Audit 389347

FY End
2025-05-31
Total Expended
$2.68M
Findings
4
Programs
3
Year: 2025 Accepted: 2026-02-26

Organization Exclusion Status:

Checking exclusion status...

Findings

ID Ref Severity Repeat Requirement
1175560 2025-004 Material Weakness Yes H
1175561 2025-005 Material Weakness Yes C
1175562 2025-006 Material Weakness Yes I
1175563 2025-007 Material Weakness Yes L

Contacts

Name Title Type
NYL9MZQBPPP9 James Allen Auditee
2562595313 Gene Gossett, CPA Auditor
No contacts on file

Notes to SEFA

The accompanying Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (the "Schedule") includes the federal grant activity of Northeast Alabama Health Services, Inc., and is presented on the accrual basis of accounting. The information in this Schedule is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Because the Schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of Northeast Alabama Health Services, Inc., it is not intended to and does not present the financial position or changes in net assets of Northeast Alabama Health Services, Inc.
Health Services, Inc., has Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in the Uniform Guidance wherein certain types of expenditures are not allowable or are limited as to reimbursement. Northeast Alabama not elected to use the 10-percent de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed in the Uniform Guidance.

Finding Details

CFDA Number: 93.224 Federal Program or Cluster: Health Center Program Cluster Grantor Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Federal Award Identification: H8FCS41177 Compliance Requirements: Period of Performance Type of Finding: Noncompliance/Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance Known Questioned Costs: $1,248,456 Criteria: Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for HHS Awards-45 CFR Part 75 (in effect on 9/30/2025) ("45 CFR Part 75") Section 75.309 Period of performance and availability of funds states that "a. A non-Federal entity may charge to the Federal award only allowable costs incurred during the period of performance and any costs incurred before the HHS awarding agency or pass-through entity made the Federal award that were authorized by the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity. Funds available to pay allowable costs during the period of performance include both Federal funds awarded and carryover balances." and "b. A non-Federal entity must liquidate all obligations incurred under the award not later than 90 days after the end of the funding period (or as specified in a program regulation) to coincide with the submission of the final Federal Financial Report (FFR). This deadline may be extended with prior written approval from the HHS awarding agency." Per the original Notice of Award for this program, the Budget Period Start Date was April 1, 2021 and the Budget Period End Date was March 31, 2023. The original Notice of Award, under Program Specific Terms, also states that "this notice of award provides onetime funding for a 2-year period of performance. In March, 2023, the Organization applied for and was granted a 12 month extension of the Budget Period End Date to March 31, 2024. Also, per the original Notice of Award, the FFR was due on July 30, 2024 - 120 days after the budget period end date, so per 45 CFR Part 75 Section 75.309, above, the deadline for liquidating all obligations for this federal awards was July 30, 2024. Condition: During July, 2024, the Organization drew the remaining H8F funds of $1,270,464, and recorded this amount as a credit to a balance sheet account, indicating these were unspent or unearned grant funds. Throughout the year ended May 31, 2025, as expenditures were made, the Organization recorded debits to this balance sheet account, crediting a grant revenue account. The Organization's internal controls over compliance failed to prevent, or detect and correct, this noncompliance. Cause: Organization personnel were not aware of the period of performance with respect to this federal award. The Organization's previous CEO retired approximately May 31, 2024. Per inquiry of the Organizaton's CFO, their understanding was that the deadline to obligate for this federal award was December 31, 2024, and the deadline to expend or liquidate was December 31, 2026. Effect or Potential Effect: By expending federal award funds that 1) were not obligated by the period of performance end date, and 2) that were not liquidated by 120 days after the period of performance end date, the Organization did not comply with the requirements of 45 CFR Part 75 Section 75.309. Context: We requested supporting detail of the $1,270,464 expenditures made during the year for this Federal award as reported in the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. We received a spreadsheet that contained a list of 26 descriptions and amounts, but no transactional detail such as check numbers, check dates, payee, invoice number, invoice date, etc. All were determined to be expenditures of the current fiscal year from June 1, 2024 through May 31, 2025, and, other than $22,008 that was obligated by contract entered into before the period of performance end date, were determined to have not been obligated by the period of performance end date and/or were determined to have not been liquidated by the July 30, 2024, deadline for liquidating obligations. Repeat finding? No Recommendation: We recommend that the Organization provide grants management training to all its financial staff and management covering the Uniform Guidance/OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. We also recommend that the Organization develop and implement policies and procedures that ensure: 1) all staff are aware of the the period of performance for each federal awards; 2) the Organization's financial management records and systems include the ability to monitor and track the status of each federal award throughout its period of performance, especially for one-time funding awards. Views of Responsible Officials: We agree with the finding. We have never received the proper training. See Corrective Action Plan for Reference 2025-004.
CFDA Number: 93.224 Federal Program or Cluster: Health Center Program Cluster Grantor Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Federal Award Identification: H8FCS41177 Compliance Requirements: Cash Management Type of Finding: Noncompliance/Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance Questioned Costs: None Criteria: Per 2 CFR Part 200, Section 200.305, Federal payment, "payment methods must minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of funds from the Federal agency...and the disbursement of funds by the recipient… 2 CFR Part 200, Section 200.302(b)(6) also requires written procedures to implement the requirements of Section 200.305. Per HHS Grant Policy Statement: “In accordance with Dept of Treasury regulations, you must draw federal cash only for your immediate needs. At the time of draw down, you will certify you will not hold cash beyond three working days… Do not request cash to cover unliquidated encumbrances, obligation, or accrued expenditures until payment is pending”. Condition: On June 30, 2024, the Organization drew the remaining H8F funds of $1,253,464, and recorded this amount as a credit to a balance sheet account, indicating these were unspent or unearned grant funds. Throughout the year ended May 31, 2025, as expenditures were made, the Organization recorded debits to this balance sheet account, crediting a grant revenue account. The Organization's internal controls over compliance failed to prevent, or detect and correct, this noncompliance. Cause: Organization personnel were not aware of the cash management compliance requirement with respect to this federal award. The Organization's previous CEO retired approximately May 31, 2024. Per inquiry of the Organizaton's CFO, their understanding was that the deadline to obligate for this federal award was December 31, 2024, and the deadline to expend or liquidate was December 31, 2026, and they were spreading it out to what they thought was the deadline. Effect or Potential Effect: By drawing federal award funds prior to expenditure, the Organization did not comply with the requirements of 2 CFR Part 200, Section 200.305, Federal payment and of the HHS Grants Policy Statement. Context: Draws for this Federal award were taken in July, 2024 for $1,270,464. We requested supporting detail of the $1,270,464 expenditures made during the year for this Federal award as reported in the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. We received a spreadsheet that contained a list of 26 descriptions and amounts, but no transactional detail such as check numbers, check dates, payee, invoice number, invoice date, etc. After determining the check numbers and check dates for 9 of the 26 items in the spreadsheet, we noted that disburesments for 8 of those 9 occurred more than 3 days after the date the draw, with 2 disbursements made more than 5 months after the date of the draw. Repeat Finding? No Recommendation: We recommend that the Organization provide grants management training to all its financial staff and management covering the Uniform Guidance/OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. We also recommend that the Organization develop and implement policies and procedures that ensure grant funds are drawn at the time of, or following, expenditures for allowable costs by the Organization. These policies and procedures should include that, for each draw from a Federal award, 1) detailed documentation of the expenditures for which the grant funds are being drawn is prepared prior requesting the draw, including transactional details such as vendor, invoice number, invoice amount, check number, check date, payee, and check amount; 2) that the documentation supporting the draw is reviewed and approved by a member of management (other than the person who prepares the documentation) prior to requesting the draw, and 3) that the documentation supported each draw is maintained as part of the Organization's accounting records. Views of Responsible Officials: We agree with the finding. We have never received proper training. See Corrective Action Plan for Reference 2025-005.
CFDA Number: 93.224 Federal Program or Cluster: Health Center Program Cluster Grantor Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Federal Award Identification: H8FCS41177 Compliance Requirements: Procurement and Suspension or Debarment Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance Questioned Costs: None Criteria: The Organization's Financial Policies and Procedures Manual, under Requisitioning, Purchasing, and Receiving Policies & Procedures, states: "If the purchase order is for any goods or service that will be paid for directly from Federal dollars then the purchasing follows Office of Management and Budget Circular 2 CFR CHAPTER I, CHAPTER II, PART 200, ET AL. guidelines. One of the following methods will be used when purchasing goods or services with federal dollars: Micro-purchase for items up to $10,000, small purchase for items up to $150,000, sealed bids for items over $150,000, competitive proposal, or non-competitive proposal. All procurements directly attributable to the federal award will be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition and will only include costs allowable, consistent with Federal Cost Principles 45 CFR Part 75 Subpart E: Cost Principles." 45 CFR Part 75, Section 75.329 Procurement procedures, states: "The non-Federal entity must use one of the following methods of procurement. (b) Procurement by small purchase procedures. Small purchase procedures are those relatively simple and informal procurement methods for securing services, supplies, or other property that do not cost more than the Simplified Acquisition Threshold. If small purchase procedures are used, price or rate quotations must be obtained from an adequate number of qualified sources . Condition: Organization staff and management appear to be applying their procurement policies that require bids for all purchases in general that exceed $25,000, but not the additional policies and procedures that apply to purchases that will be paid from Federal dollars, that apply for procurements greater than $10,000 but less than $150,000. Cause: Organization staff and management do not appear to be knowledgeable of the Organization's procurement policies and procedures. Effect or Potential Effect: The Organization could make procurements that do not comply with the requirements of 45 CFR Part 75 Section 75.329 and 2 CFR Part 200, Section 200.320 Procurement methods. Context: We requested documentation to support that the Organization followed its procurement policies and procedures, we were told that no individual items were purchased with federal grant funds during the year that exceeded their $25,000 requirement for a bid. None of the transactions for the procurements we selected for testing occurred within the period of performance for the federal awards. Repeat finding? No Recommendation: We recommend that the Organization provide grants management training to all its financial staff and management covering the Uniform Guidance/OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance, as well as the Organization's Financial Policies and Procedures Manual. We also recommend that the Organization develop and implement policies and procedures that proper monitoring of its procurements is being done to ensure the Organization's policies and procedures are being followed. Views of Responsible Officials: We agree with the finding. We have never received proper training. See Corrective Action Plan for Reference 2025-006.
CFDA Number: 93.224 Federal Program or Cluster: Health Center Program Cluster Grantor Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Federal Award Identification: H8FCS41177 Compliance Requirements: Reporting Type of Finding: Noncompliance/Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance Quiestioned Costs: None Criteria: 2 CFR Part 200, Section 200.302 Financial management requires that the Organization's financial management system must provide for the following: 1) Identification of all Federal awards received and expended and the Federal programs under which they were received..; and 2) Accurate, current, and complete disclosure of the financial results of each Federal award or program in accordance with the reporting requirements in Sections 200.328 and 200.329. Section 200.328 Financial reporting states that the required financial reporting consists of the Federal Financial Report (SF-425). Condition: The SF-425 Federal Financial Report filed by the Organization for the H8FCS41177 Federal award reported that cash disbursements of $2,675,250, the total amount of the Federal award, had been made. However, $1,248,456 of those cash disbursements were determined during our audit to not be allowable due to not being obligated and/or liquidated by the period of performance deadlines. The cash disbursements reported on the SF-425 were not readily determinable from the Organization's general ledger accounts. Cause: Organization personnel were not aware of the period of performance with respect to this federal award. The Organization's previous CEO retired approximately May 31, 2024. Per inquiry of the Organizaton's CFO, their understanding was that the deadline to obligate for this federal award was December 31, 2024, and the deadline to expend or liquidate was December 31, 2026. The Organizaton's chart of accounts and general ledger do not include separate and distinct accounts or classes to which federal award expenditures are recorded. Effect or Potential Effect: The SF-425 Federal Financial Report filed by the Organization included cash disbursements of $1,248,456 that were not chargeable to the Federal award because they were not obligated before the period of performance end date and/or the payment was not made before the deadline to liquidate obligations. Context: We requested detail of expenditures for the Federal award and were provided with manual spreadsheets lacking all the transactional details needed. Information from the general ledger did not agree with cash disbursements reported on the SF-425. The general ledger information indicated $1,185,164 of the Federal award had not yet been disbursed at the time the SF-425 was filed. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend that the Organization provide grants management training to all its financial staff and management covering the Uniform Guidance/OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. We also recommend that the Organization develop and implement policies and procedures for financial and performance report preparation to ensure information is supported by proper documentation and agrees with the general ledger. These policies and procedures should also include a requirement that all reports are reviewed by a member of management who is not involved in the preparation of the reports. Views of Responsible Officials: We agree with the finding. We have never received proper training. See Corrective Action Plan for Reference 2025-007.