Audit of Council Tax Administration Payroll

Scope

The scope of the audit was from September 1, 2021 to August 31, 2022.

Objectives

The audit objectives were to provide reasonable assurance that the internal controls in place are adequate and effective and that the payroll processes comply with all applicable fiscal ordinances, policies, and procedures. Areas of audit focus included the processes and procedures for the following:

• Onboarding of new employees
• Timekeeping
• Special allowances paid through payroll
• Overtime and compensatory time
• Reconciliations of payroll time and expenditures
• Offboarding of terminated employees

Report Highlights

Timecard approvals by individuals lacking sufficient authority

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) December 2000 publication “Maintaining Effective Control Over Employee Time and Attendance Reporting”, the “Primary responsibility for authorizing and approving T&A transactions rests with the employee’s supervisor, who approves the employee’s T&A reports. Timekeepers and supervisors must be aware of the work time and absence of employees for whom they are responsible to ensure the reliability of T&A data.”

We reviewed all 25 Council Tax Administration employees, with over 4,000 timecard entries. For all 25 employees, we determined an individual who was not their designated supervisor approved 1,365 entries (32%), as indicated in PeopleSoft. We noted that four employees reported a total of 101 hours of overtime or compensatory time. Among these four employees, one employee (25%) had 34.75 hours approved by an individual who was not their supervisor. Moreover, the job title and grade of those approving the time did not align with that of a supervisor or manager.