The case of the missing taxpayer-funded ice cream machine

An ice cream machine worth $3200 owned by North Metro TAFE is just one of hundreds of portable assets that have vanished without a trace from the books of five government agencies.

Auditor General Caroline Spencer probed how assets worth up to $5000 were recorded and tracked at five government agencies: Chem Centre, Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, Forest Products Commission, North Metro TAFE and the WA Country Health Service.

What Spencer found was worrying.

“As a part of this audit we searched for assets on entities’ registers and attempted to locate the physical assets on site. We also searched for assets either stored on site, or which had been recently purchased, and attempted to find them on the relevant register,” she said.

“Of the five entities we audited, only ChemCentre had a full understanding of what portable assets they had and where they were located.

“They also conducted regular stocktakes and had good disposal records. ChemCentre’s controls minimised the likelihood of service disruption, misuse and loss.

“In stark contrast, the Forest Products Commission did not know what portable assets they had and were not conducting stocktakes.

“Four entities do not know the location of all their portable assets. More than a third of the 115 portable assets we sampled across all entities were not at their recorded locations.”

The ice cream machine was one of the most valuable assets that couldn’t be found, along with a telescopic pole pruner owned by the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board valued at $1079 and a spray gun at the Forest Products Commission.

WACHS could also not locate a vital signs monitor worth $4830.

“In September 2024, a [cemeteries board] stocktake at six cemeteries could not locate 8 per cent (108) of the 1297 portable assets on its register, despite multiple search efforts. Management approved the removal of all 108 assets from the register as a result of the stocktake,” the report said.

Spencer also uncovered recent purchases of valuable products including a $2830 telescope for WACHS that were not recorded on any register.

Spencer recommended the agencies probed should review and update their asset recording procedures.

In response to the audit, all five agencies committed to improving asset management practices.

“The organisation is committed to strengthening the management and reporting of low-value and portable assets and will implement the recommendations within appropriate timeframes,” North Metro TAFE said.

The Metropolitan Cemeteries Board said many of its garden tools were stored at one location and used at other sites on a daily basis.

“The nature of this usage creates difficulties in undertaking stocktakes during working hours and necessitates an improvement in the tracking of those assets during use,” it said.