Finding Text
Finding Reference: 2023-002
Federal Program: AL 20.237 – High Priority Commercial Motor Vehicle Grant Program, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Cluster
Grantor Award Number: FM-MHP-0580-21
Compliance Requirements: Reporting
Type of Finding Material: Noncompliance
Criteria: Under AL 20.237, Federal Financial Reporting requirements mandate the submission of SF-270 and SF-425 forms. The submission of these forms both require that each form separately report expenditures per award.
Condition: IRP prepaid $174,465 of data repository hosting and maintenance expense for the quarter 10/1/23 through 12/31/23 in September 2023. IRP reported the prepaid expense in Reports SF-425 and SF-270, for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, and charged the expenditures to federal award FM-MP-0580-21. However, the expenditures should have been charged to the new federal award, FM-MHP-0762-23, effective 9/1/2023, in both forms. IRP did not provide a separate sheet in both forms listing each award number along with the federal share of outlays made against each award number.
This error led to $174,465 to be authorized as federal fund expenditures for award FM-MP-0580-21. As of September 30, 2023, no expense was incurred as the related amount is considered a prepaid under the accrual accounting method for the year ending September 30, 2023.
Questioned Costs: N/A
Cause: Management lacked the appropriate knowledge for reporting requirements in the SF-270 and SF-425 reports, including the requirement to provide a separate sheet, in both forms, listing each award number along with the federal share of outlays made against each award.
Effect or Potential Effect: This reporting error led to expenditures for services performed after September 30, 2023, being charged inappropriately to federal award FM-MP-0580-21, with a project performance period ending September 30, 2023.
Recommendation: We understand management has alerted the FMCSA as to the error and intends to work with them to correct the reporting of these expenditures, upon submission to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse of the data collection form and single audit reporting package for the year ended September 30, 2023.