Finding Text
Finding 2023-005 – Procurement – Lack of Support for Procurement of Vendor
Noncompliance & Significant Deficiency – ALN 14.850 & 14.872
Criteria: Regulations at 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, outline the procurement standards that are required for recipients of federal grant awards. The nonfederal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with state, local, and tribunal laws and regulations and the standards of this section. The nonfederal entity must create and adhere to its local Procurement Policy which has been approved by its board of directors.
Condition: We examined five (5) contracts for our tests of the internal controls related to the procurement of vendors. The Authority entered into the contract agreement 404-08-23-RFP with both Merit Construction and Hoagland Construction. We noted that the Authority conducted its procurement on the basis of evaluation in the form of an RFP and competitive proposal. We found a few deviations from expectations which are detailed below:
The Authority was unable to produce evaluations and scoring for Merit Construction. The Authority was also unable to produce documentation on why Merit Construction was selected for the job.
The Authority was unable to produce bid, performance, and payment bonding for Merit Construction
Cause: The Authority has experienced significant staff turnover within the past year. It is possible that those items mentioned above were performed and completed, but the Authority is unable to demonstrate them to us.
Effect: Noncompliance with local and federal procurement requirements can lead to findings and penalties related to funding.
Recommendation: We recommend that the Authority conducts a review of active contracts to ensure that all information related to the procurement of vendors is maintained effectively per the local procurement policy. We also recommend that going forward the Authority monitor this process to ensure that these supporting files are evidenced and maintained.