Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Program: Family Violence Prevention and Services/Discretionary Assistance Listing Number: 93.592 Major Program Compliance Requirement: Allowable Costs/Activities Allowed Criteria: In accordance with 200.403(g) in Subpart E of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), all costs must be adequately documented. This includes all invoices or other supporting documentation associated with program expenses should be retained to ensure the expense was in accordance with the requirements of the federal program and reported appropriately. Condition: Accurate and reliable records are necessary to meet ongoing financial reporting and operations needs and requirements. During our testing of the Organization?s compliance with Assistance Listing 93.592 Family Violence Prevention and Services/Discretionary, the Organization was unable to provide approximately 17% of the invoices or other supporting documentation selected for testing that are associated with certain program expenses incurred. Cause: The Organization is understaffed and has experienced significant turnover in the accounting and finance department which makes it difficult to maintain internal controls designed to reasonably assure compliance with federal laws, regulations, and program compliance requirements. Effect: The absence of expenditure supporting documentation inhibits the Organization from complying with federal program requirements and the potential of disallowed costs and/or repayment to the federal agency. Recommendation: The Organization should retain all supporting documentation for reported expenditures. View of Responsible Officials: A former Board member with finance and operations experience has been tasked with reviewing financial policies and procedures to ensure compliance in all areas. Policies and procedures will be updated with new processes. To date there have been two changes implemented. Finance staff must now attach electronic copies of invoices within the accounting system to corresponding transactions in order to process payment. In addition, a report of credit card charges missing required documentation is circulated to management monthly, with follow-up to the individual purchasers. Training for all members of the department will occur on an ongoing and regular basis to ensure best practices are being upheld. Policies and procedures and/or the Financial Procedures Handbook will also be updated to reflect the changes.