Audit 403848

Section III – Federal Award Findings and Questioned Costs 2021-004 – Compliance Finding Federal agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Federal program title: COVID-19 Provider Relief Fund (PRF) – Period 1 Assistance Listing No.: 93.498 Criteria: Provider Relief Funds were provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and are to be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. The funds shall reimburse the recipient only for expenses or lost revenues that are attributable to coronavirus. The funds may not be used to reimburse expenses or lost revenues that have been reimbursed from other sources or that other sources are obligated to reimburse. Condition: The Authority reported duplicate expenses within the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Reporting Portal Period 1 submission. Cause: Although the Authority has a process in place to identify and report allowable expenses, an appropriate review process was not in place to detect and correct any duplicate expenditures. Effect: The Authority reported expenses within the HHS HRSA Reporting Portal Period 1 submission which were not allowed based on the terms and conditions of the award. Questioned costs: The following expenditures were improperly included in the Period 1 reporting submission: - Duplicate Expenditures $121,534 Context: Upon testing the compliance requirements of this program, it was determined that certain expenditure items were reported twice, and therefore not in compliance with guidance provided by HHS. The Authority has additional lost revenues that were included with the Period 1 submission that they believe would offset the issues identified above. Recommendations: We recommend the Authority design and implement controls, including levels of review, to ensure qualifying expenses submitted are in accordance with the HHS guidelines. Views of responsible officials of the auditee: See management’s corrective action plan.