When the director of  DAGS had a problem with late payments from state departments to their vendors, he called on me to help resolve the problem.

I analyzed a random sampling of all late payment data based on several state requirements for timely payment.

I then audited payment procedures at each department by visiting and observing procedures in the fiscal office  as well as offices of programs that had a high rate of late payments.

As the study progressed I learned the  common habits, good and bad, of state employees when processing vendor payments.

Some departments just needed to make adjustments, others needed to totally change the way they were processing payments.

When the study was completed I presented the Comptroller with

  • An executive summary giving a broad overview of the findings and general recommendations for most departments.
  • A comprehensive report to the Comptroller giving a broad overview of all departments as well as a detailed report for each department including observations, problem areas and recommended solutions.  Also included in the Comptrollers's report was backup material with notes.
  • A report for the director of each department detailing the observations, problem areas and recommended changes for their payment procedures.

Within 6 months  the State's overall  late payment rate was down by more than fifty percent.

A copy of the Executive summary may be obtained through  DAGS