Stephanie
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- Jul 11, 2004
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Aren't they special
lot of links in article at site
SNIP:
Posted By M.D. Kittle On June 3, 2013 @ 4:30 pm
. [1]
CHARGE IT: The federal government has about 3.5 million SmartPay charge card accounts, with $29.2 billion charged in fiscal year 2012, according to the General Services Administration. After widespread fraud was reported in the system five years ago, no one seems to have answers today on how much misuse and abuse there is.
By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON There was, arguably, an important overlooked point in an audit last week [2] that showed the Internal Revenue Services lack of aggressive steps in addressing misuse of government-issued credit cards IRS employees use when traveling.
Almost a side note in the report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration [3] was the fact that in fiscal 2011 the IRS travel card program had issued about 52,000 individually billed travel card accounts. Thats more than one card for every two IRS employees, a workforce that totaled 97,717 staffers at the end of 2012.
The first question: Why does the IRS need so many credit cards? At a total of $121 million in related charges in fiscal 2011, thats a lot of travel on the taxpayers dime much of which was spent auditing taxpayers.
In responding to Wisconsin Reporters [4] question, the IRS sent out the same statement it had sent to media et al., concerning the Treasury Inspector Generals latest audit.
As the report indicates, the IRSs travel card program controls are generally effective with delinquency rates below one percent, the agency stated. Though the vast majority of cardholders used their travel cards in an appropriate manner and paid their bills on time, the IRS appreciates TIGTAs recommendations and we have already implemented a number of them, including monitoring daily ATM limits. We are working to improve our controls and appreciate TIGTAs support as we implement the recommendations.
The IRS, which has been stung by charges it has targeted conservative organizations, [5] further explained to Wisconsin Reporter that 52,000 credit cards isnt out of line when considering the transient nature of many of the agencys employees. With a horde of revenue officers and auditors fanning the nation, the agency logs a lot of travel miles, an IRS official said.
The second and third questions: How many government-issued credit or purchase cards are out there, and how much waste, fraud and abuse are they racking up?
A lot of plastic
all of it here
Watchdog.org Gov't workers rack up $29 billion in credit card charges » Watchdog.org
lot of links in article at site
SNIP:
Posted By M.D. Kittle On June 3, 2013 @ 4:30 pm
. [1]
CHARGE IT: The federal government has about 3.5 million SmartPay charge card accounts, with $29.2 billion charged in fiscal year 2012, according to the General Services Administration. After widespread fraud was reported in the system five years ago, no one seems to have answers today on how much misuse and abuse there is.
By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON There was, arguably, an important overlooked point in an audit last week [2] that showed the Internal Revenue Services lack of aggressive steps in addressing misuse of government-issued credit cards IRS employees use when traveling.
Almost a side note in the report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration [3] was the fact that in fiscal 2011 the IRS travel card program had issued about 52,000 individually billed travel card accounts. Thats more than one card for every two IRS employees, a workforce that totaled 97,717 staffers at the end of 2012.
The first question: Why does the IRS need so many credit cards? At a total of $121 million in related charges in fiscal 2011, thats a lot of travel on the taxpayers dime much of which was spent auditing taxpayers.
In responding to Wisconsin Reporters [4] question, the IRS sent out the same statement it had sent to media et al., concerning the Treasury Inspector Generals latest audit.
As the report indicates, the IRSs travel card program controls are generally effective with delinquency rates below one percent, the agency stated. Though the vast majority of cardholders used their travel cards in an appropriate manner and paid their bills on time, the IRS appreciates TIGTAs recommendations and we have already implemented a number of them, including monitoring daily ATM limits. We are working to improve our controls and appreciate TIGTAs support as we implement the recommendations.
The IRS, which has been stung by charges it has targeted conservative organizations, [5] further explained to Wisconsin Reporter that 52,000 credit cards isnt out of line when considering the transient nature of many of the agencys employees. With a horde of revenue officers and auditors fanning the nation, the agency logs a lot of travel miles, an IRS official said.
The second and third questions: How many government-issued credit or purchase cards are out there, and how much waste, fraud and abuse are they racking up?
A lot of plastic
all of it here
Watchdog.org Gov't workers rack up $29 billion in credit card charges » Watchdog.org
