Finding Text
Identification of the Federal Program: 10.720 – Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Community Wildfire Defense Grants Criteria: Proper oversight, review procedures and controls should be established to ensure the reports submitted are prepared and reviewed by more than one individual. Condition: The Association did not have proper review procedures in place to document that an individual other than the one who prepared the reports are reviewing them. Cause: There was a lack of documentation to evidence the reports were reviewed prior to submission. Effect: The absence of proper review procedures increases the risk of errors, inaccuracies, or omissions in submitted reports. Without independent oversight, reporting discrepancies may go undetected, potentially leading to compliance issues, misstatements, or operational inefficiencies. Questioned Costs: None Recommendations: We recommend the Association develop internal control processes and procedures to ensure there is proper documentation to evidence reports are reviewed prior to submission. Views of Responsible Officials: Management of the Cooperative concurs with the auditors’ finding related to documentation of independent review over federal grant reporting. Reports submitted under the Community Wildfire Defense Grants program included a required certification signature by an authorized official; however, the state-provided reporting form did not include a separate preparer signature line. As a result, while management review and approval occurred prior to submission, documentation distinguishing report preparation from certification was not evident on the submitted forms. Management recognizes the importance of clearly documenting segregation of preparation and review responsibilities to evidence effective internal controls. To address this matter, the Cooperative will revise its grant reporting process to include documented identification of both the preparer and reviewer for all federal grant reports. When state-provided forms do not include a preparer acknowledgment, the Cooperative will supplement the form with an internal preparer certification or signature line that is retained with the grant file. Management believes these actions will strengthen documentation of internal controls over reporting while continuing to comply with state and federal reporting requirements. The Cooperative remains committed to responsible oversight and stewardship of federal grant funds for the benefit of its members. This change was implemented beginning with the first quarterly reporting period under the Grant Agreement in 2026.