Niskayuna audit committee: exception rate falls below 5% after business‑office reforms

Doris, the district’s internal claims lead, told the Audit & Finance Committee on Jan. 30 that the district’s 2025 exception report shows measurable improvement in purchasing controls. "For the first time in 19 years, I have a really favorable report to present," she said, noting Fund A’s exception rate dropped to 4.39% from 6.37% the year before and that total exceptions fell by 23%.

Doris and committee members credited targeted business‑office work to the improvement: identifying chronic confirming purchase orders, working with departments and purchasing agent Mike Santas to establish blanket purchase orders earlier in the year, and sending monthly exception memos to departments so they can correct recurring issues. "We identified a few strategies…we got some of those POs in place early in the year," Doris said.

Committee members said the initiatives have increased awareness across departments and improve budgeting accuracy. One member said the monthly memos and department follow‑ups are likely the "single biggest thing" sustaining the gains. Staff recommended continuing the monthly review cycle, reviewing three years of vendor spend when setting blanket PO limits and providing purchasing training to high‑volume secretaries to reduce confirming POs.

The presentation did not propose a formal policy change; staff said they would continue the current practices and report back if additional steps are needed. The committee moved on to other agenda items after brief discussion.