Nassau County Comptroller Elaine Phillips, in collaboration with Nassau County Treasurer David Chiang, has eliminated the use of an antiquated cash box system for petty cash expenditures, replacing it with tightly controlled departmental purchasing/petty cash P-Cards.
“One of my top priorities as Comptroller has been to proactively implement operational efficiencies within the County,” said Comptroller Phillips. “Working together with the Nassau County Legislature, the County Executive’s Administration and the Treasurer’s office, we successfully developed a comprehensive Petty Cash P-Card System that provides enhanced financial oversight and modernizes the way in which the County conducts business.”
In May 2023, the Comptroller’s Office Field Audit Division concluded a review of the County’s 49 petty cash accounts in 33 departments. The review looked at each department’s cash on hand, processes for petty cash spending and reimbursement, monthly petty cash allowances and compliance with County directives and policies related to petty cash.
Departmental petty cash spending limits are set by the Nassau County Legislature. Limits were established on a case-by-case basis beginning as far back as 1956, resulting in disparate departmental petty cash fund resolutions issued by the Legislature over the past 70 years. In many instances, these authorizations were out of date or misaligned with the current needs and/or responsibilities of the departments.
With the support of the Legislature, an updated, comprehensive resolution was created, properly aligning departmental petty cash fund authorizations to their current needs and duties. A separate resolution had already been approved by the Legislature authorizing the development of a cashless card-based petty cash management system. These resolutions cleared the way for the Comptroller’s Office to strengthen the petty cash account management processes and improve internal controls to utilize contemporary technology to administer petty cash.
The new Petty Cash P-Card system has eliminated the need for:
- Cash boxes,
- Custodians processing cash reimbursement to employees, and
- The Treasurer issuing and delivering checks to departments.
In addition, the new system provides the following control benefits:
- Each department’s petty cash custodian can control the use of the purchasing card.
- Purchases are limited by commodity codes.
- All Nassau County P-cards are embossed with a “tax exempt” stamp.
- The County monitors and controls the use of the cards.
“The new P-card system has brought Nassau County into the twenty-first century with regard to petty cash management,” said Nassau County Treasurer David Chiang. “It has reduced our use of paper checks, many paper forms, and cash, and has eliminated time consuming manual processes.”
On August 19, 2024, the Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs was the first Nassau County department to receive their official P-Card.
“Thank you to Comptroller Phillips and Treasurer Chiang for working with the County Administration and Legislature to develop a more modern, streamlined method of petty cash purchasing,” said John R. Capece, Commissioner of Consumer Affairs. “The implementation of the P-card system will enable the Department of Consumer Affairs and other County departments to do business in a more efficient manner, with improved controls in place.”
About the Nassau County Comptroller’s Office
Comptroller Elaine Phillips is the independent protector of Nassau County’s finances. She and her team ensure accountability in the collection of revenues and the expenditure of Nassau’s funds and produce the County’s audited financial reports. With a population of almost 1.4 million people and an annual budget of approximately $4.4 billion, Nassau County relies on Comptroller Phillips and her dedicated staff to report on matters that affect Nassau’s financial health, proactively advocate for operational efficiency on behalf of the taxpayers, and audit government departments and outside agencies that do business with the county to uncover and prevent waste, fraud, and inefficiency. Each year, the Comptroller’s Office processes approximately 140,000 payments to vendors, and reviews and approves more than 1,000 vendor contracts and approximately 2,300 purchase orders. The Comptroller’s office also manages and administers payroll and health benefits for more than 8,100 active employees, 12,500 retirees and 21,800 dependents for a total of more than 42,000 covered lives.
For additional information, please contact Wendy Goldstein, Director of Communications for the Comptroller’s Office, at [email protected] or (516) 571-2386.
