Finding Text
Finding 2024-003 Information on the federal program: Subject: Water and Waste Disposal Systems for Rural Communities – Equipment and Real Property Management Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Assistance Listing Number: 10.760 Federal Award Number: N/A Pass-Through Entity: N/A Compliance Requirements: Equipment and Real Property Management Audit Finding: Material Weakness, Noncompliance, Qualified Opinion Criteria: 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal awards in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)...." 2 CFR 200.313(d)(1) states in part: "Property records must be maintained that include a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the federal award identification number), who holds title, the acquisition date, cost of the property, percentage of federal participation in the project costs for the federal award under which the property was acquired, the location, use and condition of the property, and any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal and sales price of the property" Condition: An effective internal control system was not in place at the District to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Equipment and Real Property Management compliance requirement. Cause: Management had not established a system of internal control that would have ensured proper procedures are followed to comply with the Equipment and Real Property Management compliance requirements. Effect: The failure to establish an effective internal control system enabled noncompliance to go undetected and the proper tracking of assets acquired with federal funds was not taking place. Noncompliance with the grant agreement and the Equipment and Real Property Management compliance requirement could have resulted in the loss of federal funds to the District. Questioned Costs: There were no questioned costs identified. Context: The District did not maintain an updated asset listing that reflects the construction in process balance related to the project funded with federal funds. There was approximately $25.0 million of disbursements from federal funds related to the project as of December 31, 2024. Identification as a repeat finding, if applicable: This is a repeat finding from the immediately prior audit report. The prior audit finding number was 2023-003. Recommendation: We recommend that the District’s management establish controls related to the grant agreement and the Equipment and Real Property compliance requirement to ensure that assets being purchased with federal funds are added to the capital asset listing and all required information is maintained on the capital asset listing. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and has prepared a corrective action plan.