Auditor General releases performance audit report on office furniture purchases

The Auditor General for the City of Vancouver, Mike Macdonell, has released a performance audit report on the topic of office furniture purchases PDF file (631 KB).

The City purchases office furniture as part of facilities renovations, to support new hires, to support its ergonomics and office space planning programs, and to replace unusable or broken furniture. The City spent $5.96M during the 30-month audit period to purchase, repair and install office furniture.

The audit determined that the City, with some exceptions, made office furniture purchases with due regard for best value within established City policies, guidelines and priorities. Among the findings reported: the City used weighted criteria assessments to select office furniture, had a reasonably comprehensive procurement policy, generally followed its procurement and purchasing policies for purchasing office furniture, and used up-to-date supplier agreements. 

However, the audit found exceptions related to the processes the City used to qualify office furniture suppliers and deficiencies in the Procurement Policy related to trade agreement obligations. Additionally, the City had not defined how often to update assessments to ensure continued best value in office furniture selections, did not have sufficient documentation for one assessment, and did not conduct assessments for newly introduced furniture items.

The report contains five recommendations to enhance the City’s ability to achieve best value in the purchase of office furniture and to mitigate some of the risks associated with procurement. The City’s Supply Chain Management, and Real Estate and Facilities Management departments have accepted all of the recommendations and provided action plans in response.

Quotes

Mike Macdonell, Auditor General

“For the most part, we found that our audit criteria were met. Although some opportunities for improvement were identified, overall we found that furniture purchases were made with due regard for best value during the audit period.” Macdonell said.