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Forensic review finds generally appropriate P-card and fuel use, recommends tighter controls and periodic audits
Summary
A forensic accounting review of Hopewell purchase-card and fuel transactions from FY2019 to present found about 17,000 transactions (~$2.7M) with no widespread misuse; the report recommends limiting cardholders, periodic audits, stricter approval documentation and a fuel policy to improve preventive controls.
A forensic accounting team reported to the council that Hopewell’s purchase-card (P-card) and fuel transactions from FY2019 onward show widespread documentation and no systemic diversion of funds based on the sample reviewed, but the city should tighten preventive controls and conduct periodic audits.
Costa Chakrabarti, senior manager in the presenting firm’s forensic accounting group, said the team reviewed monthly P-card statements and a fuel-purchase database over roughly six years (about 17,000 transactions totaling about $2.7 million). They conducted a more detailed review of roughly 500 transactions (primarily transactions above $500) and examined supporting documentation, approvals and charge logs.
Key findings: the auditors said the city’s older P-card policy set a $1,000-per-transaction expectation and the newer policy (effective July 2024) improved controls, added itemization and conflict-of-interest disclosures, and enabled preset transaction limits through the Fifth Third Bank system. About 1.7% of transactions exceeded the $1,000 threshold in the historical data; roughly 35% of sampled transactions lacked two signatures under the old paperwork practice but procurement oversaw a secondary approval step that was not always documented on the form. By FY2024, automated processes and Munis entries appeared to have reduced missing approvals substantially.
On fuel purchases, auditors saw good controls (key fob linked to vehicles, PINs assigned to drivers, fueling primarily at a city-operated station) but noted the city lacks a written fuel-purchase policy and that inconsistent odometer vs. tripometer entries made some analyses difficult. The auditors recommended a formal fuel policy and continued monitoring of vehicle and driver lists.
Recommendations included: limiting the number of P-card holders, maintaining corporate vendor accounts for high‑use vendors to support controls, performing periodic audits to validate automated controls, tightening user-level transaction limits with the bank, documenting procurement oversight in forms, and creating a fuel-purchase policy.
Councilors and staff discussed next steps including department-by-department reviews to reduce cardholder counts, posting surplus vehicles to GovDeals and continuing automation and oversight with procurement.
