Federal auditors found more inconsistencies related to government-issued credit cards..The audit found issues during a random inspection at the Immigration and Refugee Board, including missing records, transactions that were “not properly signed and dated,” and a lack of spending limits..“In some cases for acquisition cards and contracting, it could not be determined whether the expense was approved prior to the expense being incurred or prior to the signing of the contract as the approval was not dated,” said a Core Control Audit. .“In all instances for acquisition cards, no documentation was on file to demonstrate commitments were recorded at the value expected to be incurred.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the cabinet introduced the charge card system in 1992 to simplify ordinary federal purchases for office supplies. .Only 2,000 cards were issued to employees who received mandatory training. The number of issued cards has since grown to more than 35,000, with numerous audits identifying irregularities..During an audit of the Refugee Board, multiple cases were discovered where credit card transactions lacked signatures and were billed without managers' approval..“Approvals are a key control in ensuring funds are available and used prudently and that transactions are authorized, complete, accurate and valid,” said Control Audit..Different audits revealed that the National Research Council accumulated expenses exceeding 10% of its yearly budget by using credit cards, even engaging in "high-risk transactions." .Auditors also identified instances where employees shared their cards with colleagues not authorized to use them..An audit of the department of Fisheries revealed that credit cards purchased $140 million annually. This included at least one case of suspected fraud..“At a security briefing, the deputy minister was presented with a case where a department employee may have used a Bank of Montreal government acquisition card inappropriately,” said a 2018 memo Departmental Monitoring of Purchases and Asset Disposal..The department of Employment failed a 2020 audit that found only 33% of transactions selected at random were approved. Twelve percent of transactions paid inaccurate amounts..In 2022, auditors discovered that employees at the department of Foreign Affairs used government-provided credit cards to purchase liquor, jewelry, and unexplained expenses under "hospitality.".Most records had “insufficient documentation to fully verify compliance,” said an Audit of Use of Acquisition Cards at Missions..From 2019 to 2020, diplomats used their credit cards to cover expenses, including $117 spent on jewelry, an additional $9,836 spent on clothing, a combined total of $12,416 spent on liquor, and spending $14,251 labelled as "leisure" activities..Additional purchases were labelled as "health and beauty" ($23,009), "personal shopping" ($27,699), and "hospitality" ($98,309). Diplomats' credit cards were allowed to spend up to $3,000 per transaction and more than a quarter (26%) seemed to avoid this limit by breaking down big expenses into smaller charges.
