Audit Objective

Determine whether the Rapids Volunteer Fire Company (Company) credit card purchases were made by authorized users, supported and for appropriate Company purposes.

Key Findings

Credit card purchases were not always made by authorized users, and 762 purchases totaling $110,938 (97 percent of the credit card charges made during the audit period) lacked documentation to support the purchases, confirm whether the purchases were received, and/or determine whether the purchases were for appropriate Company purposes. In addition:

• The President did not enforce the credit card policy (Policy) or bylaws, and the members did not perform a review of credit card purchases.
• The Treasurer did not perform the duties outlined in the Policy.
• Officials allowed an individual that was not authorized to use a Company credit card to make 19 purchases totaling $3,000 for the Company.
• Officials paid $969 in New York State (NYS) sales tax even though the Company is tax-exempt.
• We could not locate a virtual reality headset ($299) to confirm it was in the Company’s possession and although a toolbox ($165) could not be located at the time we conducted our testing, the President later told us he located the toolbox at Station 2 and presented the toolbox to us.

Key Recommendations

• Update, communicate and enforce the Policy and bylaws.
• Ensure Company credit cards are only used by authorized users.
• Ensure credit card purchases are supported and conduct a thorough review of the purchases prior to payment.

Officials agreed with our recommendations and have indicated they plan to initiate corrective action.