Finding 1176645 (2025-011)

Federal Agency: US Department of Agriculture Federal Program Name: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Community Wildfire Defense Grants Assistance Listing Number: 10.720 Federal Award Identification Number, Year and Award Period: 23DG11030000019: 7/1/2023 – 12/31/2028 Type of Finding:  Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters Criteria or specific requirement: Under the requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (Pub. L. No. 109-282), as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110-252, hereafter referred as the “Transparency Act” that are codified in 2 CFR Part 170, recipients (i.e., direct recipients) of grants or cooperative agreements are required to report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). For subaward information, report no later than the end of the month following the month in which the obligation was made. Additionally, according to 2 CFR 170, Appendix A, the recipient must also report a subaward if a modification increases the Federal funding to an amount that equals or exceeds $30,000. All reported subawards should reflect the total amount of the subaward. Condition: During our single audit testing over reported, we noted 1 of 2 grant awards tested had a modification for an amount that exceeded $30,000 and the Department did not report the subaward modification to the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). Questioned costs: None Context: This was identified during reporting testing. The samples described above were statistically valid samples. Cause: The Department lacks established internal controls and procedures over FFATA subaward management to ensure reports are submitted timely and complete. Effect: The Department is in violation of federal regulations. Recommendation: We recommend the Department review the instructions for completion of the FFATA reports with training provided to the program staff who are preparing and reviewing the FFATA reports to ensure submitted reports are timely and complete. We recommend the Department implement effective processes and procedures to maintain the submitted reports and the documentation used to prepare the reports in the files of the Department.