Yesterday, Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon publicly announced that his office sent a memo to all state officials with access to purchasing cards (P-cards), reminding them of new statutory requirements meant to increase fiscal accountability.
“P-Cards can be a necessary tool to keep government running as efficiently as possible, but their use must be strictly controlled and monitored,” said Scanlon. “Our team here at the Comptroller’s Office is working every single day to spot fraud and correct violations, and these new reforms will enhance our ability to do that and hold those who violate the policy accountable.”
The use, or misuse, of P-cards by state and municipal officials has been a topic of increased concern in recent years, with the scandals surrounding former CSCU Chancellor Terrence Cheng and former New Britain mayor and Republican gubernatorial candidate Erin Stewart being two of the most high-profile instances. State universities have been especially scrutinized by the state’s Auditors of Public Accounts, with questionable P-card use and insufficient controls becoming a recurrent finding in their yearly audits. Following Cheng’s P-card scandal, Scanlon audited the state’s universities, releasing a report in December 2024 with ten recommendations to prevent further misuse.
“Our audit identifies several transactions by certain university leadership that did not have adequate documentation or did not follow university policies,” reads the report’s executive summary. “We strongly recommend a stronger P-card policy with more checks and balances, greater enforcement mechanisms and more stringent reporting requirements to ensure appropriate spending.”
The new requirements Scanlon’s memo highlights come as a result of the General Assembly’s passage of SB 1468 last summer. The bill requires all of the state’s “budgeted agencies,” any agency that receives state funds, to appoint a P-card coordinator, who is charged with overseeing the use of P-cards by their agency’s staff, to set formal guidelines around P-card usage, and to make annual reports to the Comptroller’s Office.
Per the bill, P-card Coordinators must determine which agency officials can receive a P-card, review receipts or reports for P-card transactions and ensure they are entered into the state’s payroll system, establish purchasing limits, and restrict access to employees who fail to comply with proper purchasing procedures.
Furthermore, the bill demands each agency establish P-card procedures that outline which employees can use the card for what purposes, limit authorized charges for travel, meals and entertainment, specify timelines for the submission of receipts or usage reports, digitize those receipts and reports in the state’s payroll system, outline agency approval processes for reports about card use, and include “specific remedies for noncompliance.”
Lastly, the bill requires each agency to submit yearly reports to the Comptroller’s Office, one outlining its P-card use for the year, and another outlining any violations of P-card policy and subsequent enforcement actions taken by the agency. Agencies will submit their first yearly reports to the Comptroller’s Office next month.
Per the Comptroller’s memo, violation reports require “backup documentation,” which explains the nature, category, and date of the violation, the name of the employee who violated policy, and the enforcement action taken by the agency. From fiscal year 2027 onwards, agencies will have to submit monthly violation reports in addition to their annually required ones.
“OSC is continuously working to improve oversight on the P-Card program,” reads the Comptroller’s statement. “Enhancements currently in the works include expanding the use of the P-Card administrator’s monitoring tools to support timelier real-time transaction monitoring and providing more frequent and comprehensive training for agency P-Card coordinators and cardholders to strengthen program oversight, internal controls, and compliance with established policies.”
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