Summary of Audit Findings: Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana Governmental Services Department
Here’s a breakdown of the key information from the provided article:
What happened?
An independent audit of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana Governmental Services Department, conducted by SJT Group LLC, revealed issues with credit card transactions. The audit, released by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s office, found that many purchases lacked proper documentation or didn’t adhere to tribal policies. These issues were reportedly similar to those previously identified.
key Findings (based on a review of $387,993 in charges over two months):
$105,416 (344 transactions) lacked receipts.
$100,254 (157 transactions) lacked documentation explaining the business purpose of the purchase.
$73,515 (98 travel charges) were made without a required travel request form.
A significant portion of charges were categorized under “other expenses – council.”
Inconsistent documentation makes accurate expense tracking difficult.
Tribal Council Response:
The Tribal Council stated they take financial accountability seriously. They highlighted that they have already taken corrective action by:
Eliminating Council credit cards and implementing a formal expense reporting/reimbursement policy.
Extending the elimination of departmental credit cards across all departments. They expressed disappointment that the audit didn’t acknowledge these improvements.
Tribal Policy (as stated in the article):
Receipts and documentation are required for all charges to verify business purpose.
Charges under $50 don’t require support.
Charges over $50 require monthly reconciliation with supporting documentation.
Travel charges require a travel request form and an expense report detailing learnings from any training.Auditor concerns & Recommendations:
The existing credit card policy isn’t being consistently enforced. This could lead to improper payments and potential IRS liabilities (unpaid taxes, penalties, interest) for both the Tribe and employees.
Recommendations:
Prompt submission of all receipts and documentation.
Require travel request forms for travel charges.
Accounting personnel to audit statements and verify purchases.
Unsupported charges will be treated as receivables (deducted from paychecks).
Unreimbursed/unsupported charges will be reported as income on W-2 forms.
publication Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2025.
