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New Canaan audit panel urges unified purchasing rules, tighter vendor controls and training
Summary
At a March 23 Payment Audit Subcommittee meeting, town finance staff outlined audit recommendations to harmonize purchasing policies, tighten credit‑card and vendor‑change controls, pilot a contract‑management module and require targeted staff training; staff will return with itemized timelines and a checklist.
NEW CANAAN, Conn. — The Payment Audit Subcommittee on March 23 reviewed a slate of audit findings and agreed the town needs a single, comprehensive purchasing policy, stronger vendor controls and mandatory training for staff.
The meeting opened with the chair saying the subcommittee had full attendance and introducing that Anne Karl Ernst was present as the town’s chief financial officer. Finance staff (identified in the transcript as S3) summarized the audit’s main points and proposed next steps: adopt a harmonized purchasing policy drawn from templates other Connecticut towns have used, tighten controls on blanket purchase orders and shared credit cards, centralize contracts in a contract‑management module, and formalize vendor setup and emergency purchase processes.
“There's conflicting language in our current…based on what we had as a chart and what we have as a table,” the finance staff said, describing the audit finding on misaligned purchasing rules. The staff added: “We do need…
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