Finding Text
2025-001 Finding Type Material Weakness, Noncompliance – Procurement Federal Program COVID-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, ALN #21.027 Criteria Pursuant to 2 CFR §200.320, federal funds must be managed in a manner that ensures full and open competition. The procurement method used for each transaction must be appropriate based on the dollar amount and conditions. Condition During our testing, we noted that the Organization did not obtain price quotes prior to selecting vendors whose expenditures exceeded the micro-purchase threshold. Cause This issue originated in the prior year and impacted various current year expenditures as well. The Organization has the proper procurement policies in place. However, due to a short timeframe for the project, an individual within the Organization’s management did not comply with the policy in an attempt to expedite the project’s completion. The Organization’s internal controls failed to detect and correct the noncompliance. The individual in management who made this decision is no longer employed at the Organization; therefore, documentation on the matter is insufficient and current management is unaware of the communications that occurred with the grantor concerning the timing of gathering price quotes and the necessity to expedite the process. Effect The Organization incurred expenditures of $159,595 that were not in compliance with procurement standards. Questioned Costs Known questioned costs - $159,595 Questioned costs were identified by the Organization as instances of noncompliance prior to the commencement of audit testing. We performed audit testing over a sample of 25 procurement transactions and did not identify any additional instances of noncompliance beyond those reported by the Organization. Identification of a Repeat Finding This is a repeat finding from the prior year’s audit, finding number 2024-001. Recommendation We recommend that the Organization designate an additional responsible party who has knowledge of federal procurement requirements review all projects to ensure compliance. Additionally, all correspondence with the grantor regarding deviations from these requirements should be maintained, including evidence of grantor pre-approval. Response As noted in the corrective action plan, management agrees with this finding.