2024-006 Procurement and Suspension and Debarment Prior Year Finding Number: 2023-005 Year of Finding Origination: 2020 Type of Finding: Internal Control Over Compliance and Compliance Severity of Deficiency: Significant Deficiency and Other Matter Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Program: 21.027 COVID-19 – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Award Number and Year: SLFRP3474, 2021 Pass-Through Agency: N/A – Federal Direct Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations § 200.303 states that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the auditee is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award. Federal requirements prohibit non-federal entities from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations § 180.300 describes a required verification process. Prior to entering into the transaction, one of the following must be performed: (1) checking SAM.gov exclusions, (2) collecting a certification, or (3) adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with the contracting party. Condition: The County did not verify that vendors were not debarred, suspended, or otherwise excluded from participation in federal assistance programs or activities before entering into the covered transactions. Questioned Costs: None. Context: The County has revised its procurement policies to include components of federal procurement requirements related to suspension and debarment; these are pending review and approval by the Board of County Commissioners. The vendors paid with federal funds from this program were not listed as suspended or debarred on SAM.gov at the time of audit. Effect: Failure to verify vendors are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded prior to entering into a covered transaction may result in the County entering into a transaction with a vendor that is not authorized to provide goods and services under the grant. Cause: The County’s written procurement policy does not include requirements specific to suspension and debarment. Recommendation: We recommend the County include the specific components of federal procurement requirements in its written procurement policies and procedures. View of Responsible Official: Concur
2024-007 Reporting Prior Year Finding Number: N/A Year of Finding Origination: 2024 Type of Finding: Internal Control Over Compliance and Compliance Severity of Deficiency: Material Weakness and Modified Opinion Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Program: 21.027 COVID-19 – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Award Number and Year: SLFRP3474, 2021 Pass-Through Agency: N/A – Federal Direct Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations § 200.303 states that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the auditee is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award. Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations § 200.510(b) states that the auditee must prepare a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) for the period covered by the auditee’s financial statements which must include the total federal awards expended as determined in accordance with § 200.502, basis for determining federal awards expended. In addition, the U.S. Department of the Treasury requires recipients of funds to submit Project and Expenditure reports that include, by project, current period obligations, cumulative obligations, current period expenditures, and cumulative expenditures. The frequency of reporting is dependent on the size of the entity and amount of funding received. Condition: During 2024, McLeod County identified an additional $1,302,426 in COVID-19 – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds expenditures that were not included in the County’s original SEFA nor in the original population of expenditures provided for audit. In addition, expenditures documented in the County’s annual Project and Expenditure report through March 31, 2025, were understated by $1,515,400, and expenditures documented in the County’s annual Project and Expenditure report through March 31, 2024, were understated by $374,095. Questioned Costs: None. Context: The U.S. Department of the Treasury relies on accurate reporting of program costs to ensure grant funds are spent in accordance with program requirements. McLeod County is required to submit annual Project and Expenditure reports; the County submitted annual reports in both April 2024 and April 2025. Effect: Federal expenditures provided to the auditors were not fairly reported in the SEFA. In addition, the County did not accurately report expenditures on its Project and Expenditure reports as of March 31, 2025, and March 31, 2024. Cause: Due to human error, the County reported funds as obligated instead of expended because of additional projects that are ongoing. Recommendation: We recommend the County implement controls that ensure proper identification of federal expenditures in accordance with program requirements and that federal program reports are accurate. We also recommend the County submit revised Project and Expenditure reports as of March 31, 2025, and March 31, 2024. View of Responsible Official: Concur