Finding 1206169 (2022-004)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2026-04-08
Audit: 398166
Organization: Native Village of Barrow (AK)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Village failed to submit required quarterly and annual reports on time, violating grant agreement terms.
  • Impacted Requirements: Reports must be submitted within 30 days for quarterly updates and 90 days for annual plans; support for expenses was also missing.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Management should implement measures to ensure compliance with all reporting deadlines to avoid funding suspension.

Finding Text

Late Reporting and Noncompliance with Reporting Requirements Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal Program: Indian Housing Block Grant Assistance Listing Number: 14.867 Award Number: 55IT0201380 Award Year: 2022 Type of Finding: Material weakness in internal control over compliance and material noncompliance. Criteria: Reporting requirements within the grant agreements state that quarterly financial and narrative reports must be submitted within 30 days of end of quarter. The annual plan/performance report must be submitted within 90 days after year end. Also, support for reported expenses should be available. Condition and Context: The Village did not adhere to the quarterly reporting requirements specified in the grant agreements. During our review of the quarterly reports, it was noted that both of the reports tested were submitted late, and not within the program year in which it should have. Management was not able to provide support for the required report related to form HUD-60002 and submitted late the annual plan/performance report HUD-52737. Cause: The Village was severely affected by the pandemic during the previous two fiscal years. Due to several interruptions in the normal operation for the Village and lack of available personnel in the accounting and the housing department, reports were not prepared and submitted within the required deadline. Effect: Failure to follow compliance reporting requirements could result in suspension of Federal funding. Questioned Costs: None noted. Repeat Finding: This is a repeat of Finding 2021-002, and since it is a repeat finding we believe this to be a systemic issue. Recommendation: We recommend that management complies with all reporting requirements. Management response: Management agrees with finding. See Corrective Action Plan.

Corrective Action Plan

Late Reporting and Noncompliance with Reporting Requirements Name of Contact Person: Ross Waddell Corrective Action Plan: The Native Village of Barrow (NVB) experienced significant operational disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the loss of several long-term employees. Due to the limited availability of qualified personnel in the local labor market, these vacancies were difficult to fill, which resulted in delays and backlogs in financial accounting and reporting functions. While efforts to establish a long-term staffing solution remained ongoing during 2022, NVB was required to engage out-of-town contract personnel and implement a transition of accounting and payroll systems during FY 2022, as sufficient internal expertise with the legacy systems was no longer available. For FY 2023, all financial activity was processed using a single accounting and payroll system (QuickBooks). However, FY 2022 required extensive reconciliation and integration of data from two separate systems to ensure accurate financial reporting for grant compliance and audit purposes. As a result of the circumstances described above, audited financial statements for FY 2023 and FY 2024 will not be issued in a timely manner. NVB was able to get grant reporting current by the end of calendar year 2025. Management is actively working to complete the accounting records for FY 2023 through FY 2025 to facilitate the timely completion of the upcoming audits. Proposed Completion Date: December 31, 2025.

Categories

Reporting Procurement, Suspension & Debarment HUD Housing Programs Material Weakness

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1206161 2022-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206162 2022-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206163 2022-006
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206164 2022-006
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206165 2022-007
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206166 2022-007
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206167 2022-007
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206168 2022-007
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206170 2022-006
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206171 2022-007
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1206172 2022-007
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $2.96M
21.023 EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $1.25M
12.116 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATION ACT OF 2003 $526,458
14.862 INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM $313,644
21.026 HOMEOWNER ASSISTANCE FUND $200,821
93.596 CHILD CARE MANDATORY AND MATCHING FUNDS OF THE CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND $193,201
16.608 TRIBAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS $123,974
14.869 TITLE VI FEDERAL GUARANTEES FOR FINANCING TRIBAL HOUSING ACTIVITIES $121,951
66.926 INDIAN ENVIRONMENTAL GENERAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (GAP) $117,343
14.867 INDIAN HOUSING BLOCK GRANTS $33,626
16.841 VOCA TRIBAL VICTIM SERVICES SET-ASIDE PROGRAM $25,471
15.022 TRIBAL SELF-GOVERNANCE $25,204
93.054 NATIONAL FAMILY CAREGIVER SUPPORT, TITLE VI, PART C, GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES AND NATIVE HAWAIIANS $24,680
16.731 TRIBAL YOUTH PROGRAM $18,845
16.585 TREATMENT COURT DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM $15,996
93.047 SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR THE AGING, TITLE VI, PART A, GRANTS TO INDIAN TRIBES, PART B, GRANTS TO NATIVE HAWAIIANS $780