Plymouth County District Attorney's Office

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor review of certain activities at the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office covering July 1, 2010 through March 31, 2012.

“In accordance with Chapter 11, Section 12, of the Massachusetts General Laws, we have conducted an audit of certain activities of the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office (PCDA) for the period July 1, 2010 through March 31, 2012.”

Auditors checked whether the office kept proper records, spent money appropriately, handled certain funds correctly, protected inventory, and had controls to safeguard public assets.

“The objectives of our audit were to determine whether PCDA’s (1) financial records are accurate, up to date, and maintained in accordance with established criteria; (2) expenditures, including payroll, program, and administrative costs, are appropriate and reasonable; (3) advanced expenses are processed properly with supporting documentation; (4) controls over revenues – specifically, forfeited funds and witness protection funds – are adequate and functioning as intended; (5) inventory systems are adequate to safeguard supplies, equipment, and forfeited property; (6) controls over funds received from the Witness Protection Board are adequate and such funds are being used for their intended purpose; and (7) overall internal control structure is suitably designed and implemented to safeguard Commonwealth assets in compliance with Chapter 647 of the Acts of 1989, An Act Relative to Improving the Internal Controls within State Agencies.”

For residents, this matters because the office serves local communities and uses public funds to support criminal justice work, victim and witness services, and community outreach.

“District Attorney’s Offices also represent the Commonwealth before grand juries and assist with the investigation of a variety of criminal activities as well as victim/witness assistance services.”

The main problem was not spending abuse or a broad failure of controls; it was weak inventory tracking, including missing purchase dates, missing costs, and no required annual physical inventory.

“PCDA was not fully compliant with Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) policy regarding the accounting and full reporting of non-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) fixed assets, equipment, and other inventory.”

The auditor recommended that the office update its inventory policies, add missing price and purchase-date information, track location changes, and conduct annual physical inventories.

“To properly control and maintain its inventory, including its non-GAAP fixed asset inventory, and ensure compliance with OSC policy, PCDA should:”

The audit found real inventory weaknesses: some records lacked purchase dates or costs, one item was in the wrong place, and six sampled items could not be found where records said they were.

“Six items could not be physically located at their listed locations.”

“Non-GAAP fixed assets” means durable items like vehicles, equipment, furniture, electronics, software, and computer components that cost between $1,000 and $49,999 and last more than a year.

“OSC defines non-GAAP fixed assets as singular assets, including such items as vehicles, equipment, furniture, electronic devices, computer software, and all electrical computer components with a useful life in excess of one year and with an original cost between $1,000 and $49,999.”