Finding ref number:
2023-002 Finding caption:
The City lacked adequate internal controls for ensuring compliance with federal requirements for procurement and suspension and debarment.
Name, address, and telephone of City contact person:
Kwan Wong, Finance Director
18415 101st Ave NE
Bothell, WA 9...
Finding ref number:
2023-002 Finding caption:
The City lacked adequate internal controls for ensuring compliance with federal requirements for procurement and suspension and debarment.
Name, address, and telephone of City contact person:
Kwan Wong, Finance Director
18415 101st Ave NE
Bothell, WA 98011
(425) 806-6882
Corrective action the auditee plans to take in response to the finding:
(If the auditee does not concur with the finding, the auditee must list the reasons for disagreement).
The City takes its responsibility to safeguard public funds seriously and is committed to improving internal controls over grant management that affect the City’s ability to comply with federal regulations. The challenges of decentralized model for procurement and grant management, exacerbated by the urgent need to respond swiftly to ongoing issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic, have highlighted areas in federal compliance that need improvement.
The City is fully committed to safeguarding public funds while meeting the needs of residents. To meet these challenges, a full-time analyst has already been hired to oversee SLFRF funds and assist staff with meeting compliance requirements. Additionally, the City is creating comprehensive training to further educate City staff on federal compliance requirements. The City is also in the process of evaluating options to expand its staff to better support procurement needs. To ensure that the City is compliant with suspension and debarment requirements, language will be added to relevant contracts that require vendors to certify that they are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded from federal programs.
These improvements reflect the City’s commitment to improving internal controls and ensuring that federal funds are managed with the highest level of compliance and accountability.