January 29, 2015

Review of Controls Over the Department's SmartPay2 Purchase Card Program at Selected Department Sites

The General Services Administration's SmartPay2 Program provides purchase cards to Government agencies, including the Department of Energy (Department).  The Office of Acquisition and Project Management is responsible for managing the Department's Purchase Card Program.  The Department's Agency Program Coordinator oversees 18 Federal program offices and 16 contractor sites within the Department's Purchase Card Program, with expenditures of approximately $143 million during fiscal years 2011 and 2012.  The Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 mandates that agency Inspectors General conduct periodic assessments of their agency's purchase card program to identify and analyze risks of illegal, improper, or erroneous purchases and payments.

Our inspection determined that the Department's development and implementation of policies and procedures related to the SmartPay2 Program were generally consistent with established guidance; however, our testing did reveal several opportunities for improvement.  Our examination of a combined statistical and judgmental sample of 356 transactions at 2 selected Department sites revealed a few issues at 1 or both sites in the areas of unauthorized use and prohibited transactions and statement reconciliation.  These issues occurred, in part, because of inadequate training, relaxed oversight of purchasing, and inadequate reconciliation activities at the particular organizations involved.

Topic: Management & Administration