Finding Text
Condition The School Board did not verify that vendors were not suspended, debarred or otherwise excluded from federal programs before conducting business with them. Criteria Federal regulations require recipients of federal funds to verify that vendors are not suspended, debarred or otherwise excluded from doing business with the federal government prior to awarding contracts or making purchases. Cause The School Board lacked internal controls and formal policies and procedures to ensure vendor verification was performed before engaging in business transactions. Effect Failure to verify vendors’ eligibility could result in noncompliance with federal regulations and potential risk to federal funding. Context A sample of fifteen vendors were selected for audit testing. The test found that three of the vendors tested had not been verified by the School Board prior to the School Board doing business with them. Our sample was a non-statistical sample. Recommendation The School Board should implement and enforce policies and procedures to ensure that all vendors are verified for eligibility before engaging in business transactions. View of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action The Lafayette Parish School Board has a defined process in place to ensure debarment verifications are being performed. As new vendors are setup, a debarment verification is performed when federal funds are to be associated with a vendor. In addition, many vendors are utilized year after year, which is after an initial debarment verification is performed. In this case, debarment verifications for three vendors could not be found, and despite key personnel turnover, staff will ensure that debarment verifications are being performed and stored digitally.