Report 2015-121 Recommendation 8 Responses
Report 2015-121: California Department of Veterans Affairs: The State Paid Nearly $28 Million for a Flawed System That Fails to Meet the Needs of Its Veterans Homes (Release Date: June 2016)
Recommendation #8 To: Veterans Affairs, Department of
To ensure that it only accepts deliverables and pays for deliverables that are complete and that meet the contract requirements, by September 2016 CalVet should establish processes to strengthen its contract management on all future projects by requiring the project manager to sign off on invoices along with the contract manager before approving payment.
1-Year Agency Response
CalVet has revised it's IT Project Policy to add the project manager and contract manager responsibility of signing off on invoices before payment is approved.
- Completion Date: February 2017
- Response Date: June 2017
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented
6-Month Agency Response
CalVet has added the invoice approval requirement to the CalVet Contract Management Handbook. Mandatory training for CalVet procurement and contracting staff was held on August 23 - August 25, 2016. The CalVet Contract Management Handbook and process was introduced and addressed at the workshop.
- Completion Date: September 2016
- Response Date: December 2016
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
The added invoice approval requirement that CalVet refers to does not require both the project manager and contract manager to approve invoices before payment, as we recommended. When we followed up with CalVet, staff indicated it will draft a policy to establish this process and plans to finalize it by the end of January 2017.
- Auditee did not address all aspects of the recommendation
60-Day Agency Response
CalVet has added the invoice approval requirement to the CalVet Contract Management Handbook. Mandatory training for department procurement and contracting staff is scheduled for August 23 - August 25, 2016. The CalVet Contract Management Handbook and process will be introduced and addressed at the workshop.
- Estimated Completion Date: August 25, 2016
- Response Date: August 2016
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2015-121
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.