Finding Text
(2023-004) Documentation of Purchasing Compliance - Significant deficiency Criteria Per CFR §180.300 and 2 CFR §200.214, the District must verify vendors are not suspended or debarred or otherwise excluded from participating in a covered transaction. This verification may be accomplished by checking the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA); collecting a certification from the entity, or adding a clause or condition to the covered transaction with that entity. Condition During our testing of suspension and debarment compliance, we noted that the District did not retain documentation demonstrating that vendors were verified as not suspended, debarred, or otherwise excluded from participation in federal programs prior to execution of two contracts, each with expenditures exceeding $25,000. Cause The District did not have formalized procedures to ensure suspension and debarment verifications were performed and documented prior to executing covered contracts. Effect Without adequate verification and documentation, there is a risk that the District could contract with vendors who are ineligible to receive federal funds, resulting in noncompliance with federal regulations. Questioned Costs No questioned costs were identified as a result of our procedures. Context/Sampling Two vendor contracts with expenditures greater than $25,000 were selected for testing. In both cases, the District did not provide documentation of suspension and debarment verification at the time of contract execution. Recommendation We recommend that the District implement procedures to verify vendor eligibility prior to entering into federally funded contracts. Acceptable methods include retaining a SAM.gov screenshot, obtaining vendor certification, or including a suspension and debarment clause in the contract. The District should also ensure documentation is retained in the procurement file and assign responsibility for this task to appropriate staff. Training and periodic reviews should be conducted to reinforce compliance and reduce the risk of using ineligible vendors. Management’s Corrective Action Planned Management concurs with the recommendation. IVGID will implement a procedure to document the procurement process and review of suspension and debarment for all vendors that undergo the bidding process.