Book excerpt: The fed. gov't. expended $15 billion through Fed. purchase card programs (PCP) in FY 2002. Fed. agencies are responsible for establishing and maintaining internal control to provide reasonable assurance that: the goals and objectives of the PCP are met; and safeguards against fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases are adequate. This guide focuses on audits of internal control activities -- designed to prevent or detect fraudulent, improper, and abusive purchases -- in gov't. PCPs. Provides practical guidance for consideration by internal and external auditors, investigators, and program management oversight personnel in assessing the adequacy and performance of those control activities and identifying areas of internal control for potential improvement.