Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal Program Titles: Public Housing Capital Fund Program Federal Assistance Listing Numbers: 14.872 Noncompliance - C. Cash Management Non Compliance Material to the Financial Statements: No Significant deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance for Cash Management Criteria: In accordance with 2 CFR 200.305, payment methods for federal awards must minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of federal funds and the disbursement of those funds by the recipient. Federal funds drawn under the Public Housing Capital Fund Program should be limited to amounts needed to meet the Authority’s immediate cash requirements for allowable program expenditures. Accordingly, the Authority should implement procedures to ensure grant funds are not drawn in advance of actual or imminent eligible expenditures. Condition: The Authority drew down federal funds in advance of immediate cash needs for allowable program expenditures. As of year end, a portion of the funds drawn remained unexpended and was reported as unearned revenue in the financial statements. This indicates that federal funds were received prior to the incurrence of eligible expenditures. Context: During review of the financial statements, the Authority was noted to have unexpended federal funds on hand at year end that had been drawn prior to the disbursement of allowable program costs. Specifically, amounts recorded as unearned revenue represented federal funds received in advance of immediate cash needs. This condition was identified through review of drawdown activity, general ledger balances, and year end financial reporting records. Known Questioned Costs: $465,581 Cause: The Authority did not have adequate internal controls in place to monitor the timing of grant drawdowns in relation to actual program cash needs and allowable expenditures. As a result, federal funds were requested and received prior to the incurrence of eligible costs under the Public Housing Capital Fund Program. Effect: The Authority was not in compliance with federal cash management requirements governing the timing of federal fund drawdowns. As a result, federal funds were held in advance of immediate cash needs, increasing the risk of improper cash management and noncompliance with Uniform Guidance and HUD requirements. Recommendation: We recommend the Authority strengthen its internal controls over cash management to ensure federal funds are drawn only for immediate cash needs related to allowable program expenditures. Management should implement monitoring and review controls over grant drawdown activity, including periodic reconciliation of drawdowns to incurred expenditures, to ensure compliance with 2 CFR 200.305 and HUD requirements.