Finding: 2023-010 Environmental Finance Center Grants – Assistance Listing No. 66.203 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Gra...
Finding: 2023-010 Environmental Finance Center Grants – Assistance Listing No. 66.203 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Grant No. 539001D, Grant period July 1,2022 - September 30, 2023 Grant No. 5127620, Grant period October 1, 2022 – September 30,2023 Grant No. 5126607, Grant period July 1,2022 - September 30, 2023 Description of the Findings: For the period from October 2022 thru May 2023 U.S. Water Alliance did not have a timekeeping system in place. A timekeeping system was implemented in June of 2023, that provides for employees to record hours worked for specific cost objectives, including Federal grants. There are limitations to the timekeeping system’s capabilities. One is no availability to run timesheet reports for closed grants after the grant period ended. Second is the need to
manually adjust hours transferred from the timekeeping system to payroll processing system due to semi-monthly payroll processing and the need to have total number of hours equal to 86.67 for
salaried employees. For these three awards, budget estimates or relative level of effort by percent of full-time employees and active projects were used throughout the entire grant period, even after
the timekeeping system was put in place. No reconciliation between the budget estimates or relative level of effort by percent of full-time employees and active projects and the hours recorded in the timekeeping system was completed even for the period in which the timekeeping system was in place. Views of Responsible Official(s) and Planned Corrective Actions: A new timekeeping system was implemented in June 2023 to allocate work hours specific to cost objectives, including Federal Grants. While there are limitations to the system, the allocations are transferred from the timekeeping system upon supervisor approval to the Prism (HRIS) Portal and used to prepare payment vouchers. From the HRIS system, we can produce labor allocation reports reflecting how the time was originally allocated in the timekeeping system. The US Water Alliance indeed operates on a semi-monthly payroll period. It has allowed the Alliance to have fixed pay dates though they may not fall on the same day of the week each month. If the pay date falls on a weekend or holiday, the pay date is typically the business day prior. Because all months are not the same length, the size of the paycheck could vary in that the first paycheck could cover 13-14 days and the second paycheck could cover 15-16 days. To eliminate the variation in the size of the paycheck, specifically for salaried employees, the total yearly salary is evenly divided between 24 payments resulting in the same paycheck amount each time. This division results in 86.67 hours paid in each paycheck and will at times require our payroll partner to adjust the hours allocated downward or upward to equal 86.67. In the rare case that work hours are adjusted upward, the work hours are allocated to the primary funding source for the position. The process has worked traditionally as the Alliance has no hourly employees. Specifically for the three awards referenced, reconciliation between the budget estimates, relative level of effort by percent of full-time employees and active projects, and the hours recorded in the timekeeping system were completed. Staff opted to continue reporting on relative level of effort by percent of full-time
employees as opposed to shifting as the timekeeping system was very new and staff experienced a significant learning curve. Additionally, there were only two months left in the grant period. Relative level of effort was carefully documented internally via calendars, Monday.com project management software, and Excel spreadsheets.
Since its implementation, staff have been better trained in the use of the timekeeping system. We are also transitioning to a new timekeeping system in December 2024 with enhanced reporting and
ease of use. The Alliance will also shift to a bi-weekly payroll period effectively reducing the need to adjust work hour allocations upward or downward to equal 86.67 hours. Completion Date: June 2023 Responsible Official(s): ShaQuina Davis