Finding 1162408 (2025-001)

2025-001 – Suspension and Debarment Cluster: Research and Development Grantor: Social Security Administration, National Science Foundation Award Name: Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and Affiliated Institutions: Retirement and Disability Research Consortium, Building a Youth-Led Learning Community through Automating Hydroponic Systems, Empowering Youth in STEM and Technological Careers through AI-Enhanced Sustainable and Community-Focused Urban Gardening Award Number: 6 RDR23000010, 2048994, 2241766 Award Year: FY2025 Assistance Listing Numbers: 96.007, 47.076, 47.076 Assistance Listing Titles: Social Security Research and Demonstration; STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) Pass-Through Entities: None - Direct Criteria: Per 2 CFR 200.214, when entering into a covered transaction with an entity, the auditee must have established procedures to verify that the entity is not suspended, debarred or otherwise excluded from participating in the transaction. Condition: For 1 of 25 new vendors sampled, the vendor was not included in the ongoing suspension and debarment monitoring process, which is performed via a third-party servicer. Upon further discussion with the University, it was determined that the selected vendor was part of one day where a total of an additional 24 new vendors were also excluded from the ongoing process. Of the 25 total vendors, 3 of these vendors incurred expenditures related to federal awards totaling approximately $7,000 during the fiscal year. Cause: There was a system failure on one specific day between the University and the third-party servicer that prevented the suspension and debarment checks from being performed on new vendors. After the system failure, University personnel did not confirm that new vendors that were intended to be added on the date in question, were in fact added to the system. Effect: New vendors were not checked for suspension and debarment prior to the University entering into a transaction with the affected vendors. Questioned Costs: None noted. Repeat Finding: No. Recommendation: PwC recommends cross training of individuals responsible for the daily system interactions with the third-party servicer to ensure any system issues are promptly resolved and new vendors are checked for suspension and debarment prior to the University entering into a transaction with them. Management’s Views and Corrective Action Plan: Management’s response is included in Management's Views and Corrective Action Plan included at the end of this report after the Schedule of Status of Prior Audit Findings.