Comptroller of Public Accounts
An Audit Report on the Uniform Statewide Payroll/Personnel System (USPS)
Report Number 95-149
Agencies using the Uniform Statewide Payroll/Personnel System (USPS), which were surveyed in April 1995, reported that they are able to perform payroll reconciliation procedures to help ensure that payroll amounts are accurate. These results represent an improvement from our earlier survey in October 1994 in which agencies reported difficulties in performing payroll reconciliations due to problems associated with the system. This audit focused primarily upon determining whether agencies were able to perform necessary payroll reconciliation procedures. We reduced the original audit scope from a planned review of overall controls within the USPS system due to problems with the system's stability as of October 1994. However, we plan to complete a more thorough review and assessment of control systems within USPS in the future. As of April 1995, the system processed approximately 26 percent of total statewide payroll and was used by 95 agencies.
The USPS Team at the Comptroller's Office has implemented a number of initiatives to improve user satisfaction with the system and to improve the level of system support and assistance available from the USPS Agency System Integrated Support Team (ASIST). In addition, the formation of a USPS Users Group and an agency advisory committee have helped to enhance communication between system users and the USPS Team.
Although the agencies we surveyed indicated that there has been some improvement in the system, important issues still remain as of May 1995. For example, the conversion of additional, larger agencies to USPS has been postponed until a new release of the software is delivered by the system's vendor. The Leave Accounting component of the USPS system is not currently operational, and the system's vendor is currently modifying this component. Three options on the system's Backouts and Reversals screen will be unavailable until the interface between the USPS system and the Texas Payee Information System (TPIS) becomes operational. Agencies continue to report that quarterly IRS reports are difficult to prepare using reports provided by USPS. Finally, controls should be strengthened over the procedures used to process Letters of Authorizations (LOAs) which allow modification of system data.
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