28. Inappropriate expense claims or expense claims for personal purchases, is taken very seriously and results in disciplinary action.

Public Sector Fraud Awareness Survey - Findings: Fraud response.

Observation:

Pie chart of Question 28: Inappropriate expense claims or expense claims for personal purchases, is taken very seriously and results in disciplinary action.

85.6% of respondents indicated that inappropriate expense claims are taken seriously in their organisation.

This view was shared by senior managers and staff alike and across all sectors.

What some respondents have said:

“Sometimes staff accidentally may claim or put personal expense on c/card due to international nature of role & other circumstances, they will report this if known, all expenses are reviewed & staff always agree to deduction from pay - so further disciplinary action not taken.”

“I believe some areas in my organisation takes such incidents seriously, others might be more inclined to 'sweep it under the carpet'. In my view there needs to be more spot checks done on credit card reconciliations and expense claims than is currently the case.”

PwC comment:
Recent scrutiny of sensitive expenditure demands that public sector organisations remain vigilant to inappropriate spending of public monies.

“Management have been active in education and monitoring of sensitive expenditure, gifts and Koha. I have heard individual staff describe the fraud policy as very simple "get caught, get sacked". The organisation has also had a history of charging individuals in often talked about cases from 3-5 years ago. “

  Yes No Don’t know Total Count
Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director/Principal 356 94% 7 2% 17 4% 380
Member of the senior executive/leadership team or equivalent 449 92% 11 2% 29 6% 489
Line manager (if not one of the above) 169 77% 7 3% 43 20% 219
Administration/Support Services 151 76% 9 5% 40 20% 200
Operational staff (e.g. Teacher, Analyst, Advisor, Technician, Officer, Engineer, Accountant) 94 69% 3 2% 39 29% 136
Total 1,219 86% 37 3% 168 12% 1,424
  Yes No Don’t know Total Count
Central Government              
Autonomous Crown Entities 50 93% 2 4% 2 4% 54
Central Government - Other 44 98% 1 2% 0 0% 45
Crown Agents or Companies 72 83% 2 2% 13 15% 87
Crown Research Institutes 31 84% 3 8% 3 8% 37
District Health Boards 58 83% 2 3% 10 14% 70
Government Departments 116 80% 3 2% 26 18% 145
Independent Crown Entities 31 84% 2 5% 4 11% 37
Māori Trust Boards 11 100% 0 0% 0 0% 11
Rural Education Activities Programmes 9 82% 0 0% 2 18% 11
State-Owned Enterprises 44 94% 1 2% 2 4% 47
Tertiary Education Institutions 77 85% 2 2% 12 13% 91
Sub-Total 543 86% 18 3% 74 12% 635
  Yes No Don’t know Total Count
Local Government              
Airports 17 89% 0 0% 2 11% 19
Council Controlled Organisations or Council Controlled Trading Organisations 69 92% 0 0% 6 8% 75
Energy Companies 21 75% 1 4% 6 21% 28
Fish and Game Councils 8 100% 0 0% 0 0% 8
Licensing and Community Trusts 7 78% 0 0% 2 22% 9
Local Authorities 137 81% 5 3% 27 16% 169
Local Government - Other 8 73% 0 0% 3 27% 11
Port Companies 2 100% 0 0% 0 0% 2
Sub-Total 269 84% 6 2% 46 14% 321
               
Schools 407 87% 13 3% 48 10% 468
Total 1,219 86% 37 3% 168 12% 1,424
page top