Finding Text
Suspension and Debarment
Prior Year Finding Number: N/A
Year of Finding Origination: 2023
Type of Finding: Internal Control Over Compliance and Compliance
Severity of Deficiency: Significant Deficiency and Other Matter
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury
Program: 21.027 COVID-19 – Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations § 200.303 states that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the auditee is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award.
Federal requirements prohibit non-federal entities from contracting with or making subawards under covered transactions to parties that are suspended or debarred. Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations § 180.300 describes a required verification process. Prior to entering into the transaction, one of the following must be performed: (1) checking SAM.gov exclusions, (2) collecting a certification, or (3) adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction. The suspension and debarment requirements apply to covered transaction amounts over $25,000.
The County’s procurement policy requires verification that vendors are not suspended or debarred.
Condition: For both covered transactions tested, the County did not verify for suspended or debarred vendors, in accordance with its policy, prior to entering into the covered transaction. Additionally, for one of the transactions tested, the County did not have a contract on file that included a suspension and debarment clause.
Questioned Costs: None
Context: The suspension and debarment threshold is $25,000.
The sample size was based on guidance from chapter 11 of the AICPA Audit Guide, Government Auditing Standards and Single Audits.
Effect: Failure to verify vendors are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded may result in the County entering into a transaction with a vendor that is not authorized to provide goods and services.
Cause: The County did not realize that consideration for suspension and debarment should be made for all federal contracts, including purchases made through state contracts.
Recommendation: We recommend the County maintain documentation to demonstrate that vendors are not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded from conducting business with the County; this documentation should be completed prior to entering into a covered transaction.
View of Responsible Official: Acknowledge