HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-15-169 - 4th Quarter Audit Status ReportStaff Report
rR finance and Corporate Services Department www.kitchener.ca
REPORT TO: Audit Committee
DATE OF MEETING: December 14, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Corina Tasker, Internal Auditor, 519 - 741 -2200 ext. 7361
PREPARED BY: Corina Tasker, Internal Auditor, 519 - 741 -2200 ext. 7361
WARD(S) INVOLVED: ALL
DATE OF REPORT: December 1, 2015
REPORT NO.: FCS -15 -169
SUBJECT: 4th QUARTER AUDIT STATUS REPORT
RECOMMENDATION:
No recommendation required. The following information is being provided as an update
and assurance on internal audit matters, in accordance with the Audit Committee Terms
of Reference.
BACKGROUND:
The following report provides a summary of the Internal Audit activities completed during the
period of October 2015 to December 2015. The chart below shows the audits contained in this
report.
ical Invento
Count Verification
The following items are currently in progress and will be brought forward at a future audit
committee meeting:
Community Centres Comprehensive Audit.
Accounting Comprehensive Audit.
REPORT:
Physical Inventory
Status: Complete, October 24, 2015
Internal Audit participated in the annual physical inventory counts at the Kitchener Operations
Facility (KOF) location. Standard floor -to -sheet and sheet -to -floor audits were done to confirm
the physical quantity of parts on hand compared to what staff had counted. The audit covered
24% of the total value of inventory. The sheet -to -floor audits covered the top 40 unit values and
top 40 total values. The floor -to -sheet audits consisted of 30 random shelf locations. Only
seven variances were found and were fully explained.
* ** This information is available in accessible formats upon request. * **
Please call 519- 741 -2345 or TTY 1- 866 - 969 -9994 for assistance.
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In general the accuracy of the ongoing inventory records has improved greatly since the
controls audit in 2008. Write -downs and the shrinkage rate have decreased consistently over
that time period. In 2015 the write -downs were $53,905 which represents 0.8% of the total
inventory purchases for the year of $7.0 million. This is a very low shrinkage rate. Industry
standards indicate that up to 2.5% is an acceptable rate. The ending inventory balance was
$2,285,256.
Of the 2015 variances, only $1,295 write -up was from controllable stock (i.e. stock which the
stores staff have direct control over with regards to purchases and usage). This is comparable
to the 2014 write -up of $2,884.
The remaining $55,200 of write -downs is related to stock which is located in unsecured outside
locations which are not under direct supervision by the stores division. This means that other
staff have unrestricted access to take the inventory for use in their jobs without notifying stores
staff to relieve inventory in the system. A fence has been constructed around some of these
items but there is still no process to keep the gate locked.
This figure is up year over year from $6,332 in 2014. The reason for the large increase is
mostly due to the fact that stores staff adjusted the aggregates and road maintenance inventory
just prior to the inventory count last year and therefore the variance did not show up in the total.
To avoid this timing issue in the future it is recommended that all write -downs / ups from cycle
counts performed throughout the year be included in the final total for year to year comparisons.
The write -downs for uncontrollable stock at the time of the annual physical inventory (i.e. not
including cycle counts and adjustments done throughout the year) for both years included:
Inventory Type
2014 Variance
2015 Variance
Manholes and catch basins
$1,431
$646
Pipe and Tubing
($472) (write -up)
$2,095
Sign shop supplies/ finished goods
$4,400
$12,450
Aggregates
$0
$20,517
Road Maintenance & Supplies
$1,505
$19,165
Oil, Grease, & Lubricants
($532) (write -up)
$327
Total
$6,332
$55,200
Overall, the physical inventory process is in control and the variances are considered very
small. However, there are several areas where improvements could be made which have been
suggested by the Director of Supply Services. All of the following ideas are seen as
opportunities for improvement but each would need to be developed in more detail and a
cost/benefit analysis done before implementing.
1. Currently it is impossible for staff to accurately measure the amount of aggregates relieved
from inventory because the aggregates are located at Battler Yards and there is no weigh scale
at that location. In the future this location will be used for the new snow storage facility and
therefore all of the aggregates will be moved to the KOF yard where there is a weigh scale.
There is the opportunity for staff to develop a process to weigh the aggregates being used and
notify stores staff to relieve inventory and charge to the appropriate project or work order.
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2. It was recommended through previous internal audits that access to the internal stores
location be restricted to stores staff only. While unauthorized access has decreased there are
still occasions when staff cut through the warehouse to the bathrooms or need to go into the
warehouse to identify a specific part. Staff will be reminded that if they allow any unauthorized
staff into the warehouse they need to remain with the staff and escort them.
3. Currently stores staff manually set up and track a bill of materials for each gas utility project
including the amount of stock used for the project. Since this is a manual task it may or may not
match the inventory relief in the system. The accuracy and efficiency of this task could be
improved by implementing a bill of materials module in SAP.
4. Previous audit recommendations led to the implementation of regular cycle counts
throughout the year to ensure the security of assets on a continuing basis rather than once per
year. While this has been implemented there are no written work procedures and no proof that
these counts have been done. The procedure should be documented and checked regularly by
management to ensure the counts are being done. In addition, staff should develop a process
for tracking the cycle count write -offs throughout the year to be included in the final total as
mentioned above.
5. Given the number of write -ups found in the physical inventory, it is possible that some
receipts of inventory are not being entered into the system. Staff regularly check the quantity
received against the packing slip before accepting the shipment but may not enter it into the
system and there are no written work procedures for the receipting process. It is recommended
that this process be documented and staff reminded of the process.
6. Raw material for the sign shop is issued from the warehouse, converted into signs, and then
put back into inventory as a finished product. In the past the units of measure of the raw
material have been entered to match the units of measure of the finished product. For example,
the raw material may come in rolls but the finished product is issued in square feet. Therefore,
the raw material is set up in inventory in square feet. This causes problems when relieving raw
material inventory and could be the cause of some of the variances. Staff should investigate a
method of using the correct the units of measure for both raw material and finished goods
inventory to improve accuracy.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
This report supports the achievement of the city's strategic vision through the delivery of core
service.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no financial implications related to this report.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Members of the community have been informed of the results of this audit status report through
the posting of this report on the internet on December 9, 2015.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Dan Chapman, Deputy CAO, Finance and Corporate Services
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