Question

After completing the NYU’s NFP & Governmental Accounting, the Deloitte partner invite you to join the team to perform the annual audit of the Department of Education of NYC, which receives approximately $2 million per year in federal grant to conduct an experimental school science enrichment program. The program has now been in existence for three years. During the audit, you discovered the ordinary equipment purchased for the science enrichment program cost 5% more than the industry average. Later, you found out that the vendor is Mr. Green, the Director of the program’s childhood friend. Mr. Green is negotiating with the Vendor about the becoming partner of the firm after retiring from the DEO. The agency does have the vendor bidding policy. According to the Government Audit Standards (Yellow Book), given the concept of accountability for use of public resources and government authority, you evaluated internal control in the DOE environment and concluded the internal control is

1 - Efficient because DOE has vendor bidding policy

2 - Deficient because making procurement or vendor selections that are contrary to existing policies or are unnecessarily extravagant or expensive resulted waste and abuse.

Answer 1

Correct answer is option 2.

Agency does not have vendor bidding policy.

Vendor selection should be done keeping in mind that the vendor does not have personal interest in the organisation.

Also the procurement of machinery should be made by taking into account various cost at which it is available, and selecting the most efficient one.

In this case, machinery was purchased at the higher cost from a friend, Mr. Green who has interest in the organisation.

Thus internal control is inefficient.