Finding Number 2024-038 Subject Heading (Financial) or AL no. and program name (Federal) EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (ERA) AL #21.019 Planned Corrective Action Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) acknowledges subrecipient monitoring process lacked the strength and co...
Finding Number 2024-038 Subject Heading (Financial) or AL no. and program name (Federal) EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (ERA) AL #21.019 Planned Corrective Action Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) acknowledges subrecipient monitoring process lacked the strength and consistency to ensure subrecipients established and maintained effective internal control. OMES acknowledges that OMES did not implement the proper internal controls and oversight of the ERA Program during FY2024. However, OMES has taken steps to correct these findings and follow the recommendations set forth by SAI in these findings. Beginning with FY2025, OMES has taken the following measures: • OMES disagrees that they had sufficient and timely notice to make full corrective actions prior to this FY2024 audit for the following reasons: the FY2021 State auditor & Inspector (SAI) audit was released four days prior to the beginning of FY2024, the FY2022 SAI audit was released near the end of FY2025, and the FY2023 audit was released in FY2026; therefore, OMES could not take corrective action prior to the FY2024 audit began. At the beginning of FY2025, OMES began corrective measures as noted in SAI’s Condition and Context in this finding. • OMES acknowledges OMES subrecipient monitoring process lacked the strength and consistency to ensure subrecipients established and maintained effective internal control. However, OMES has taken steps to correct these findings and follow the recommendations set forth by SAI as noted in SAI’s Condition and Context in this finding. Beginning with FY2025, OMES has taken the following measures: Oversight and management of the ERA program has been transferred to the OMES Grant Management Office (OMES-GMO) which has staff with several years of grant experience. OMES-GMO has recently hired additional staff, and the two staff members dedicated to the management of the ERA program have 20+ years of combined federal grant specific experience. OMES ensured that the subrecipient agreement included all the required terms under the ERA Program and that the agreement does not expire, OMES-GMO and the Communities of Foundation of Oklahoma (CFO) executed an updated Subrecipient Grant Agreement Amendment that details the responsibilities of OMES to monitor CFO and the duties and processes that CFO must follow in regard to ERA Program, including detailed cash management policies. OMES-GMO required the return of the remaining ERA2 Program funds from CFO to ensure proper oversight and review of ERA expenditures is performed. OMES-GMO has in place a multi-level system of internal controls for grant management and oversight that includes routine monitoring, desk review, and site visits for all projects and associated project/administrative expenditures to ensure allowability, accuracy, and assist in the detection of fraud. For example, OMES-GMO’s process for disbursing funds to a subrecipient requires a written request from the subrecipient with supporting documentation, then OMES-GMO assigns a staff lead and secondary grant analyst to perform a primary and secondary review for compliance and to require additional supporting documentation if needed to approve the request. Once those reviews are completed and approved by the OMES-GMO staff, the Director of the OMES-GMO must approve the request before it is sent to the OMES Finance Division, who will then verify the calculated amount(s) before completing the disbursement to the subrecipient. These internal controls and policies have been implemented for the management and oversight of the ERA Program and provide a multilayer review that will prevent fraud and risk factors applicable to the ERA program. Additionally, the OMES-GMO staff assigned to the ERA program have the training and knowledge to ensure compliance with the Federal grant requirements. Depending on the level of risk, OMES-GMO conducts monthly, bi-weekly or weekly meetings with each subrecipient to monitor the progress of projects and address any issues or changes that might impact the project. For the ERA Program, OMESGMO conducted bi-weekly monitoring meetings with CFO and reviewed documentation provided by CFO to ensure all ERA projects were eligible under the ERA guidelines and that CFO exercised the proper oversight over their subrecipients and spending. Anticipated Completion Date Completed Responsible Contact Person Brandy Manek