Pcard audit at Western

An audit recently was released of pcard use at the University of Washington, Washington State University and Western Washington University. Here is information regarding WWU:

• UW, WSU, and WWU were selected for the audit because they represent the bulk of state purchases undertaken by higher education institutions. Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University and the Evergreen State College were not audited.
• At WWU, the audit found that there were NO impermissible expenditures under state law.
• The audit also found that Western has effective internal controls in place.
• What was found was that, out of $5.7 million of expenditures, $879 of total expenditures should not have been paid for using the state’s procurement card (or pcard). The auditors held that while the purchases were appropriate, some other method of payment should have been used.
• Pcard use was widely adopted by the state (and Western) to allow procurement to be more efficient and less costly. Western believes that that mandate should have been considered by the auditors; their view was different, holding that the rules of permissible state purchases are different from and do not trump administrative positions on the permissible uses of the pcard.
• So, the $879 identified for Western was the result of individual decisions motivated by the desire to be as efficient and cost effective as possible.
• Western will comply with the auditors’ current interpretation while seeking administrative and/or legislative clarification/correction of this issue of pcard use so that we can continue to be as efficient as possible.

For more information on pcard use at Western, see: http://www.wwu.edu/bs/pcard/.