2023-003 Cash Management / Period of Performance – Control Deficiency
View of Responsible Officials
Management appreciates the opportunity to respond to the findings of the audit. The Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) makes every attempt to meet all federal laws and guidelines for fundin...
2023-003 Cash Management / Period of Performance – Control Deficiency
View of Responsible Officials
Management appreciates the opportunity to respond to the findings of the audit. The Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) makes every attempt to meet all federal laws and guidelines for funding that is received. Many factors outside our control directly impacted the timely payment of vendors as noted in the audit. Specifically:
1) Federal budget uncertainty; delay in receiving federal funding. For the past several years, Congress has not been able to pass a comprehensive federal budget, and instead has funded the Grants to States fund via continuing resolutions making it difficult to plan out expenditures with any certainty. In addition to lacking the certainty of when and/or if funding will be available, the Grants to States funds have not been released to states in a timely manner, including during the audit period. Instead of at the beginning of the federal fiscal year around October 1st, funding has been received months later, leaving States with a lot less time to procure, process and receive purchases. This means we do not have access to the funding for the full grant cycle and directly impacts if/when we are able to procure goods and services.
2) Supply chain and shipping issues. The State of Hawaii procurement requirements do not allow us to pay for goods and services until we receive the products or the services are rendered satisfactorily. HSPLS continues to face significant supply chain and shipping issues which affects the timely payment of vendors. As an island state in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there are often delays in receiving an entire shipment on time in full, even post-pandemic. For large products or orders, sometimes the order and/or related parts are not shipped together further delaying completion of the order by the vendor and issuance of the invoice. In many instances, vendors do not send their invoices in a timely manner, preventing HSPLS from dispersing funds in a timely manner.
3) Federal agency guidance. We would also like to note that in the past, we have contacted our funding federal agency and let them know that we have had challenges with supply chain and shipping issues. We were advised that it was understood, and that as long as we had encumbered the funds by September 30, that we would be able to use the funding that was allotted to us even if the invoice is received after the close of the federal fiscal year.
Corrective Action Plan
We will do our best to continue to monitor and minimize any untimely disbursements of federal funds.
Contact Person: Stacy A. Aldrich
State Librarian
Hawaii State Public Library System
Anticipated Completion Date: Ongoing