YELLOW SHEET Office of the State Auditor of Missouri Claire McCaskill

Report No. 2004-73

September 22, 2004

Oversight and Management of Out-Of-State Purchases

The Office of Administration (OA) and other state agencies followed statutory guidance in making out-of-state purchases.  However, the OA has not established procedures to effectively identify or monitor out-of-state purchase activity.

No adequate method to identify out-of-state purchases

During 2003, OA estimated 30 percent of fiscal year 2003 procurements were made to out-of-state vendors.  However, auditor analysis shows no more than 14 percent of the $2.4 billion in purchases would have represented out-of-state purchases.  The higher percentage estimated by OA is the result of using vendor billing addresses.  Although OA plans to report on these purchases, as of April 2004, procedures had not been established to accurately identify and report out-of-state purchases.  (See page 4)

OA taking steps to enhance in-state purchases

In response to the Executive Order 03-27, requiring Missouri preference, OA developed guidance for state agencies.  This guidance includes a decision matrix to be used in applying executive order requirements and was distributed to state agencies in April 2004.  (See page 5)

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