Finding 1179568 (2025-004)

Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Federal Program Title: Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) Assistance Listing Number: 93.323 Award Period: NU50CK000346 (8/1/2024 – 7/31/2029) (93.323) Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters Criteria or Specific Requirement: Per CFR §200.430 Compensation – personal services, charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed. These records must be supported by a system of internal control that provides reasonable assurance that the charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated. Condition: During our testing we noted for one of twenty-five samples tested, the employee’s wages were improperly allocated to the program. The employee did not work for the program during the sampled period and the timesheet’s project ID had not been updated accordingly. Management was able to properly adjust the error to the correct program. Questioned Costs: None Cause: Lack of management oversight. Effect: Auditor noted instances of noncompliance. Noncompliance results in possible under or over charges to the grants. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend the Department provide additional training to ensure supervisors properly review employees’ time and verify that time worked is allocated to the appropriate federal award. Agency Response: The Department acknowledges this finding and provides the following corrective action plan to prevent future findings. The Department agrees that the procedures in place to ensure accuracy can be improved. Newly imposed supervisory review of the bi-weekly payroll correction process will ensure that miscoded employees are detected. Discrepancies will be addressed immediately. The Department is working on remediation of this finding and anticipates completion before June 30, 2026. Responsible Persons: Division Finance Directors, Program Grant Administrators, and Federal Grants Director.