All requests for payment of expenses incurred on behalf of the County are processed through the Pre-Audit and Accounts Payable work groups. These groups, reporting to the General Accounting and Financial Systems supervisors respectively, also process payment requests for several affiliated agencies that have contracted with the county for accounting services.

As implied in the name, Pre-Audit analyzes all documents submitted for payment to ensure their validity and compliance with financial policies and procedures.

In addition, invoices are received and either forwarded or matched to purchase orders for payment; purchase orders needing receipt verification are forwarded to the appropriate department; unreconciled purchase orders, requisitions, and invoices are monitored to ensure timely payment; and questions from vendors and County departmental personnel regarding payment status are researched.

Serving as the central processing unit between County and affiliate agencies, the Purchasing Division and vendors expecting payment for goods or services, Pre-Audit processes an average of more than 1,200 payment requests each week. When the required validity tests have been passed, the documents are marked to identify key information, and forwarded to the Accounts Payable work group.

The Accounts Payable group is the final check point prior to creation of a payment document (payable warrant). Responsible for entering all pertinent information into the computerized accounting system, this group double-checks the accuracy of the information presented by combining system features and knowledge of financial policies and procedures.

Working closely with Pre-Audit, Accounts Payable ensures the timely and accurate payment of checks by processing all documents received within an average of 24 hours. This ensures minimal delay in the creation of the more than 50,000 payable warrants per year.