Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to examine the controls over IT and the claims auditing process for the period July 1, 2014 through April 6, 2016.

Background

The Putnam/Northern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services consists of 18 component school districts and operates at three campuses. BOCES is governed by a seven-member Board of Education elected by the boards of the component districts. The 2015-16 fiscal year budget totaled approximately $92.5 million.

Key Findings

• Four employees had unauthorized personal Internet usage.
• The rooms housing the IT servers and infrastructure did not have safeguards to track access and protect IT assets.
• No formal disaster recovery plan has been developed.
• There was no evidence that the claims auditor ensured that claims did not exceed their purchase order amounts or that claims agreed with related contracts or agreements.

Key Recommendations

• Monitor user activity periodically to detect inappropriate usage.
• Develop and implement procedures to physically secure and protect IT assets.
• Adopt a formal disaster recovery plan.
• Ensure that the claims auditor performs a thorough and meaningful audit of claims prior to approving them for payment.