POL00379713 - Audit report of Post Office Pulborough branch to Elaine Ridge from Susan Swabey.

Evidence on official site

POL00379713

POL00379713

IN CONFIDENCE

To: From: cc:
Elaine Ridge Susan Swabey Darryl Kennedy
Contracts Field Support Fraud Team Manager
Advisor Advisor
Jane Rattue
Field Support Team Leader

Branchsupportteam GRO

Date: 12/12/12

Audit of Post Office@Pulborough, Branch Code 276458.

On the 11" December 2012 I visited the branch to do an Intervention Cash Check
which then proceeded into an audit. I was accompanied by my colleague Jane
Gwilliam on the 11" December and on the 12" of December Jane Gwilliam and
Keith Noverre — both also Field Support Advisors.

The purpose of this audit was to verify financial assets due to the Post Office®.

The audit revealed a shortage in the branch of £ 19669.53. A breakdown of the
audit result and details of the audit findings are as follows:

£  18284.10 (-) Identified as a difference in cash figures

£ 1140.10 (-) Identified as a difference in stock figures

£ 163.02 (+) Identified as a difference in postage figures

£ 65.35 (-) Identified as a difference in foreign currency figures
£ 343.00 (-) Discrepancy as per office snapshot

£ 19669.53 (-) Total Shortage

I arrived at the branch at 07:00 am and introduced myself to the Postmaster Mr
Yogen Patel and advised that I was there to perform a cash check on behalf of
Post Office Ltd.

Mr Patel allowed me access to the secure area, and was present in the secure
area whilst the cash check was carried out

I had earlier contacted the Network Business Support Centre (NBSC) at
approximately 06.55am and advised that a cash check would be performed at the
branch, and that it would remain closed until its conclusion. The nominated
branches offered were: Storrington and West Chiltington and a notice placed on
display at the branch detailing this information.

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Mr Patel created me as a user and I obtained an office snapshot and other
reports required to carry out a cash check..

The office is a one position open plan branch with a secure area in the rear of the
shop containing the safe.

The counter cash was already in the open plan drawers and I counted this with Mr
Patel in attendance. We both then went to the secure area and counted the cash
kept in the safe. After counting all the cash on hand I asked Mr Patel if there was
any other Post Office cash as it was apparent there would be a shortage in the
branch in excess of approximately £21,000.00. Mr Patel confirmed that I had
counted all the cash. I asked Mr Patel if he was expecting to be short of this
amount, and he replied that he was expecting to be around seven or eight
thousand pounds short.

I wrote a short note to this effect which Mr Patel signed and this has been
forwarded to Darrell Kennedy in the Security Team.

I then phoned at approximately 08:45am my Line Manager — Field Team Leader
Jane Rattue and reported that due to the pending cash shortage the cash check
would have to be escalated to a full Tier 2 Audit. Jane Rattue then advised that
she would request my colleague Jane Gwilliam to come and assist. I obtained
additional reports from Horizon required to complete a full audit.

Jane Gwilliam arrived at approximately 09:45am and she proceeded to check all
of the cash and stock and I also checked all of the stock. It was then evident that
there were some stock discrepancies.

I then asked Mr Patel if there was any further cash or stock elsewhere that hadn’t
been included in the audit. His reply was that we had counted all of the cash and
stock in branch.

Mr Patel was then advised that he should satisfy himself that the figures of the
audit team were correct. Therefore, we asked Mr Patel if he would do his own
independent count of all the cash on hand again, which he declined to do so as
he said he had witnessed us counting all of the cash and stock and agreed with
the outcome.

I then telephoned yourself at 12:19pm to report a preliminary suspected shortage
of approximately £20,000.00 and that I would ring you back with the final figure
once I had completed the audit.

I also notified Darrell Kennedy, Fraud Team Manager at 12:46pm to relay these
initial findings.

You advised me that Mr Patel would be temporarily suspended and to secure all
cash and stock in branch safe and to contact Romec to change the alarm codes

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and to request all keys from Mr Patel. I contacted Romec at 14:00 and we tried to
change code but were unsuccessful and I was advised that I would have to wait
for an engineer to attend.

The decision taken was to precautionary suspend Mr Patel at approximately
15:00. The assets were secured in the safe and the keys taken by Susan Swabey
Field Support Advisor along with the alarm code that was to be changed.

NBSC contacted the branch at approximately 15:45 and we advised that the office
would remain closed until further notice.

It was then decided that as the weather conditions were deteriorating that my
colleague Jane Gwilliam would need to leave due to a long car journey home and
that we would return the following day (12 December 2012) to conclude the
audit. I remained at the office to wait for the Romec engineer to arrive which was
approximately 17:45. The alarm code was changed and I left the office at around
18:00.

On the 12" December 2012 I returned to the office at 09:00 with my colleagues
Jane Gwilliam and Keith Noverre and the audit was concluded and the branch
was rolled into TP 18 BPO6 and a Final Account Produced.

The amount of £19669.53 was posted to Late Account.
I obtained from Mr Patel the last thirteen Branch Trading Statements and these
were forwarded with a copy of the Event Balancing Log and the audit working

papers to Darrell Kennedy.

No Compliance Tests were carried out at this audit other than those control gaps
that were observed whilst on site

If you require any additional information, please contact me on the telephone
number below

Name Susan Swabey
Lead Auditor

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