Other Than Personal Services. It also collected revenues of $809,549, including $290,309 for topographical fees.

Thompson’s audit determined that the Borough President’s Office ensured that all purchases were legitimate and necessary for its operations, properly accounted for, authorized, and charged to the proper object codes.

However, the audit reported several minor concerns. While the Borough President’s Office keeps inventory records for its electronics equipment and furniture, the audit found that inventory records were not accurate or complete, and newly purchased items are not always added to inventory lists in a timely matter.

Furthermore, the Comptroller’s also reviewed the collection of fees by the Topographical Unit. This department processes applications and assigns street numbers and vanity addresses, conducts street-status and building-alterations map reviews, and sells Borough maps. In Fiscal Year 2007, the unit collected $290,309 for topographical fees, including $124,555 in cash currency.

In Fiscal Year 2007, the Borough President’s Office made 30 deposits, generally every two weeks. Of the 50 receipts tested by the Comptroller’s audit, investigators found that some cash receipts were held as long as three weeks before being deposited. On average, cash was held for 11 days.

Lastly, the Borough President’s Office reported on its annual Financial Integrity Statement to the Comptroller (Directive #1 checklist) that employees sign for their paychecks or payroll stubs for those receiving direct deposit. However, Thompson’s audit noted that employees were not signing for receipt of payroll stubs. Since the City Office of Payroll Administration does not require signatures for direct deposit payroll stubs, the Borough President’s Office has updated its checklist to reflect this policy.

Thompson made six recommendations to the Borough President’s Office, including that:

• All equipment and furniture should be assigned and tagged with sequential ID numbers and added to inventory when received.
  
  
• Inventory control records should include the type of equipment, manufacturer, serial number (or unique identifying information), location, date purchased and received, and assigned ID numbers.
  
  
• Inventory records should be updated to reflect any changes.
  
  
• Cash collected for Topographical Fees should be deposited in a timely manner.

In their response to the audit, Borough President Office officials agreed with three recommendations, changed policies so that one is no longer applicable, and did not address the remaining two.

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