Finding Text
Assistance Listing No: 93.224 - COVID-19: Health Center Program Cluster Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Passed-Through Agency: Not applicable Award Year: 2022 Questioned Costs: Not applicable Criteria: The Center must maintain effective internal controls over, and accountability for, all program funds, property, and other assets in order to adequately safeguard all such assets and ensure that they are used solely for authorized purposes. Condition and Context: The Center's internal control and record retention process does not allow for timely and accurate information to be provided during the audit process to support each of the 4 drawdowns of program funds that were tested during the audit. This is not a statistically valid sample. Cause: The Center did not retain support for each drawdown request made on federal funds. Effect: The lack of effective internal controls and record retention resulted in inaccurate support being provided several times for drawdowns tested during the audit process, which also resulted in significant delays. The Center was eventually able to provide information that reconciled and supported their drawdowns. Recommendation: The Center should establish internal controls to ensure that detail to support each drawdown is reviewed, approved, and retained. Management's Response: The Center agrees with this finding. The funds are drawn in anticipation of spending the funds or right after the expenditures. The General Ledger system was changed to a six-digit code to indicate a year and grant number (e.g., the first awarded grant of 2023 would be 230001). The purchase requisition system has also been changed to include this 6-digit code. The drawdown will match the amount drawn and attached to the order and invoice. This practice started following this finding and will be maintained going forward.