County credit card audit shows minor errors

An audit released Wednesday by the clerk of courts found three violations of Highlands County's purchasing card rules.

Known as P-cards, credit cards are issued by Bank of America to county employees who are authorized by a department head. Employees may spend up to $749 on a single purchase, or up to $10,000 a month.

"There are a limited number of P-cards with higher limits for emergency situations," said the audit, which is prepared by auditors in Clerk of Courts Bob Germaine's office.

The auditors noted three exceptions:

•Three P-card statements from the facilities management and the veteran's service departments were not approved by the department directors, which are required by county policy.

"It should be noted that the purchases made on each of these P-cards appear to be legitimate," the audit said.

•The director of ag extension approved his own purchases for May, and the director of tourist development approved his own purchases for September.

Those purchases also appear legitimate, but the audit noted that approving one's own purchases "impairs segregation of duties." The county should implement a process so that department directors won't approve their own purchases, the audit said.

•The third violation was the most troubling: a purchase was split to circumvent the $749 per month limit, the audit said.

"Purchases which exceed the P-card purchasing limit should go through the proper purchasing process," the audit said.

The county administrator's office concurred with all three exceptions.