Purpose

To determine whether the use of travel monies by selected government employees complied with rules and regulations and is free from fraud, waste, and abuse. The audit covers the period April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2011.

Background

New York State’s executive agencies spend between $100 million and $150 million each year on travel expenses. These expenses, which are discretionary and under the control of agency management, include car rentals, meals, lodging, transportation, fuel, and incidental costs such as airline baggage and travel agency fees.  As part of a statewide initiative to determine whether the use of travel money by selected government employees was appropriate, we audited travel expenses for the highest-cost travelers in the State as well as other outliers. These employees each incurred over $100,000 in travel expenses during the three year period ending March 31, 2011. Two of these employees worked at the College at Fredonia (College) and had travel costs totaling $689,762.  We also audited other travel expenses that we identified as outliers in our planning analysis, including three employees with outliers in air and train fares that totaled $148,505.  In total, we examined $838,267 of the College’s travel payments.

Key Findings

The travel expenses for the five College employees selected for audit were documented and adhered to State travel rules and regulations. The five employees are athletic coaches, professors or administrative staff whose travel consisted primarily of team travel, international education, study abroad programs, and conferences. 

Key Recommendations

None

Other Related Audits/Reports of Interest

State University of New York College at New Paltz - Selected Employee Travel Expenses (2012-S-140)
State University of New York Alfred State College of Technology - Selected Travel Expenses (2012-S-142)
State University of New York College at Cobleskill - Selected Employee Travel Expenses (2012-S-143)
State University of New York College at Oneonta - Selected Employee Travel Expenses (2012-S-145)
State University of New York College at Purchase - Selected Employee Travel Expenses (2012-S-149)