DONEGAL County Council is to clamp down on compliance with internal policies and procedures following a report drawn up by an independent auditor.
A financial inspection highlighted multiple breaches of travel and subsistence policy including that some staff claimed expenses to locations that were on their normal route to and from work.
Of the 120 travel expenses claims examined by the auditor, only 28 were considered to have been filled in fully and accurately.
Under Revenue rules staff are supposed to declare the shortest route for their journey using either their home address or workplace, depending on which is closer to where they are going.
However according to audit documents on at least 27 occasions, employees did not use the lesser journey distance.
Separately the auditor examined the local authority’s use of purchase cards – a flexible system that enables the buying of low level goods.
Apart from the head of finance, who has access to €10,000, all purchase cards have a limit of €700.
But during an examination of accounts this was found to have been breached on 21 occasions in transactions totalling €25,152.
Donegal County Council said this week it acknowledges improvements are required in terms of compliance with internal policies and procedures.
“The role of internal audit is to draw attention to such matters in order that improvements can be made. Council management will ensure that these improvements happen,” said a spokesperson.
The authority added that it is committed to transparency and to ensuring the efficiency of the services it provides. With that in mind it intends to publish all future audit reports as a matter of course on its website.
“Internal audit reports, together with management responses and follow-up actions, will be available publicly.
“In future this will avoid the requirement to use the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act to source Donegal County Council internal audit reports.”
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Posted: 10:12 am August 16, 2021