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Internal audit finds weak controls on Home Depot cards, recommends tighter limits and review
Summary
A limited internal review found about $39,000 in Home Depot charges (Jan–Aug 2024 excluding May), a shared $24,400 credit line, one employee charging more than $7,000 in a month, and missing inventory documentation; the audit recommends lower individual limits, supervisor approvals, and phasing out vendor cards after Grainger inventory rollout.
The city auditor reported a limited non-audit review of vendor-specific Home Depot credit cards used in facilities and some street operations, finding gaps in controls and recommending immediate changes.
"There was a total charge to those cards around $39,000 during that period," said Michelle Crawford, city auditor, describing purchases reviewed from Jan. 20 through Aug. 2024 (May invoices were not available at the time of the initial review). She said those vendor cards shared a credit line of $24,400 per billing period and that the audit identified one month in which a single employee charged more than $7,000.
Audit findings included lack of documented supervisor review before payment, weak card limits, and one unaccounted-for Makita saw purchase (which audit work later showed was a failed delivery and the city recovered a refund). The auditor recommended assigning low individual credit limits (the report suggested $200 or less) or significantly lowering the shared credit limit until the Grainger inventory system is implemented in Q1; after Grainger is live, the report recommends closing vendor-specific retailer cards and using standard purchasing-card controls.
Committee members asked whether staff had purchasing cards and how reimbursements were processed; the auditor said most individual employees did not have standard purchasing cards and administrative staff submitted Home Depot invoices through accounts payable without consistent supervisor sign-off. Michelle said the office will expand the review into a broader card expense audit covering 2023–2024 and will add the missed month (May) into the work.
Kurt Bielmeier, deputy director of operations and public works, told the committee staff discovered and canceled a Lowe’s card after the audit and said Home Depot cards in street operations have been collected and destroyed as the department phases in the auditor’s recommendations.
The committee did not take a formal vote; auditors recommended further expense-audit work and stronger purchasing controls.
