Finding 1166958 (2024-004)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-12-30

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Bureau's Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) was incomplete, missing key programs and misreporting expenditures.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 2 CFR §200.510, which mandates accurate reporting of all federal awards and expenditures.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Improve record-keeping for federal programs and ensure all relevant staff are informed about federal awards to enhance SEFA accuracy.

Finding Text

FINDING REFERENCE NUMBER 2024-004 (See FINDING REFERENCE NUMBER 2024-002) FEDERAL PROGRAM ALL FEDERAL PROGRAMS ON THE SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURES OF FEDERAL AWARDS AWARD NUMBER ALL AWARDS COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENT REPORTING – SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURES OF FEDERAL AWARDS TYPE OF FINDING MATERIAL WEAKNESS AND MATERIAL NONCOMPLIANCE CRITERIA 2 CFR §200.510 Financial Statements, (b) states that the auditee must prepare a schedule of expenditures of federal awards for the period covered by the auditee's financial statements which must include the total Federal awards expended. At a minimum, the schedule must: (1) list individual Federal Programs by Federal agency, (2) for Federal awards received as a subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must be included, (3) provide total Federal awards expended for each individual Federal program and the ALN number or other identifying number when the ALN information is not available, (4) Include the total amount provided to subrecipients from each Federal program, (5) for loan or loan guarantee programs identify in the notes to the schedule the balances outstanding at the end of the audit period. This is in addition to including the total Federal awards expended for loan or loan guarantee programs in the schedule. STATEMENT OF CONDITION During our audit procedures of the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) prepared by the Bureau, we identified misstatements related to the programs reported in the schedule. One Federal program, ALN 21.027, Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, was not included in the SEFA, and material adjustments were made to properly present the Federal program expenditures for the fiscal year on the SEFA and financial statement. QUESTIONED COSTS None PERSPECTIVE INFORMATION The Bureau failed to identify properly in its records and/or accounting records of Federal grants funds that they received and expended during the fiscal year. This cause that when the Bureau prepared the SEFA and financial statement for audit purposes, the SEFA was incomplete and misstated. STATEMENT OF CAUSE The Bureau staff failed to identify the Federal grants expended during the fiscal year and to keep appropriate records of the transactions related to the Federal programs in order to properly identify the Federal programs and transactions when the SEFA is prepared causing the preparation of an incomplete and misstated SEFA initially submitted for audit purposes. POSSIBLE ASSERTED EFFECT The Bureau staff fail to include all Federal programs and total expenditures in the SEFA causing misstatements in the schedule, may lead to errors in the determination if a Uniform Guidance audit is required to the Bureau and could provoke an incorrect Major Program Determination by the auditors, resulting in the most likely exclusion of a Major Program for audit purpose. IDENTIFICATION OF REPEAT FINDING Not applicable. RECOMMENDATIONS We recommend the Bureau to maintain adequate records related to the Federal programs to properly identify the Federal programs/transactions when the SEFA is prepared. Once a Federal award is granted or received, the information must be shared with all personnel involved in the financial statement and SEFA preparation to provide assurance that all required program activities / expenditures are included on the SEFA. In addition, the Bureau must perform regular fiscal monitoring over the Federal programs transactions to provide reasonable assurance that all Federal programs/transactions are properly recorded and included in the SEFA.

Corrective Action Plan

VIEWS OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS As part of the Corrective Action Plan to address the identified findings, the following measures will be implemented: • Prior to issuing the SEFA, a final review and approval process will be implemented which will include: o Confirmation that all active federal programs are included. o Validation of amounts, ALN, and expense classifications. • Responsible personnel will be retrained on the processes and requirements applicable to SEFA preparation, in order to strengthen compliance and accuracy in reporting. • We are currently in the process of drafting the corresponding administrative order, for which a preliminary draft has already been prepared. This document aims to clearly and systematically establish the necessary processes and procedures, including those related to the identified deficiencies, to ensure the implementation of enhanced controls that guarantee regulatory compliance and operational efficiency. • A fiscal section within the Office of Federal Affairs will be established to manage the fiscal process of federal funds. This structure will ensure that all transactions, corrections, and journal entries are recorded in a timely and accurate manner in the federal accounting accounts.. IMPLEMENTATION DATE Fiscal Year 2025-2026 RESPONSIBLE PERSON Maritza Torres López

Categories

Subrecipient Monitoring Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1166955 2024-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166956 2024-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166957 2024-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166959 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1166960 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
97.036 DISASTER GRANTS - PUBLIC ASSISTANCE (PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED DISASTERS) $11.48M
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $2.12M
21.016 EQUITABLE SHARING $590,318
16.588 VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN FORMULA GRANTS $290,968
97.067 HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM $221,783
16.738 EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM $143,532
20.600 STATE AND COMMUNITY HIGHWAY SAFETY $96,710
20.616 NATIONAL PRIORITY SAFETY PROGRAMS $37,555
16.922 EQUITABLE SHARING PROGRAM $4,367
16.575 CRIME VICTIM ASSISTANCE $1,300