Material Weakness; 2019-003 Compliance with Reporting Under the Uniform Guidance; Information on Federal Program: U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistance Listing No. 14.871.; Criteria: According to the code of federal regulations section § 200.520 (a), single audits must be performed on an annual basis, including submitting the data collection form and the reporting package to the FAC within the timeframe specified in §200.512 which is the earlier of 30 calendar days after receipt of the auditor’s report or nine months after the end of the audit period.; Statement of Condition: The data collection forms for the years 2019 through 2022 have not been submitted timely.; Statement of Cause: Due to significant turnover in key positions within the Town’s fiscal office, the financial audits are currently behind. The results of the financial audits are required as part of the submission with the data collection form to the FAC, therefore, the data collection forms cannot be completed and submitted until the completion of the financial audits.; Statement of Effect: The Town was not in compliance with federal guidelines.; Questioned Cost: None.; Repeat Finding: Yes.; Perspective Information: As part of testing the compliance with the Uniform Guidance, the dates of the submissions to the FAC are reviewed.; Recommendation: The Town should follow federal guidelines by submitting the data collection form to the FAC in a timely manner.; Views of responsible officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The Town of Guilderland Comptroller’s Office suffered significant turnover in key positions during the fiscal years of 2019 and 2021 including the retirement of the Town Comptroller and Fiscal Officer. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had significant impact to the Town, particularly during 2020 when remote work was encouraged. This combination and sequence of events made it impossible to meet the required external audit reporting deadlines. Since these events, the Town has filled the vacant positions and has scheduled all remaining audits. The auditors are working as expeditiously as possible to complete the remaining audits. The required reporting noted in the guidelines above cannot be completed until each prior year audit is finished, therefore causing a delay in each fiscal year’s reporting.
Material Weakness; 2019-004 Compliance with Reporting to Housing and Urban Development; Information on Federal Program: U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistance Listing No. 14.871.; Criteria: According to 24 CFR § 5.801, audited financial statements must be submitted to HUD annually, no later than nine months after the end of the fiscal year or the reporting period.; Statement of Condition: The financial information submission was not submitted timely.; Statement of Cause: Due to significant turnover in key positions within the Town’s fiscal office, the financial audits are currently behind. The results of the financial audits are required as part of the submission with the REAC, therefore, the REAC cannot be completed and submitted until the completion of the financial audits.; Statement of Effect: The Town was not in compliance with federal guidelines.; Questioned Cost: None.; Repeat Finding: No.; Perspective Information: As part of testing the compliance with the reporting requirements of the program, the submission of the REAC form is reviewed and additional procedures performed related to the information contained in the REAC submission related to the audited financial statements. As the financial statements have not yet been audited, this review could not be completed.; Recommendation: The Town should follow federal guidelines by submitting the audited financial statement to HUD through the REAC submission in a timely manner.; Views of responsible officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The Town of Guilderland Comptroller’s Office suffered significant turnover in key positions during the fiscal years of 2019 and 2021 including the retirement of the Town Comptroller and Fiscal Officer. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had significant impact to the Town, particularly during 2020 when remote work was encouraged. This combination and sequence of events made it impossible to meet the required external audit reporting deadlines. Since these events, the Town has filled the vacant positions and has scheduled all remaining audits. The auditors are working as expeditiously as possible to complete the remaining audits. The required reporting noted in the guidelines above cannot be completed until each prior year audit is finished, therefore causing a delay in each fiscal year’s reporting.
Significant Deficiency; 2019-005 Certification Signatures; Information on Federal Program: U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistance Listing No. 14.871.; Criteria: According to 24 CFR § 5.659, any information supplied by the family must be true and complete. The Certification Form is the documentation utilized for the family and program manager to attest that all information that has been provided is true and complete.; Statement of Condition: Three certification forms examined were missing either the family signature or the program manager.; Statement of Cause: Due to the automated signature system not being set up for a particular employee, there were forms that were missing the program manager signature. Signatures of the family missing were an oversight.; Statement of Effect: The HUD program was not in compliance with federal guidelines.; Questioned Cost: None.; Repeat Finding: No.; Perspective Information: As part of testing the compliance requirements of the program, a sample of certification forms is examined to ensure proper signatures are present.; Recommendation: The program administrator should ensure that all signatures are present on all required documentation.; Views of responsible officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The Town contracts with a third-party administrator for our Section 8 housing program. Their document creation system incorporates an automated signature feature that facilitates the placement of scanned signatures on forms during the review and printing process by case-workers. Unfortunately, during the training of a new employee on their system, an oversight occurred in setting up their electronic signature, resulting in missing signatures on a small number of certification forms. To address this issue, they have enhanced their "New User Checklist" to include a specific step for configuring electronic signatures for new employees. Additionally, the employees responsible for these oversights have been replaced, and the incident prompted a thorough review of their procedures. The current department managers have implemented training protocols to ensure that staff verify all signatures on documents. Additionally, third-party audits for various municipalities as well as their SOC audit have been conducted subsequently and did not reveal any additional instances of certification forms missing signatures.
Material Weakness; 2019-003 Compliance with Reporting Under the Uniform Guidance; Information on Federal Program: U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistance Listing No. 14.871.; Criteria: According to the code of federal regulations section § 200.520 (a), single audits must be performed on an annual basis, including submitting the data collection form and the reporting package to the FAC within the timeframe specified in §200.512 which is the earlier of 30 calendar days after receipt of the auditor’s report or nine months after the end of the audit period.; Statement of Condition: The data collection forms for the years 2019 through 2022 have not been submitted timely.; Statement of Cause: Due to significant turnover in key positions within the Town’s fiscal office, the financial audits are currently behind. The results of the financial audits are required as part of the submission with the data collection form to the FAC, therefore, the data collection forms cannot be completed and submitted until the completion of the financial audits.; Statement of Effect: The Town was not in compliance with federal guidelines.; Questioned Cost: None.; Repeat Finding: Yes.; Perspective Information: As part of testing the compliance with the Uniform Guidance, the dates of the submissions to the FAC are reviewed.; Recommendation: The Town should follow federal guidelines by submitting the data collection form to the FAC in a timely manner.; Views of responsible officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The Town of Guilderland Comptroller’s Office suffered significant turnover in key positions during the fiscal years of 2019 and 2021 including the retirement of the Town Comptroller and Fiscal Officer. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had significant impact to the Town, particularly during 2020 when remote work was encouraged. This combination and sequence of events made it impossible to meet the required external audit reporting deadlines. Since these events, the Town has filled the vacant positions and has scheduled all remaining audits. The auditors are working as expeditiously as possible to complete the remaining audits. The required reporting noted in the guidelines above cannot be completed until each prior year audit is finished, therefore causing a delay in each fiscal year’s reporting.
Material Weakness; 2019-004 Compliance with Reporting to Housing and Urban Development; Information on Federal Program: U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistance Listing No. 14.871.; Criteria: According to 24 CFR § 5.801, audited financial statements must be submitted to HUD annually, no later than nine months after the end of the fiscal year or the reporting period.; Statement of Condition: The financial information submission was not submitted timely.; Statement of Cause: Due to significant turnover in key positions within the Town’s fiscal office, the financial audits are currently behind. The results of the financial audits are required as part of the submission with the REAC, therefore, the REAC cannot be completed and submitted until the completion of the financial audits.; Statement of Effect: The Town was not in compliance with federal guidelines.; Questioned Cost: None.; Repeat Finding: No.; Perspective Information: As part of testing the compliance with the reporting requirements of the program, the submission of the REAC form is reviewed and additional procedures performed related to the information contained in the REAC submission related to the audited financial statements. As the financial statements have not yet been audited, this review could not be completed.; Recommendation: The Town should follow federal guidelines by submitting the audited financial statement to HUD through the REAC submission in a timely manner.; Views of responsible officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The Town of Guilderland Comptroller’s Office suffered significant turnover in key positions during the fiscal years of 2019 and 2021 including the retirement of the Town Comptroller and Fiscal Officer. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had significant impact to the Town, particularly during 2020 when remote work was encouraged. This combination and sequence of events made it impossible to meet the required external audit reporting deadlines. Since these events, the Town has filled the vacant positions and has scheduled all remaining audits. The auditors are working as expeditiously as possible to complete the remaining audits. The required reporting noted in the guidelines above cannot be completed until each prior year audit is finished, therefore causing a delay in each fiscal year’s reporting.
Significant Deficiency; 2019-005 Certification Signatures; Information on Federal Program: U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistance Listing No. 14.871.; Criteria: According to 24 CFR § 5.659, any information supplied by the family must be true and complete. The Certification Form is the documentation utilized for the family and program manager to attest that all information that has been provided is true and complete.; Statement of Condition: Three certification forms examined were missing either the family signature or the program manager.; Statement of Cause: Due to the automated signature system not being set up for a particular employee, there were forms that were missing the program manager signature. Signatures of the family missing were an oversight.; Statement of Effect: The HUD program was not in compliance with federal guidelines.; Questioned Cost: None.; Repeat Finding: No.; Perspective Information: As part of testing the compliance requirements of the program, a sample of certification forms is examined to ensure proper signatures are present.; Recommendation: The program administrator should ensure that all signatures are present on all required documentation.; Views of responsible officials and Planned Corrective Actions: The Town contracts with a third-party administrator for our Section 8 housing program. Their document creation system incorporates an automated signature feature that facilitates the placement of scanned signatures on forms during the review and printing process by case-workers. Unfortunately, during the training of a new employee on their system, an oversight occurred in setting up their electronic signature, resulting in missing signatures on a small number of certification forms. To address this issue, they have enhanced their "New User Checklist" to include a specific step for configuring electronic signatures for new employees. Additionally, the employees responsible for these oversights have been replaced, and the incident prompted a thorough review of their procedures. The current department managers have implemented training protocols to ensure that staff verify all signatures on documents. Additionally, third-party audits for various municipalities as well as their SOC audit have been conducted subsequently and did not reveal any additional instances of certification forms missing signatures.