Finding Text
Information on the Federal Program: Assistance Listing Number 20.616—National Priority Safety Programs, United States Department of Transportation. Pass-Through Entity: New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee Award Number: HS1-2023-NYS STOP DWI Found.-00206-(088) Compliance Requirement: Period of Performance Type of Finding: Material Noncompliance, Material weakness in internal control over compliance Criteria: Per 2 CFR 200.344(b), federal funds must be disbursed in a timely manner and used only for allowable program costs. Per the terms of the grant contract, expenditures must also be paid to the appropriate vendor within 90 days after the contract end date. Condition and Context: The Foundation requested and received federal reimbursement funds for contractor expenses totaling $40,180 for the grant period ended September 30, 2024. However, our testing noted that the contractor had not yet been paid as the related invoice was lost. Cause: The Foundation experienced turnover in the grant administrator role during the year, resulting in miscommunication between the former and current grant administrator regarding the payment due to the contractor. As the current grant administrator was not aware of the outstanding payment due to the contractor, the financial consultant was not instructed to make payment to the contractor. The contractor did not follow up on the outstanding invoice when it was not paid. Internal controls were not in place to detect the non-payment in a timely manner. Effect: The Foundation did not comply with the requirement to liquidate all grant obligations within 90 days of the end of the grant. Questioned Costs: $40,180 Repeat finding: No Recommendation: We recommend the Foundation implement procedures to reconcile grant revenue with related grant expenditures on a monthly or quarterly basis and at the end of the grant period. This process would identify discrepancies between amounts recognized as revenue and requested for reimbursement with expenses incurred and recorded. Any payables outstanding for an unusual period of time should be reviewed to determine their propriety. Views of Responsible Officials: Management of the Foundation concurs with this audit finding.