An Inspector will be assigned to an agency and will conduct an analysis on the agency’s spending data for a given time period. The Inspector will select a sample of these transactions for further review during the Inspection. The agency will be notified in writing that an inspection is pending.

The inspection will generally occur at the agency’s location; however, there have been instances where the agency was required to mail in documentation for review. During the inspection, documentation pertaining to the specified transactions will be reviewed. If questions arise, agency personnel should be available to provide answers or additional information.

Once the on-site inspection has been completed, the Inspector will conduct a meeting with agency personnel to review the preliminary findings. The agency is encouraged to ask questions during this session. This is also an opportunity for the Inspector to provide one-on-one training concerning Purchasing Procedures.

Finally, the Inspector will document the findings in a Draft Inspection Report, which will be mailed to the agency for comment. The agency will have approximately two weeks to review the report and respond in writing and provide additional documentation. A final report will be issued and will incorporate agency comments.

Following the issued final report, a Corrective Action Plan request will be mailed to the agency to develop a plan to monitor and improve upon the process taken to eliminate the recurrence of issues and findings in the agency inspection report and to ensure conformance with state purchasing rules and regulations.

In the event the Inspector determines that the agency may be stringing, the agency will be required to respond to this finding in writing. Stringing is defined as “Issuing a series of requisitions or purchase orders to circumvent competitive bidding or to defeat the State Purchasing Card transaction or delegated purchasing limit".