Follow-Up of Change Order Processes, November 2018

4. Payments exceeded authorized spend limit . Observation • 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. Recommendation 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. Management Response Procurement will revise the Emergency Procurement Form to include “estimated” costs. SOP #53 will be revised to include a process for notifying the County Administrator if Emergency Procurements exceed the estimated expenditures by more than 10% for Emergency Procurements estimated to be in excess of $100,000. May 2017 – Revise SOP #53 and the Emergency Procurement Form. 11 | A u d i t o f C h a n g e O r d e r P r o c e s s e s M a y 2 0 1 7