Finding Text
Finding reference: 2022-003 Federal Agency: Department of Health and Human Services Federal Program: 93.110 Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs Requirement: Reporting Type of Finding: Material weakness in internal control over major program Criteria: The Foundation is required to complete annual reporting for the grant on Form SF-425, Federal Financial Report. Per SF-425 instructions, the federal share of expenditures line (10e) should include, ??the sum of cash disbursements for direct charges for property and services; the amount of indirect expense incurred; and the net increase or decrease in the amounts owed by the recipient for (1) goods and other property received; (2) services performed by employees, contractors, subrecipients, and other payees; and (3) programs for which no current services or performance are required.? The SF-425 instructions state that if an indirect cost rate is utilized, the grantee must report the type of rate (i.e. provisional, predetermined, final or fixed). The SF-425 instructions state that cumulative amounts from the date of inception of the award through the reporting period end date should be reported. Condition: Expenditures incurred by the Foundation, but not yet billed to the Department of Health and Human Services, were not included in the amounts reported for federal share of expenditures. The indirect cost rate type reported did not match the type in the indirect cost rate plan approved by the Department of Health and Human Services. The Base (line 11d) and Federal Share (line 11f) of indirect expenses reported on the annual SF-425 were not cumulative. Cause: Management has not implemented adequate controls to ensure amounts reported match the requirements of the SF-425. Effect: Misreporting of information required by the federal government may lead to federal inquiries of those charged with governance. Context: The federal share of expenditures reported totaled $5,147,866. Actual expenditures incurred totaled $5,465,447. Amounts were underreported by $317,581. The Foundation reported their indirect rate type as fixed when it is provisional. The indirect cost base reported totaled $153,241 which was limited to the base for the budget period (August 1, 2021 to July 31, 2022). The actual cumulative base for the grant was $836,269. Amounts were underreported by $683,028. The federal share of indirect costs reported totaled $92,404 which was for the budget period previously stated. The actual cumulative federal share of indirect costs was $504,270. Amounts were underreported by $411,866. Recommendation: Instructions for required reporting should be read before preparing reports to ensure accurate amounts are presented. A review of the SF-425 should be done by a different individual than the preparer to catch any reporting errors. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: See corrective action plan