Local Purchases and Payments – Franklin, PA, Post Office
Background
This report presents the results of our self-initiated audit of Local Purchases and Payments – Franklin, PA, Post Office. The Franklin Post Office is located in the Western Pennsylvania District of the Eastern Area. This audit was designed to provide U.S. Postal Service management with timely information on potential financial control risks at Postal Service locations.
The Postal Service prefers to use eBuy2 to pay for goods and services. If a purchase cannot be satisfied through eBuy2, authorized postal employees may use the SmartPay2 card. Cash can be used for emergency one-time expenses, not to exceed $25 and no-fee money orders (money orders) can be used for emergency one-time local expenses, not to exceed $1,000. In addition, local payments exceeding $600 made with cash or money orders must be reported for tax purposes.
Account identifier code (AIC) 587, Miscellaneous Services, is used to record purchases or expenses associated with payment for non-custodial, custodial and all miscellaneous services only. The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) data analysis identified the Franklin, PA, Post Office had $15,915 in local purchases from October 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, compared to $650 for the entire fiscal year (FY) 2017. It is unusual for one office to have such a high percentage of local purchases in less than one fiscal year.
The objective was to determine whether local purchases and payments made at the Franklin, PA, Post Office were valid and properly supported.