Title: Opinion
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
Disclaimer of Opinion
Title: Opinion Part 2
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
We were engaged to audit the financial statements of Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019. We have issued our report thereon dated August 4, 2024. However, the scope of our audit of the financial statements was not sufficient to enable us to express an opinion because in 2022 the Organization hired an outsourced accounting provider to reconstruct all the accounting transactions for the year ended December 31, 2019, from bank statements and create a general ledger. The outsourced accounting provider’s systems and controls related to the services provided to the Organization were not evaluated as to their design and were not tested for their effectiveness. The transactions recorded by the outsourced accounting provider were the principal source of almost all transactions and journal entries recorded to create the financial statements for December 31, 2019. CUAHSI did not have internal controls and a functional accounting system for the year ended December 31, 2019. We could not review and reconcile approved invoices with the federal drawdowns which would have had a summary of the expenses and related indirect costs charged during the period of performance. It is possible for an entity to issue financial statements with an acceptable level of misstatements, with few or no controls placed in operation, but it would be highly unlikely if that outcome could be accomplished given the level of internal control deficiencies we observed, in combination with the unacceptable level of documentation deficiencies supporting the financial statement assertions and our auditing procedures. We identified several significant differences in account balances during our engagement that could not be reconciled, and we could not obtain assurance through extended audit procedures to resolve those differences and accordingly we did not express an opinion on such financial statements. The Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards is presented for the purposes of additional analysis and is not a required part of the basic financial statements. Because of the significance of the matter discussed above, it is inappropriate to and we do not express an opinion on the supplementary information referred to above. We are required to communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit, significant audit findings, and certain internal control-related matters that we identified during the audit. In our opinion, because of the significance of the matters discussed in Basis for Disclaimer of Opinion section of our report, CUAHSI did not comply, in all material respects, with the compliance requirements referred to above that could have a direct and material effect on the major programs of the National Science Foundation, Research and Development Cluster, AL No. 47.050, 47.070, 47.079, 47.080, and 47.083 for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Title: Basis for Opinion
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
We were engaged to audit the financial statements of Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019. We have issued our report thereon dated August 4, 2024. However, the scope of our audit of the financial statements was not sufficient to enable us to express an opinion because in 2022 the Organization hired an outsourced accounting provider to reconstruct all the accounting transactions for the year ended December 31, 2019, from bank statements and create a general ledger. The outsourced accounting provider’s systems and controls related to the services provided to the Organization were not evaluated as to their design and were not tested for their effectiveness. The transactions recorded by the outsourced accounting provider were the principal source of almost all transactions and journal entries recorded to create the financial statements for December 31, 2019.
Title: Responsibilities of Management for the Schedule
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the schedule in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the schedule that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Title: Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Schedule
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the schedule as a whole is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not absolute assurance and therefore is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, Government Auditing Standards, and the Uniform Guidance will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. Misstatements are considered material if there is a substantial likelihood that, individually or in aggregate, they would influence the judgment made by a reasonable user based on the schedule.
Title: Uniform Guidance 1
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
In performing an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, Government Auditing Standards, and the Uniform Guidance, we:
Title: Uniform Guidance 2
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
• Exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit,
Title: Uniform Guidance 3
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the schedule, whether due to fraud, or error, and design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks. Such procedures include examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the schedule.
Title: Uniform Guidance 4
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
• Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. internal control. Accordingly, no such opinion is expressed.
Title: Uniform Guidance 5
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluate the overall presentation of the schedule.
Title: Uniform Guidance 6
Accounting Policies: Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
De Minimis Rate Used: N
Rate Explanation: Used the rate of award.
We are required to communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit, significant audit findings, and certain internal control-related matters that we identified during the audit.