MPA to scrutinise MPS corporate charge card procedures

62/07
23 November 2007

At the full Authority meeting on Thursday 22 November 2007, Members received a preliminary report which outlined new safeguards put in place for the use of MPS corporate credit cards.

Toby Harris, chair of the MPA Corporate Governance committee, said:

“The Corporate Governance committee has raised concerns since 2004 when MPA Internal Audit investigated the Met’s accounting procedures for corporate credit cards.

“Met scrutiny of internal governance has been completely unacceptable at all levels and the Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson will now conduct a thorough review of all Met corporate governance.

“It is imperative that MPS management robustly reviews current usage of Amex credit cards. Urgent action must be taken to complete a full reconciliation of Amex accounts and ensure they are kept up to date. The MPA wants to see watertight systems put in place which are clear and easy to administer by line managers, whilst at the same time protect against false accusation and deter illegal use.

“The Authority needs to be assured that rigorous management supervision will enforce existing regulations and address the following issues; that any evidence of misconduct will be vigorously pursued, all outstanding returns are fully detailed, credit cards issued that are not specifically required for organisational purposes will be removed, reconciliations are completed speedily and mechanisms are put in place to ensure that future arrangements rule out abuse.

Toby Harris concluded:

“We need to have trust and confidence in the way that corporate credit cards are being used. Failure to comply should be subject to disciplinary processes and this message must go out to all Met officers and staff.

“The MPA Corporate Governance committee will be scrutinising ongoing work and a full report detailing the progress of our concerns will be prepared for the Authority in the New Year.”

Further media information

For further information, please contact the MPA press office 

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