An internal audit of the Savannah‑Chatham County Public School System’s procurement (purchase) card program found widespread procedural noncompliance but no conclusive evidence of intentional misuse within the tested sample.

The audit, presented to the Audit Committee on Oct. 30, examined a judgmental sample of 26 cardholders (of 108 total in fiscal 2024), representing 46 bank statements and 161 transactions; the review produced 654 control tests and 274 errors (42% noncompliance). Auditors reported problems at both bank‑statement and transaction levels: 24 of 46 bank statements did not comply with updated credit limits, and 34 of 46 lacked the required signed statement acknowledgment. At the transaction level, auditors found that 85 of 157 reviewed transactions were made by a person other than the named cardholder, and 827 transactions lacked sufficient identifying information to determine the purchaser (audit noted that many transactions are executed by school secretaries on behalf of sites). Auditors also found missing supporting documentation in Munis (26 of 53), allowable‑purchase exceptions (28 of 153, typically food purchases that did not meet the criteria), travel documentation mismatches (15 of 27) and sales tax charged in 50 of 150 transactions totaling $1,553.

The nut graf: while the sample did not reveal deliberate card misuse, the high rate of procedural errors and a lack of an enforcement framework could create an environment in which misuse might occur if left unaddressed.

Audit recommendations included establishing a formal tracking framework for procurement‑card transactions, clarifying corrective and disciplinary actions for procedural noncompliance, updating the procurement card manual to reflect changes (such as credit‑limit increases) and improving documentation and reconciliation processes. Accounts payable staff told the committee they perform monitoring (daily, weekly, monthly) and produce documentation but that the district lacks an enforcement protocol that ties monitoring to formal corrective actions.

Committee members commended the internal audit team and voted to accept the report. Several committee members asked that audit materials be delivered to committee members earlier (a week before meetings) so questions can be reviewed in advance. The committee accepted the audit by motion and vote.