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County audit finds weaknesses in gift-card, Amazon Business controls; officials pledge changes
Summary
A Salt Lake County internal audit of 2023 purchasing found lapses in controls for gift cards, Amazon Business account management and remaining proprietary charge cards. Auditors recommended policy changes, annual training and tighter oversight; county officials agreed to carry out many recommendations but criticized the auditor's public messaging.
Salt Lake County auditors reported that limited training and weak controls left the county's Amazon Business account and certain agency gift-card practices exposed to misuse.
In a briefing to the Salt Lake County Council, Chris Harding, the county auditor, said the office's 2023 audit identified three primary concerns: insufficient oversight and training, gift-card inventory and handling weaknesses, and Amazon Business account administration problems including credits posted to the Amazon account instead of returning funds to purchase cards.
The audit team said county agencies purchased more than 1,200 gift cards in 2023 for a total value slightly above $23,000. Tammy Brake, the audit's senior auditor, told the council the health department alone held an inventory of more than 400 gift cards worth over $4,000, some on premises for more than a year. The auditors found three agencies had Amazon purchases linked to non-county email addresses or payment methods and three refunds or credits that posted to the county's Amazon account instead of returning to the purchase card.
"That credit is now on the Amazon business account, and it could be used for personal use," Tyler Stanley, an audit team member, warned during the presentation. Auditors also flagged 13 agencies that shipped Amazon purchases to non-county addresses without documented approvals and noted limited program oversight since the account began use in 2020.
Auditors recommended repealing a proprietary-card policy and discontinuing remaining proprietary cards, strengthening gift-card procedures, implementing annual training on the Amazon Business account, and increasing departmental monitoring of account activity. Harding said several departments had already agreed to corrective steps and some due dates for fixes were as soon as December.
The presentation prompted a pointed discussion about the auditor's public outreach. Mayor Wilson and several council members criticized a related press release and said it overstated risks and harmed staff morale. "I felt very compelled to both meet with the auditor and Richard and share my opinion on this," the mayor said, urging the auditor and administration to coordinate public messaging. Harding said he did not regret the release and defended the audit's role protecting taxpayer dollars: "When I see stuff that is a professional ... I feel a need to take action." He also said his office would revise procedures for public notifications.
County officials told the council they would schedule training for fiscal managers and directors and would update the Amazon and proprietary-card policy language. Departments reported they had already begun remediation steps.
The council did not vote on the audit itself; the county auditor will follow up during subsequent audits to confirm corrective actions.
