Bonds and Crimes Loss Control Program
Bonds and Crimes Loss Control Program
Division of Administration DOA Policy No. 14
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 5, 2025
SUBJECT: Bonds and Crimes Loss Control Program
AUTHORIZATION: Patrick Goldsmith, Deputy Commissioner of Administration
Policy Sections
- PHILOSOPHY
- ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY
- PROPERTY CONTROL
- PURCHASING - PURCHASE ORDERS, CONTRACTS, AND LEASES
- NEGOTIABLE ITEMS
- PETTY CASH AND IMPREST ACCOUNT
- TIMEKEEPING
- SAFES
- SECURITY
Policy Content
I. Philosophy
To protect the Division of Administration (DOA) and all related ancillary units from financial and/or property losses resulting from any fraudulent act, misappropriation, or omission by employees in the performance of their duties.
II. Assignment of Responsibility
Administrative and fiscal responsibility shall lie within the Office of the Commissioner. The specific duties assigned in areas covered under the Bonds and Crimes Loss Control Program are:
Property Control: Agency/Section Property Control Manager with approval from Section Head or designee and oversight from Louisiana Property Assistance Agency.
Purchasing - Purchase Orders, Contracts and Leases: Agency/Section Procurement Agent with approval from Section Head or designee and oversight from Office of State Procurement and Office of Facility Planning.
Negotiable Items: Agency/Section with approval from Section Head or designee and oversight from DOA Office of Finance and Support Services (DOA-OFSS) Cash Disbursements Unit.
Petty Cash and Imprest Accounts: Agency/Section Petty Cash Custodian with oversight from DOA-OFSS Cash Disbursements Unit.
Safes: Agency/Section with approval from Section Head or designee.
Timekeeping: Agency/Section timekeeper with approval from Section Head or designee oversight from DOA Office of Human Resources.
Security: Agency/Section safety coordinator along with the Office of State Buildings, Department of Public Safety, and Office of Technology Services.
The DOA’s Internal Audit Office provides assurances that all policies and procedures relative to the above areas are proper in maintaining segregation of duties, compliance and operational efficiency.
The state’s LaGov system, as well as other integral system components, contain defined security safeguards and protocols which prevent access or certain actions by unauthorized personnel. Security access is granted to employees based upon specific job duties and specifications. These are authorized by the security administrator within DOA-OFSS and granted through the Office of Technology Services (OTS) security team. The LaGov Security Administration Guide provides extensive guidance on these procedures.
III. Property Control
In accordance with Louisiana Administrative code (LAC) Title 34 Part VII Chapter 3, each agency is responsible for developing inventory procedures. LAC Part VII; Chapter 3. §305(D) details these procedures. Accordingly each agency may develop additional internal procedures to assure accountability and compliance with Louisiana Property Assistance Agency (LPAA).
Each agency/section head designates a property manager. The head of the agency notifies the commissioner, through the LPAA director or his designee by completing the Designation of Property Manager form.
The property manager is accountable for all moveable property within the agency/section. Property assigned to any employee is the responsibility of that employee. The property manager must conduct an annual inventory and certify to LPAA.
All property will be maintained in the data base system, Asset Management Platform (AMP Recoup). Each property manager is responsible for requesting and completing the training to assure that they are aware of all state property control procedures.
At any time, any property that is lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged must be reported immediately to the Commissioner or his designee through LPAA. The property manager should investigate and prepare a written report. Any finding will be reported and losses will be reported to the Office of Risk Management by completing the appropriate form located on the LA ORM Claims website.12
IV. Purchasing - Purchase Orders, Contracts, and Leases
Each agency/section assigns at least one staff member to serve as the purchasing agent. The agency/section purchasing agent is responsible for reviewing purchasing requests. The purchasing agent has the option of utilizing various procurement methods such as established statewide contracts, sole source and proprietary purchases, competitive bids, and requests for proposal, to acquire desired equipment, goods, supplies and operating services for their agency. The Office of State Procurement (OSP) has extensive resources located on it’s website at https://www.doa.la.gov/doa/osp/, including the Procurement Handbook, detailing the process for utilizing these and other procurement methods. Contracts/leases are developed according to the policies, procedures, and the rules and regulations of the OSP Professional Contracts section. The Real Estate Leasing section within the DOA Office of Facility Planning provides building leases for state agencies, their personnel, operations, equipment or activities. Contracts/leases are reviewed for compliance to assure agreements are sound and that all required documentation is complete and all deliverables have been met. All contracts/leases are evaluated to ensure that the goals of the agreement are achieved and that the contractor has completed the terms in a satisfactory manner.
Training resources for employees are located online in LEO as well as on the OSP website. In addition, requests for in-person training can be requested by contacting OSP at the email address DOA-OSPTraining@la.gov.
In addition to the procurement methods listed above, the agency has the option, when applicable, to have employees utilize the “LaCarte” Purchasing Card (P-Card), Travel Card (T-Card), Controlled Bill Account (CBA), and the Inventory Card (I-Card) with proper prior approvals. The usage of these cards are governed by the Statewide Card Policy and the DOA’s Card Policy. Within both policies are guidelines addressing the use and/or misuse of any state issued credit cards. The use of these cards does not negate any current purchasing policies, rules and regulations, mandates, Louisiana Statutes, Executive Orders, internal agency policies and procedures and/or PPM49 as applicable.
DOA and agencies for which the DOA provides accounting services, must follow the DOA’s policies related to cash and cash equivalents. The procedures for handling and processing negotiable items are established in DOA Policy No. 26: Receipt of Cash and Cash Equivalents.
The DOA-OFSS Cash Management (CM) unit is tasked with the responsibility of depositing and classifying any and all negotiable items received for DOA and its client entities. DOA-OFSS-CM follows DOA Policy No. 26: Receipt of Cash and Cash Equivalents and has established detailed procedures to perform the tasks set forth in the policy. Transmittals and recording of all funds are addressed in DOA Policy No. 26: Receipt of Cash and Cash Equivalents.
Agencies/sections utilizing credit cards as a method of receiving payments must follow DOA Policy No. 26 for depositing and classifying of funds. The agency/section should also have a procedure documenting the credit card reader inspection process and the reporting of any tampering.
The OTS Production Support Services (OTS-PSS) utilizes postage for state mail services. Postage funds are expensed through bulk mail permit or inked postage imprint. In order to account for spoiled postage, OTS-PSS has a detailed procedure providing instructions for processing these refunds.
Reporting of any theft, misuse, or misappropriation of negotiable items mentioned above are the responsibility of any employee that becomes aware of any such. Reporting should be to the Office of Human Resources and the Commissioner. Upon completion of an internal investigation, the Commissioner will notify the Legislative Auditor and the District Attorney in accordance with R.S. 24:513. Notification of any additional law enforcement will be made by the Commissioner.
VI. Petty Cash and Imprest Account
DOA’s petty cash fund is established to make change, purchase small cost items, and for other small expenditures which are non-recurring and may be time sensitive in nature. The agency/section head designates a petty cash custodian to be responsible for the petty cash fund to ensure its safekeeping and proper use of funds.
The petty cash custodian, at least semi-annually, obtains the appropriate signature approval on the Petty Cash Expenditure Summary and sends it, along with vendor invoices and/or receipts, to DOA-OFSS for replenishment. The DOA-OFSS staff must audit the petty cash request to ensure approval from authorized personnel, documentation is sufficient, and the requested amount is correct. Upon final approval, a check is cut to the petty cash custodian.
The purpose of the imprest fund is to facilitate payment to a vendor or individual who doesn’t meet the requirements to process the payment in LaGov, by means of a state credit card, or whose payment is time sensitive. The imprest fund is the responsibility of the DOA-OFSS. The imprest account is reconciled monthly. Detailed procedures regarding issuance of payment and reconciliation of the account are located within the DOA-OFSS.
VII. Timekeeping
Every DOA section has a timekeeper and a backup designated who is responsible for reviewing time statements, running payroll reports, and maintaining payroll records. Time is certified by each employee and approved by their supervisor. The DOA Office of Human Resources (OHR) Operations/Benefits Unit provides the agency/section timekeepers with policies and guidelines regarding time administration and time entry for time administrators, supervisors, appointing authorities and employees. Forms of various types regarding timekeeping are located on the DOA-OHR website.
All timekeepers are required to attend in-person training conducted by OHR Operations/Benefits Unit staff. In addition, OHR Operations/Benefits Unit staff performs annual audits with agency/section timekeepers to ensure compliance with policies, procedures, and accuracy of time entries.
VIII. Safes
It is the responsibility of the agency/section head to ensure proper safety procedures for access and control of a safe within their area of responsibility. Any agency/section with a safe or vault must have a written policy/procedure that outlines the use and access to the safe or vault.
IX. Security
Building security is provided by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) or other law enforcement agencies or other security personnel in accordance with the guidelines established by DOA Office of State Buildings (OSB) and the Tenant Committee. For those state buildings for which DOA-OSB provides services, a listing of the buildings, hours, and the security availability can be found in the OSB Facility Manual.
Each of the buildings has either a DPS or Court Security Officer on duty during the buildings’ open hours. After hours security for some of the buildings is provided by other law enforcement agencies. Since building security is based on tenants requests of particular types of access, specific details regarding building security would have to be provided by DPS, Court Security, or other enforcement agencies or security personnel.
Each agency/section head designates a badge coordinator(s) by completing the Agency Badging Coordinator Form. Badge coordinator will be responsible for request new badges replacement badges, and badge access changes. With the proper approval from the agency/section approver, access badges are issued to employees, contractors, students, and interns through the OSB Badging Office. The Access Badge Enrollment Form is located on the DOA-OSB website https://www.doa.la.gov/doa/osb/badging-office. The access badge is used to gain entry to the garage, building, and/or office.
For detailed information regarding the badging process, the Access Badge Policy, as well as forms for replacement badges and status changes, is available on the OSB website https://www.doa.la.gov/doa/osb/badging-office.
Keys to offices are supplied by OSB and issued by the agency/section building coordinator to the employee, contractor, student, or intern needing access. Requests for duplicates keys are submitted to Work Control at DOA-WorkControlGroup@la.gov. For guidance regarding issuance of keys, refer to the Key Issuance Policy located on DOA-OSB’s webpage.
For state agencies housed in privately owned buildings, the tenant agency should have a copy of or be able to access the building’s security and key control policies upon request. In addition, the state agencies must have their own internal security policy regarding visitor and employee access.
The Office of Technology Services’ Information Security Team has established a comprehensive information security program. The Information Security Policy is located on the OTS website at https://www.doa.la.gov/doa/ots/about-us/infosec. Pursuant to the provisions of Act 712 of the 2014 Regular Legislative Session, all entities under the authority of the OTS shall comply with this policy.
1 Please see La. R.S. §39:330. Responsibility for property; bond for property manager; trade-ins for higher education boards and institutions and vocational-technical schools
2 Please see La. R.S. §47:1676. Debt recovery
NOTE: This policy text is provided online for your convenience. The signed original policy document remains on file in the Division of Administration Office of Human Resources.
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