2022-018 Oregon Housing and Community Services Controls are needed to ensure program expenditures are allowable Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistance Listing Number and Name: 14.231 Emergency Solutions Grants Program (COVID-19) Federal Award Numbers and...
2022-018 Oregon Housing and Community Services Controls are needed to ensure program expenditures are allowable Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistance Listing Number and Name: 14.231 Emergency Solutions Grants Program (COVID-19) Federal Award Numbers and Years: E-20-DW-41-0001, 2020 (COVID-19) Compliance Requirement: Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Type of Finding: Material Weakness; Material Noncompliance Prior Year Finding: N/A Questioned Costs: $245,362 (known) (COVID-19) Criteria: 24 CFR 576.100; CPD-21-08 III.E.3 Emergency Solutions Grants-Cares Act (ESG-CV) funds may be used for the five regular Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program components, as well as administrative activities: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing, and homeless management information systems (HMIS). They may also be used for additional activities including, but not limited to, temporary emergency shelter, hazard pay, handwashing stations, cell phones and internet, personal protective equipment, and laundry. The funds are disbursed to the subrecipients after reimbursement requests are submitted. Federal funds totaling $31,894,565 were distributed to 44 subrecipients during fiscal year 2022. We randomly selected 61 individual distributions made by the department to subrecipients. Subsequently, we randomly selected an expenditure from each disbursement request and then judgmentally selected additional expenditures from select disbursements. While gaining an understanding of the department?s internal control process, we learned the review process for subrecipient disbursement requests did not include a detailed verification that underlying expenditures were for allowable activities and costs. Given the department?s incomplete review process, we were unable to verify compliance by testing those reviews. The department requested supporting documentation from the subrecipients, documentation that should have been reviewed and retained by the department, for the required audit procedures to be performed. Our audit procedures were performed in three stages. First, we randomly selected 61 individual distributions made by the department to subrecipients, totaling $5,580,560. These disbursements generally consisted of reimbursement for multiple expenditures made by a subrecipient. Next, we asked the department to request a listing of expenditures from the subrecipients related to those disbursements. Finally, if provided, we agreed the listings to the disbursement and randomly and judgmentally selected individual expenditures from the listings for testing. We were unable to perform any review of 20 disbursements either because we did not receive a listing of the subrecipient?s expenditures, or the listing did not agree to the disbursement selected for testing. These disbursements related to 10 of the 44 subrecipients receiving funds in fiscal year 2022 and $1,475,345 of the $5,580,560 in disbursements selected for testing noted above. From the expenditure listings we did receive, we randomly and judgmentally selected individual expenditures to determine whether the supporting documentation agreed to the amount requested for reimbursement by the subrecipient. Of those 41 individual transactions selected for testing, there was inadequate or no supporting documentation provided for 29 items, and one instance where the request exceeded the support. These exceptions resulted in total questioned costs of $245,362. If requests for funds are not supported by documented expenditures, the department could be unknowingly reimbursing subrecipients for unallowable costs and activities. We recommend management implement internal controls to ensure subrecipient reimbursements are for allowable expendiures. MANAGEMENT RESPONSE: We agree with this recommendation. OHCS had significant staff turnover in FY22, and that coupled with the substantively increased number of subrecipients, lead to a lack of monitoring. OHCS has subsequently hired staff and established vendor relationships to perform fiscal monitoring as a backup for when staff vacancies exist. Additionally, OHCS is on track to complete fiscal and program monitoring for all subrecipients of ESG funds in FY23. Anticipated Completion Date: June 30, 2023 Contact: Dean Criscola, Controller