Fiscal Year 2023 Risk Assessment of VA’s Charge Card Program

The VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted an annual risk assessment of VA’s three charge card programs, which cover purchase cards for supplies and services; travel cards for official travel expenses; and fleet cards for fuel, maintenance, and repair of government-owned and -operated vehicles. These programs had over $5.6 billion in spending from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. The OIG conducted this risk assessment from August 2023 through January 2024. The team analyzed summary transaction data to assess charge card risk based on categories developed using data mining to identify potentially improper (including illegal and erroneous) charge card purchases. The team also reviewed VA policies, procedures, and other controls applicable to these charge card programs, as well as previously issued OIG reports and recommendations and results from OIG investigations of charge card misuse. Like the fiscal year 2020 assessment, the OIG concluded the Purchase Card Program is at medium risk of illegal, improper, or erroneous purchases. Data analysis, the volume and value of spending, and OIG investigations and reviews identified patterns of purchase card transactions that deviate from the Federal Acquisition Regulation and VA policies and procedures.In contrast, VA’s Travel and Fleet Card Programs have a low risk of illegal, improper, or erroneous purchases based on the data analysis and lack of related additional risk factors. The team reviewed travel card data from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. During the scope of this review, over 21,000 VA travel cardholders initiated about 615,000 transactions totaling approximately $90 million. From July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, VA fleet cards were used for over 165,000 transactions totaling approximately $17.5 million.