Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200.510(b) requires auditees to prepare a schedule of expenditures of federal awards which must report total federal awards expended during the audit period. At a minimum, the schedule must include: expenditures by individual program, program title and assistance listing number, programs required to be identified as part of a cluster, name of the pass-through entity and identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity for awards not received directly from the federal government, and the total amount provided to subrecipients from each federal program. Condition: The schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) reported by the County in the annual budget documents contained errors in amounts of federal expenditures reported. Additionally, the schedule did not include the identification of programs required to be part of a cluster, names of pass-through entities, identifying numbers assigned by the pass-through entities, or total amounts provided to subrecipients for the applicable programs. The County reported $13,375 in expenditures under assistance listing number 20.205 - Highway Planning and Construction, however, underlying accounting records support expenditures of $66,877. Cause: The County has not implemented a proper system of internal control over SEFA preparation, such as a reconciliation to underlying accounting records or having a separate individual review the SEFA for clerical accuracy after it has been prepared. Reasons for discrepancies varied. Effect: The SEFA presented for the audit did not accurately reflect the County's actual expenditures of federal awards for the year ended December 31, 2023. Recommendation: We recommend that the County implement internal controls to ensure that the SEFA completely and accurately states the expenditures of federal awards of the County each year, such as performing a reconciliation between the SEFA and underlying accounting records. Federal reimbursement grants should be reported on the SEFA based on reimbursable expenditures made during the year. Management's Response: 16.575 - U.S. Department of Justice - Crime Victim Assistance Grant. This grant provides the salary and expenses for the Prosecuting Attorney's Victim Advocate. The County Clerk utilized the year-end expenses for the Victim Advocate grant effort which included salary, office expenses, mileage and training expenses. Our records show that a grant reimbursement of $34,583 was received for 2023. In the future, the County Clerk will ensure the total grant reimbursement amounts are utilized. 16.738 - U.S. Department of Justice - Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. Our research revealed that this grant was received by our Sheriff's Office. However, the grant application and approval was not provided to the County Clerk's office. Therefore, she was unable to reflect this grant in the budget document. We have asked the Sheriff's Office to send us their grant applications so we are able to set-up a tracking system in the future. 20.205 - U.S. Department of Transportation - Highway Planning and Construction. These funds are pass-through grants from the federal government to the Missouri Department of Transportation to fund bridge replacement projects under the BRO Program. The financial audit for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, (finding 2022-003) cited Benton County for improperly accounting for these SEFA grants. The original SEFA amount in 2022 was $428,993 and was corrected to show $343,194. The difference was the 20% local match for these grants. The 2023 audit indicates that the County should report 100% of the grant, not just the 80% that will represent the federal/state funds. The County utilized the guidance from the 2022 to report for the 2023 projects, however, this was incorrect due the source of the funds used for matching. Benton County will ensure that 100% of the federal grants will be reflected in the financial documents moving forward for projects that are funded with soft match credit from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Federal Program Title: COVID-19 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
Federal Assistance Listing No.: 21.027
Award Period: 2023
Pass-through Entity: n/a
Questioned Costs: n/a
Compliance Requirement: (I) - Suspension and Debarment Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200.303 requires that non-federal entities receiving federal awards establish and maintain internal control designed to reasonably ensure compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award. Effective internal controls should include procedures in place to ensure the required certifications for covered contracts and subawards are received, documented, and contracts are not made with a debarred or suspended party. Condition: During our testing, it was noted that the County did not have adequate controls designed to ensure that suspension and debarment requirements were being met. Context: Of the 10 vendors tested, we noted that all 10 were not verified by the County or certifications from the vendors were not collected to ensure the vendors were neither suspended or debarred. Cause: The County has not designed and implemented internal controls to ensure compliance with suspension and debarment requirements outlined. Effect: Failure to obtain the required certifications or perform verification procedures with SAM.gov could result in the payment of federal funds to vendors that are suspended or debarred from participation in federal assistance programs. Recommendation: We recommend that the County implement internal controls to ensure that suspension and debarment assessments are performed during the procurement and contracting phase. In addition, sufficient documentation should be retained to evidence suspension and debarment verification is performed. Management's Response: Benton County has not established adequate controls to ensure grant recipients were not debarred or suspended from receiving federal grants. The County will establish a procedure to verify each grant recipient is authorized to receive federal grant funds.
Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200.510(b) requires auditees to prepare a schedule of expenditures of federal awards which must report total federal awards expended during the audit period. At a minimum, the schedule must include: expenditures by individual program, program title and assistance listing number, programs required to be identified as part of a cluster, name of the pass-through entity and identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity for awards not received directly from the federal government, and the total amount provided to subrecipients from each federal program. Condition: The schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) reported by the County in the annual budget documents contained errors in amounts of federal expenditures reported. Additionally, the schedule did not include the identification of programs required to be part of a cluster, names of pass-through entities, identifying numbers assigned by the pass-through entities, or total amounts provided to subrecipients for the applicable programs. The County reported $13,375 in expenditures under assistance listing number 20.205 - Highway Planning and Construction, however, underlying accounting records support expenditures of $66,877. Cause: The County has not implemented a proper system of internal control over SEFA preparation, such as a reconciliation to underlying accounting records or having a separate individual review the SEFA for clerical accuracy after it has been prepared. Reasons for discrepancies varied. Effect: The SEFA presented for the audit did not accurately reflect the County's actual expenditures of federal awards for the year ended December 31, 2023. Recommendation: We recommend that the County implement internal controls to ensure that the SEFA completely and accurately states the expenditures of federal awards of the County each year, such as performing a reconciliation between the SEFA and underlying accounting records. Federal reimbursement grants should be reported on the SEFA based on reimbursable expenditures made during the year. Management's Response: 16.575 - U.S. Department of Justice - Crime Victim Assistance Grant. This grant provides the salary and expenses for the Prosecuting Attorney's Victim Advocate. The County Clerk utilized the year-end expenses for the Victim Advocate grant effort which included salary, office expenses, mileage and training expenses. Our records show that a grant reimbursement of $34,583 was received for 2023. In the future, the County Clerk will ensure the total grant reimbursement amounts are utilized. 16.738 - U.S. Department of Justice - Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. Our research revealed that this grant was received by our Sheriff's Office. However, the grant application and approval was not provided to the County Clerk's office. Therefore, she was unable to reflect this grant in the budget document. We have asked the Sheriff's Office to send us their grant applications so we are able to set-up a tracking system in the future. 20.205 - U.S. Department of Transportation - Highway Planning and Construction. These funds are pass-through grants from the federal government to the Missouri Department of Transportation to fund bridge replacement projects under the BRO Program. The financial audit for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, (finding 2022-003) cited Benton County for improperly accounting for these SEFA grants. The original SEFA amount in 2022 was $428,993 and was corrected to show $343,194. The difference was the 20% local match for these grants. The 2023 audit indicates that the County should report 100% of the grant, not just the 80% that will represent the federal/state funds. The County utilized the guidance from the 2022 to report for the 2023 projects, however, this was incorrect due the source of the funds used for matching. Benton County will ensure that 100% of the federal grants will be reflected in the financial documents moving forward for projects that are funded with soft match credit from the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Federal Program Title: COVID-19 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
Federal Assistance Listing No.: 21.027
Award Period: 2023
Pass-through Entity: n/a
Questioned Costs: n/a
Compliance Requirement: (I) - Suspension and Debarment Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200.303 requires that non-federal entities receiving federal awards establish and maintain internal control designed to reasonably ensure compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award. Effective internal controls should include procedures in place to ensure the required certifications for covered contracts and subawards are received, documented, and contracts are not made with a debarred or suspended party. Condition: During our testing, it was noted that the County did not have adequate controls designed to ensure that suspension and debarment requirements were being met. Context: Of the 10 vendors tested, we noted that all 10 were not verified by the County or certifications from the vendors were not collected to ensure the vendors were neither suspended or debarred. Cause: The County has not designed and implemented internal controls to ensure compliance with suspension and debarment requirements outlined. Effect: Failure to obtain the required certifications or perform verification procedures with SAM.gov could result in the payment of federal funds to vendors that are suspended or debarred from participation in federal assistance programs. Recommendation: We recommend that the County implement internal controls to ensure that suspension and debarment assessments are performed during the procurement and contracting phase. In addition, sufficient documentation should be retained to evidence suspension and debarment verification is performed. Management's Response: Benton County has not established adequate controls to ensure grant recipients were not debarred or suspended from receiving federal grants. The County will establish a procedure to verify each grant recipient is authorized to receive federal grant funds.