Finding Text
2023-005 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
Award Number and Year: SLFRP4411; 2021
Pass-Through Agency: N/A – Direct
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.
Condition: For both covered transactions selected for testing, the County did not perform the verification for suspended or debarred vendors prior to entering into the covered transactions.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: There were four covered transactions during the year. The County provided funds to entities which have operated for many years and were familiar to the County. In addition, neither of the vendors tested were listed as suspended or debarred on SAM.gov at the time of the audit.
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 prior to entering into a covered transaction may result in the County entering into a transaction with a vendor that is not authorized to provide goods and services under the grant.
Cause: County staff were not aware of the requirement.
Recommendation: We recommend the County maintain documentation to demonstrate that vendors were not debarred, suspended, 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