The Salt Lake County Health Department has fully implemented four of ten recommendations from a previous audit of its travel expenses, according to a preliminary follow-up report released October 20, 2026.
The report, prepared by County Auditor Chris Harding, notes that five recommendations from the original December 2025 audit remain in progress, while one recommendation could not be tested.
The four implemented recommendations address traveler signatures, required approval signatures on the Request for Travel Allowance Form, electronic retention of completed travel documentation, and documented internal review of travel forms with supporting documentation. Some of these were achieved through alternative controls rather than mandatory electronic signature fields.
Specifically, the department implemented a review control where an Executive Assistant reviews the travel packet and documents the review with written initials on the paper-based Request for Travel Allowance Form. Testing confirmed that 14 sampled travel packets contained these initials and the required traveler signatures.
Five recommendations are currently in progress, addressing written procedures to prevent self-approval of travel, completion of required training by all travel coordinators and approvers, written procedures for retaining GSA rate documentation, the implementation of a standardized process or checklist for retaining GSA rates and airfare quotes, and the incorporation of an acknowledgment of Countywide Policy 1019 into annual travel training.
Management reported it has begun corrective action for these items, but additional work is required before implementation can be verified. For example, while the department provides annual training, two of 27 employees serving as travel coordinators or approvers had not completed it as of August 27, 2026.
The original audit, issued in December 2025, identified four findings containing ten recommendations for improvement. This follow-up audit covered the period from February 15, 2026, through August 30, 2026.
One recommendation regarding the documentation of reasons for late travel submissions was unable to be tested. Because none of the 14 sampled travel packets were submitted less than 10 working days prior to a traveler's departure, auditors could not determine if the requirement for documenting delays operated as intended.
The Auditor’s Office is scheduled to conduct a secondary follow-up audit no earlier than April 2027 to reassess the status of the remaining six recommendations.
