Finding Text
Finding No.: 2025-001 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Interior AL Program: Economic, Social, and Political Development of the Territories Award No.: D22AP00317 and D20AP00137 Area: Procurement, Suspension and Debarment Questioned Cost: $333,198 Criteria: 2 CFR § 200.214 requires non-federal entities to ensure that vendors are not suspended or debarred from participating in federal programs. This verification must be performed by: Checking the System for Award Management (SAM) Exclusions list, Obtaining a certification from the vendor, or Including a clause or condition in the transaction that the vendor is not suspended or debarred. Condition: During testing of 8 procurement transactions, we noted that GWA did not perform or document suspension and debarment verification for 2 vendors. The total disbursements associated with these vendors amounted to $333,198. Cause: GWA did not consistently implement procedures or controls to ensure that suspension and debarment checks are performed and documented for all applicable vendors. Effect or Potential Effect: Failure to perform and document suspension and debarment verification increases the risk that GWA may contract with vendors that are ineligible to receive federal funds, resulting in noncompliance with federal regulations and potential questioned costs. Recommendation: We recommend that GWA strengthen its procurement controls by implementing and enforcing procedures to ensure that suspension and debarment verification is performed and properly documented for all applicable vendors prior to contract award. This may include requiring SAM checks, maintaining evidence of verification, and providing periodic training to procurement personnel. Identification as a Repeat Finding: Not applicable. Views of Responsible Officials: GWA acknowledges inconsistent implementation of procedures that required suspension and debarment verifications for 2 of the 8 procurement transactions tested and concurs with the recommendation to strengthen its procurement controls to address this finding. During FY2025, GWA implemented corrective actions including an immediate directive issued in April 2025 to comply with updated procurement procedures formally approved in September 2025. These procedures included standardized checklists, required vendor certification forms and mandatory SAM.gov verification procedures for all federally funded procurements. Training was conducted to required personnel in October 2025 and subsequently expanded to a broader audience in December 2025. All related SOPs and guidance materials were also made available through the employee intranet. Management also directed staff to retrospectively perform and document SAM.gov verifications for certain procurements initiated prior to implementation of the revised procedures. However, due to procurement management and personnel transitions, the retrospective review was not fully completed for the sampled procurements. Subsequent checks confirmed that the vendors were not suspended or debarred. GWA will continue reinforcing monitoring procedures to ensure all required compliance documentation is timely completed and retained in the procurement files.