FAC Explorer

Finding 1222435 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-06-30
Audit: 406143
Organization: American Indian Higher Education Consortium (VA)
Auditor: BLUEARROW CPAS

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: AIHEC missed deadlines for submitting the Final Research Performance Progress Report and Federal Financial Report.
  • Impacted Requirements: Non-compliance with NASA and FFATA reporting guidelines affects grant contracts.
  • Recommended Follow-up: AIHEC should enhance internal controls to ensure timely report submissions and maintain proper documentation.

Finding Text

Criteria As per the NASA Office of STEM Engagement Program and Biomedical Research and Research Training Program compliance and reporting guidance, AIHEC must file final Research Performance Progress Report and Federal Financial Report by the due dates, as mentioned in the above tables. The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (Public Law 109-282; as amended by Section 6202 of Public Law 110-252), as codified in 2 CFR Part 170, requires recipients of grants and cooperative agreements to report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). Condition/Context We noted that, during fiscal year 2025, AIHEC did not submit the required Final Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) and Federal Financial Report (SF-425) within the required reporting deadlines. In addition, AIHEC did not submit the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Subaward Reports for ALN #93.859 Biomedical Research and Research Training Program, ALN#47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering Programs and ALN#43.008 NASA Office of STEM Engagement Program. Cause AIHEC did not have adequate monitoring over the completion and submission of the required reports. Effect AIHEC is not in compliance with the reporting requirements, per the grant contracts. Recommendation We recommend AIHEC continue to review its internal control processes, to ensure that controls are properly implemented for the reporting requirement and that adequate documentation is maintained.

Corrective Action Plan

Management Response AIHEC concurs with this finding. The delays resulted from insufficient monitoring of reporting deadlines across multiple federal awards managed by different program staff, compounded by turnover in the Grants Management function during the fiscal year. AIHEC has hired a full-time Grants & Compliance Manager, who joined the organization in December 2025 and has direct responsibility for tracking and ensuring timely submission of all federal financial and performance reports. In addition, AIHEC implemented a new grant management software system, Grant Vantage, beginning in April 2026. Grant Vantage maintains reporting schedules for each federal award, including the applicable lead times for RPPR, SF-425, and FFATA subaward reporting, and serves as a centralized repository for completed reports and submission documentation. Grant Vantage is continuing to be rolled out for full use across the organization, with the Grants & Compliance Manager overseeing adoption by program staff and the Director of Finance providing final review and submission sign-off. AIHEC will also continue to provide refresher training to program and finance staff on FFATA subaward reporting thresholds and procedures as the system rollout is completed. Estimated Completion Date Implemented April 2026; full organization-wide rollout by September 30, 2026. Responsible Party Angela Toles, Grants & Compliance Manager, with oversight by Diane Robertsy, Director of Finance.

Categories

Reporting Subrecipient Monitoring

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1222418 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222419 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222420 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222421 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222422 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222423 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222424 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222425 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222426 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222427 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222428 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222429 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222430 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222431 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222432 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222433 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222434 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222436 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1222437 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
15.027 ASSISTANCE TO TRIBALLY CONTROLLED COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES $1.83M
43.008 OFFICE OF STEM ENGAGEMENT (OSTEM) $1.22M
47.070 COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING $1.05M
93.859 BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING $1.02M
15.130 INDIAN EDUCATION ASSISTANCE TO SCHOOLS $712,953
15.156 TRIBAL CLIMATE RESILIENCE $536,039
10.234 AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE INVESTMENT PROGRAM $272,790
47.076 STEM EDUCATION (FORMERLY EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES) $236,035
10.443 OUTREACH AND ASSISTANCE FOR SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED AND VETERAN FARMERS AND RANCHERS $155,186
10.902 SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION $52,937
12.630 BASIC, APPLIED, AND ADVANCED RESEARCH IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING $47,403