Follow-Up of Change Order Processes, November 2018

9 |  F o l l o w ‐ u p o f C h a n g e O r d e r P r o c e s s e s  N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 8 4. Payments exceeded authorized spend limit .  Current Status, Follow‐Up Audit dated November 2018:  The Procurement Division enhanced the emergency procurement request process by  incorporating an electronic form which is used to initiate and track requests. Additionally, SOP  #53 – Processing Emergency Procurement Requests was updated to include specific procedures  to follow for an Emergency Procurement with estimated costs above $100,000.   In order to ensure the enhanced processes are functioning as intended, testing was performed  on a population of twenty (20) purchase orders processed via emergency procurement from  May 23, 2017 through May 21, 2018.  It is noted that of the twenty (20) purchase orders, one  (1) purchase order had estimated costs above $100,000. However, the actual expenditures do  not exceed the estimated expenditures by 10% or greater, therefore, County Administrator and  Procurement Official notification are not needed.  Original Audit Observation, Report dated May 2017:   The Procurement Manual, Chapter 7.8 authorizes emergency procurements when a  purchase needs to be made for an unexpected and urgent request where health and  safety or the conservation of public resources is at risk. An Emergency Procurement  Approval Form is approved by the Procurement Official and the County Administrator,  an estimated cost is determined, and the BCC is notified.  During review of the ten (10) approved Change Orders in the population of emergency  procurements, the auditor identified two (2) instances where purchase orders issued exceeded  the limits authorized by the County Administrator. Both instances were related to purchase  orders issued for emergency procurements that exceeded the cost specified within the  Emergency Procurement Approval forms.  Original Recommendations, Report dated May 2017: Develop and implement monitoring processes to ensure that purchase orders issued for  emergency procurements do not exceed the amount approved on the Emergency Procurement  Approval forms.