Finding 15705 (2022-004)

Material Weakness
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-03-30
Audit: 18840
Organization: New Castle County, Delaware (DE)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The County failed to report required subaward information for grants of $30,000 or more to the FSRS, resulting in a material weakness in internal controls.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) was not met, as none of the tested subawards were reported.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The County should establish effective internal controls and procedures to ensure timely and accurate FFATA reporting for all subawards.

Finding Text

2022 ? 004 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal Program: Community Development Block Grant/Entitlement Grants Assistance Listing Number: 14.218 Award Period: June 23, 2009 through September 1, 2028 Compliance Requirement: Reporting ? Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Compliance, Material Noncompliance Criteria or specific requirement: Compliance: Per the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA), prime (direct) recipients of grants or cooperative agreements are required to report first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). Reports must be filed in FSRS by the end of the month following the month in which the prime recipient awards any sub-grant greater than or equal to $30,000. If the initial award is below $30,000 but subsequent grant modifications result in a total award equal to or over $30,000, the award will be subject to the reporting requirements as of the date the award exceeds $30,000. If the initial award equals or exceeds $30,000 but funding is subsequently de-obligated such that the total award amount falls below $30,000, the award continues to be subject to FFATA reporting requirements. The following key data elements must be reported: Subawardee Name and Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number; Amount of Subaward (inclusive of modifications); Subaward Obligation/Action Date; Date of Report Submission; Subaward Number; Project Description; and Names and Compensation of Highly Compensated Officers. (Names and Compensation of Highly Compensated Officers must only be reported when the entity in the preceding fiscal year received 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues in Federal awards; and $30,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal awards; and the public does not have access to this information about the compensation of the senior executives of the entity through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. ?? 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.) Control: Per 2 CFR section 200.303(a), a non-Federal entity must: Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should comply with guidance in ?Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government? issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the ?Internal Control Integrated Framework?, issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Condition: The County did not report required subaward information to FSRS for first-tier subawards of $30,000 or more. Context: Zero of two subawards selected for testing were reported to FSRS. Total subawards tested were $1,090,268, and $0 was reported as required by FFATA requirements. See Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs for chart/table Questioned costs: None noted. Cause: The County?s policies and procedures were not sufficient to ensure that required subaward information was reported to FSRS. Internal controls did not prevent or detect the errors. Effect: Subawards were not reported to FSRS in accordance with FFATA requirements. Recommendation: We recommend that the County develop internal controls and procedures to ensure that FFATA reporting requirements are met. We further recommend the County develop controls and procedures to ensure that all required subawards are reported accurately and timely to FSRS. Views of responsible officials: Management agrees with the finding. The Department of Community Services is developing internal controls to ensure that FFATA reporting requirements are met. A system has been created to ensure all required sub-awards are reported accurately and timely in the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS). See Corrective Action Plan for details.

Categories

Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 15704 2022-004
    Material Weakness
  • 15706 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 15707 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 592146 2022-004
    Material Weakness
  • 592147 2022-004
    Material Weakness
  • 592148 2022-003
    Material Weakness
  • 592149 2022-003
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.019 Coronavirus Relief Fund $30.69M
14.871 Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers $16.63M
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $7.31M
14.239 Home Investment Partnerships Program $1.15M
66.458 Capitalization Grants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds $1.09M
14.231 Emergency Solutions Grant Program $979,601
97.042 Emergency Management Performance Grants $396,568
14.900 Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control in Privately-Owned Housing $350,284
16.034 Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program $257,294
16.745 Criminal and Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program $198,765
16.575 Crime Victim Assistance $152,288
97.067 Homeland Security Grant Program $147,805
45.310 Grants to States $144,595
16.738 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program $138,793
14.256 Neighborhood Stabilization Program Arra $125,166
16.710 Public Safety Partnership and Community Policing Grants $115,196
93.323 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (elc) $98,018
21.023 Emergency Rental Assistance Program $83,394
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $75,000
14.228 Community Development Block Grants/state's Program and Non-Entitlement Grants in Hawaii $69,034
16.838 Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-Based Program $50,692
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $26,182
20.600 State and Community Highway Safety $24,533
16.922 Equitable Sharing Program $13,409
14.913 Healthy Homes Production Program $11,443
20.607 Alcohol Open Container Requirements $7,693
20.616 National Priority Safety Programs $7,388
97.047 Pre-Disaster Mitigation $656
45.312 National Leadership Grants $42