(The Center Square) − The LaCarte purchasing card has a history of improper use and poor regulation and the most recent audit reveals a similar theme.
This time the the Louisiana Legislative Auditor evaluated the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, focusing on financial reporting, compliance with laws and regulations, and accountability over public funds.
The audit reviewed several areas, including the LaCarte purchasing card program, Oilfield Site Restoration contracts, the Class VI Carbon Sequestration Program, and LaGov user access controls. The findings highlighted both strengths and areas needing improvement within operations.
The most recent audit identified issues with incomplete documentation and delayed deactivation of P-Card access for employees who had changed roles or left the department.
Among the findings, 21% of enrollment forms were missing proper approval signatures; 48% of deletion forms for departing employees were incomplete; and access was not terminated in a timely manner for 67% of these individuals, with delays ranging from three to 206 days.
Additionally, 60% of reviewed account change forms lacked proper approval signatures, and in 62% of declined transactions reviewed, cardholders failed to notify a program administrator within the required 48-hour timeframe.
The audit concluded that DENR’s inadequate internal controls over the LaCarte program increased the risk of unauthorized use of public funds and urged the department to enforce established policies, ensure proper documentation, and promptly terminate access when necessary.
Natural Resources Department management concurred with the findings and outlined a comprehensive corrective action plan. Measures include ensuring all enrollment, account change, and deletion forms are properly completed and approved, promptly deactivating P-Card access for separated employees, and strengthening oversight by designating Susan Broadway, program administrator, as responsible for implementing corrective actions and ensuring compliance with updated procedures.
The department acknowledged the issues identified in the audit and detailed the corrective actions taken. The department emphasized its commitment to strengthening internal controls and improving accountability.
Records from the auditor’s office show that the card has been misused and insufficiently regulated in several audits. The card covers costs ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
“For the second consecutive engagement, LED did not adequately monitor controls over LaCarte card and CBA purchases, resulting in unauthorized purchases, an increased risk of errors and/or fraud, and noncompliance with the State of Louisiana’s LaCarte purchasing card policy and LED’s LaCarte card policy,” the auditor’s office wrote in 2017.
That year the card was used to cover over $500,000 in state expenses, mostly related to travel and supplies.
In 2008, one employee, an assistant program administrator of the Treasury Department’s LaCarte Purchase Card, made unauthorized purchases of $571 for movies and books.
A 2019 audit reviewed 32 monthly statements, totaling $144,793 in transactions from July 2018 to June 2019, found $84,606 in purchases lacked proper approvals in the Bank of America WORKS system prior to purchase. This included $39,760 in unauthorized travel expenses.
Additionally, $33,203 in transactions were not backed by adequate documentation, $15,993 in purchases were neither reconciled nor timely approved, and one $353 purchase was shipped to a cardholder’s home rather than a business address. The findings highlight weaknesses in internal controls and raise concerns about the management of public funds within these agencies.