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Weslaco accepts internal control audit; auditors identify vendor, payroll and P-card weaknesses
Summary
An external internal-control audit covering fiscal 2019–2023 was accepted by the Weslaco City Commission. The auditors reported 27 recommendations including duplicate vendor files, missing documentation for two P-card transactions, high volume of manual payroll changes and personnel-action form deficiencies.
The Weslaco City Commission voted Wednesday to accept an internal control audit covering fiscal years 2019 through 2023 conducted by Ide Bailey LLP.
Brandon Waldron, the engagement lead from Ide Bailey, told the commission the audit reviewed bank accounts, interviewed 21 city employees and performed targeted tests in four areas: vendor records, purchasing-card transactions, payroll changes and personnel action forms. The auditors identified 27 recommendations to strengthen controls.
Key findings listed in the report included multiple vendor codes for the same vendor name (1,243 vendor entries with duplicate coding), 38 active purchasing-card holders with two sampled transactions lacking supporting documentation (one Best Buy purchase at $559.98 was flagged), and more than 57,000 payroll changes over the five-year period with many adjustments to individual hours.
The audit also found missing or untimely signatures on some new-hire and termination personnel action forms and noted that 15 requested receipts from before 2019 were not available because the city follows a records-destruction policy after four years.
Auditors described the issues as not “egregious” but recommended procedural fixes, such as standardizing vendor records, tightening P-card controls and improving personnel-action form retention and approvals. City staff confirmed some duplicative vendor files result from two legacy financial systems creating separate records for refunds.
The commission accepted and filed the report by motion. Staff said it will review the 27 recommendations and pursue corrective steps, including working with the software vendor to standardize vendor names and codes.
Why it matters: Internal-control weaknesses in procurement and payroll increase administrative risk and can allow errors to persist. The audit gives the city a roadmap for strengthening financial controls and recordkeeping.
