Finding 1153514 (2024-006)

2024-006 Improve Internal Controls and Compliance Over Reporting Federal Program(s) Information Federal Agency: Department of Transportation Award Name: National Infrastructure Investments Assistance Listing Number: 20.933 Award Year: 2024 Compliance Requirement: Reporting Federal Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development Award Name: Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program Assistance Listing Number: 14.905 Award Year: 2024 Compliance Requirement: Reporting Type of Finding Compliance Internal Control over Compliance – Significant Deficiency Criteria or Specific Requirement 2 CFR 200.303 requires non-Federal entities to establish and maintain effective internal control over Federal awards to provide reasonable assurance that the City is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Further, per 2 CFR 200.328 and program instructions, recipients must submit accurate, complete, and timely financial reports (such as the SF-425 Federal Financial Report) that reconcile to supporting accounting records, including the general ledger and Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA). Condition and Context During our testing of two quarterly SF-425 Federal Financial Reports for both the National Infrastructure Investments program and the Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant program, we noted that the amounts reported on the reports did not agree to the amounts per the general ledger and ultimately the SEFA. The discrepancies were the result of inaccurate recording of expenditures in the general ledger based on timing as discussed in finding 2024-001, which led to inconsistent reporting on the SF-425 reports. Cause The City’s internal controls over financial reporting were not sufficient to ensure that expenditures were recorded accurately and consistently in the general ledger and SEFA and that reported amounts on the SF-425 matched the underlying accounting records. Effect or Potential Effect Inaccurate reporting of expenditures increases the risk of noncompliance with Federal reporting requirements and impairs the reliability of financial information reported to Federal agencies. No questioned costs are reported as the requirement is procedural in nature and costs reported were ultimately deemed allowable. Recommendation The City should strengthen its controls over financial reporting for Federal awards to ensure all expenditures are recorded accurately in the general ledger and SEFA and reconciled to amounts reported on the SF-425. Management should implement procedures for timely and thorough review and reconciliation of accounting records prior to the submission of required Federal reports. Views of Responsible Official Management’s corrective action plan is included at the end of this report after the Schedule of Prior Year Findings.