Bank Deposits – Brandywine, MD, Post Office
Background
This report presents the results of our audit of the Bank Deposits – Brandywine, MD, Post Office. The Brandywine Post Office is in the Capital District of the Capital Metro Area. This audit was designed to provide U.S. Postal Service management with timely information on potential financial control risks at Postal Service locations.
Postal retail units (PRU) consolidate funds from daily transactions and prepare and remit bank deposits in tamper-evident plastic bags. Accounting Services reconciles banking activities and issues financial differences over $50 to the PRU for any discrepancies. Differences include inconsistencies between banking deposits and receipts. The value of the transactions is expensed to the unit. A Narrowcast Report is sent to a PRU when a discrepancy occurs. A manager or designee must identify the cause of the differences, adjust the financial records, maintain detailed records, and ensure timely resolution. A reason must be annotated for any unresolved differences.
The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) data analytics identified 17 unresolved differences, totaling $37,429, between January 1 and December 31, 2017, related to bank deposits issued to Brandywine Post Office on 16 different days, including two on one day. The OIG’s Field Financial Risk Model also identified that the Brandywine Post Office had the highest value of financial differences in the Capital District during calendar year 2017.
The objective of this audit was to determine whether financial differences related to bank deposits were properly researched and resolved at the Brandywine, MD, Post Office.