Report 2016-301 Recommendation 10 Responses

Report 2016-301: Judicial Branch Procurement: The Five Superior Courts We Reviewed Mostly Adhered to Required and Recommended Practices, but Some Improvements Are Needed (Release Date: November 2016)

Recommendation #10 To: Superior Court of California, County of San Joaquin

To ensure that it properly authorizes payments and purchases only allowable items, the San Joaquin court should process payments in accordance with the requirements and recommended practices of the Judicial Council and the State. Specifically, the San Joaquin court should make sure that it is receiving the goods and services it ordered. It should also pay vendors only after verifying receipt of the goods or services.

60-Day Agency Response

The Court agrees with this recommendation. The Court paid an invoice for four bottles of water, for jurors, without ensuring the receipt was signed by the receiving Court department. The Court has notified the vendor that invoices will not be paid if signed receipts have not been received by the Accounting department. In addition, the Court has reminded the receiving departments to provide all signed receipts to Procurement and Accounting.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

The court provided documentation to support the actions it has taken to implement our recommendation. These actions are important because as stated on page 18 of our report, the court purchased bottled water and related items at a cost of more than $8,000 for fiscal year 2015-16.

All Recommendations in 2016-301

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.