INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ A state audit has found that the Indiana Department of Child Services has paid more than $627,000 in penalties for not paying its vendors on time.
The Indianapolis Star reports DCS Chief Financial Officer Rick Peterson acknowledges the late fees and interest payments in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in a written response to the State Board of Accounts.
Peterson says DCS has faced several challenges, including delays caused by “incomplete or erroneous invoicing from vendors'' since 2009.
He says DCS has created a vendor portal, where invoices are entered and pre-audited to speed up the payment process. Peterson says that system has reduced late interest payments from about $181,000 in state fiscal year 2013 to about $66,000 in fiscal year 2014.
