Finding Text
Finding: This is a new finding relating to a significant deficiency in internal control over compliance in relation to the period of performance requirements of the above noted major federal program. Criteria: The 2025 UniformGuidance compliance supplement issued by the Office of Management and Budget inNovember of 2025 outlines the period of performance compliance guidelines and requirements of the above notedmajor federal program. It states, “The SLFRF Award Terms and Conditions provide that the period of performance for each award begins on the date the Award Terms and Conditions were entered into and ends on December 31, 2026. For eligible use categories described in the 2022 Final Rule, recipients may only use funds to cover costs incurred during the period beginning on March 3, 2021 and ending on December 31, 2024, pursuant to the 2022 Final Rule at 31 CFR section 35.5(a). A cost is considered incurred if a recipient has incurred an obligation with respect to such cost. Recipients must obligate program funds by December 31, 2024 and liquidate all obligations under the award no later thanDecember 31, 2026, which is the end of the period of performance. No newobligations or costs may be incurred during the period beginning January 1, 2025 and ending on December 31, 2026. During this two-year period from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2026, recipients are only permitted to expend funds to satisfy obligations incurred by December 31, 2024.” Condition: The annual report for the period ending March 31, 2025 was reviewed as part of the testing of the reporting requirements of the above noted major federal program. This annual report included information relating to seven individually defined projects. The current and cumulative expenditure and obligation amounts were tested in relation to the provided supporting documentation. The total cumulative obligation amounts included on the annual report were $1,445,423 which matched the total amount of SLFRF funds received by the Town. The individual contracts or obligations for goods or services were reviewed in relation to these seven projects to determine that the funds were obligated in accordance with the above noted period of performance compliance requirements for the above noted major federal program. For two of these projects totaling $143,167 copies of the vendor quotes were provided as dated December 30, 2024. Both of these quotes included a place for the representative of the Town to sign and date and they were signed and dated as of December 31, 2024. Given that the signed acceptance of a quote is not a legally binding obligation until the signed and accepted contract is sent back to the vendor, we requested some form of documentation showing that the signed and accepted contract had in some way shape or form been provided to the vendor by the program obligation deadline of December 31, 2024. No information could be provided in relation to this request. For another of these projects totaling $43,895 a copy of a vendor quote was provided as dated December 24, 2024. This quote included a place for the representative of the Town to sign and date and it was signed and dated as of December 24, 2024. Given that the signed acceptance of a quote is not a legally binding obligation until the signed and accepted contract is sent back to the vendor, we requested some form of documentation showing that the signed and accepted contract had in some way shape or form been provided to the vendor by the program obligation deadline of December 31, 2024. No information could be provided in relation to this request. For another of these projects totaling $17,800 a copy of a vendor proposal was provided as dated December 27, 2024. This proposal included a place for the representative of the Town to sign and date and it was signed and dated as of December 30, 2024. Given that the signed acceptance of a proposal is not a legally binding obligation until the signed and accepted contract is sent back to the vendor, we requested some form of documentation showing that the signed and accepted contract had in some way shape or form been provided to the vendor by the program obligation deadline of December 31, 2024. No information could be provided in relation to this request. Questioned Costs: There are no questioned costs relating to this significant deficiency in internal control over compliance in relation to this period of performance requirements finding. Context: The period of performance compliance requirements relating to the above noted major federal program in general states that funds cannot be obligated after December 31, 2024. However, there are certain conditions under which additional obligations can be incurred after this date in relation to obligations that were in place as of December 31, 2024. We feel that not being able to provide some form of documentation showing that certain signed and accepted contracts had in some way shape or form been provided to the vendor by the program obligation deadline of December 31, 2024 indicates a significant deficiency in internal control over compliance in relation to the period of performance compliance requirement. Effect: Any SLFRF funds that were received by the Town needed to be obligated in accordance with the award compliance requirements as set forth by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Any funds found not to have been obligated in accordance with these award compliance requirements could be required to be returned to the funding source. Cause: Given that these SLFRF funds were received by the Town during the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, we were unable to determine why the contracts referred to within this finding were not entered into until the last week that the funds were eligible to be obligated. The Town may have had difficulty determining the projects to be funded or finding vendors to provide the goods or services. Recommendation: We recommend that the Townmore closelymonitor state and federal awarddeadlines relating to period of performance compliance requirements. In addition, we recommend that specific internal control policies and procedures be created, documented and implemented to ensure compliance in relation to all applicable period of performance requirements. Views of Responsible Officials: We have discussed this finding with our auditor and we do understand the importance of an adequate system of internal control policies and procedures relating to state and federal award program period of performance requirements. We do, however, feel that since the contracts that were noted within this finding were signed as being accepted by the Town prior to the obligation deadline that it did create a legally binding obligation regardless of when the signed contracts were provided to the vendors.