Spread the Word!
This communication was distributed to the UW-Madison Purchasing Card Site Manager and Purchasing Card Cardholder lists. To ensure all users stay informed, please forward this email to other staff as appropriate. We appreciate your assistance!
UWSA Office of Internal Audit Continuous Purchasing Card Review
The UW System Administration Office of Internal Audit completed a review of UW-Madison purchasing card activity between 12/28/2019 and 06/26/2020. This audit included a review of 190 transactions and resulted in a total of nine audit findings:
It should be noted this audit period is unique in that it includes the time period in which the COVID-19 telecommute began and the subsequent months that followed. Given these unprecedented circumstances, purchasing card program staff, site managers, cardholders and campus leadership did their best to continue conducting business-as-usual while working from home and, in some cases, with limited tools, technology and resources. We acknowledge that some policy leniencies and procedure modifications were required. We commend our program users for their efforts to comply with the directions given in the early stages of our telecommuting time period.
Purchasing Card Statement Review and Approvals
In light of our recent audit findings and considering the indefinite time-frame for our continued telecommute, new guidance is available for cardholders and site managers when reviewing and approving Cardholder Statements:
Every effort should be made to ensure purchasing card transactions are reviewed and approved within 30 days from the billing cycle end date as per policy. If physical signatures are unable to be obtained due to remote work, e-mail approval or a verifiable electronic approval is adequate for audit purposes. These approvals must be obtained within the 30-day requirement. If due to furlough or termination, the 30-day deadline is not able to be met, this should be thoroughly documented with the purchasing card supporting documentation.
It is most important these approvals are included with the supporting documentation if a transaction is selected for audit. Please review all supporting documentation before submission to the auditor to avoid unnecessary audit findings.
Purchasing Card Module Update
The implementation of the Purchasing Card Module of PeopleSoft has been delayed until Spring 2021 due to technical conflicts with another module. UW-Madison is the only campus impacted by this issue, so other campuses will be able to implement the module sooner and (hopefully!) work out any remaining issues not identified by testing. We will continue to test the system, modify training documentation, and draft communication plans in coming months. Thank you for your patience.
2021 Cardholder and Site Manager Calendars
The 2021 Cardholder Calendar and 2021 Site Manager Editing Calendar are now available on the Business Services website.
Questions?
If you have questions, please contact pcard@bussvc.wisc.edu.