Finding Text
Federal Program, Assistance Listing # and Year, Federal Agency: COVID-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, Assistance Listing #21.027, 2021, U.S. Department of Treasury. Criteria or Specific Requirement: 2 CFR 200.303 requires the entity to establish and maintain effective internal controls over compliance with respect to federal awards and Section 1111(b)(2)(A) of the ESEA for compliance accountability. Proper internal controls require supporting documentation to be retained as evidence for effectiveness of the controls in place. Also, 2 CFR 180 prohibits non-Federal entities from entering into covered transactions with suspended or debarred entities.’ Condition: The City failed to establish and maintain effective controls over suspension and debarment. The City failed to provide evidence the City verified vendor’s suspension and debarment status prior to procurement. Effect: The City of Shreveport risks not being in compliance with their federal funding procurement compliance requirements. Cause: Purchasing Department/Management failed to follow City Procurement Policy and Procedure when contracting vendors. Questioned Costs: None noted. Reported finding is a deficiency in internal control Context: The issue was identified in a sample of 3 contracts for the major program. Recommendation: We recommend the City follows their Procurement Policy when ensuring vendor status prior to contracting services. Views of responsible officials and corrective action plan: The Purchasing Agent will ensure that the contracted vendor(s) are not suspended or debarred using the data from SAM.GOV and Louisiana Secretary of State websites. The search results will be included in the files. This will ensure that the City of Shreveport is following the federal funding procurement requirements.