Finding 377352 (2023-001)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
B
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-03-14
Audit: 295147
Organization: Esperanza Health Centers (IL)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The organization charged salaries for three employees that exceeded the federal salary cap set by the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with federal regulations regarding salary limits for grant-funded positions.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Update the internal tracking worksheet to flag salaries that exceed the cap, ensuring compliance moving forward.

Finding Text

Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Federal Program Name: Health Center Program Assistance Listing Number: 93.224/93.527 Federal Award Identification Number: H8F40833-01-00; H8024103-11-00 Award Periods: April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2023; May 1, 2022 – April 30, 2023 Type of Finding: Immaterial noncompliance and Significant deficiency in internal control over compliance Criteria: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Division H, § 202 indicates "None of the funds appropriated in this title shall be used to pay the salary of an individual, through a grant or other extramural mechanism, at a rate in excess of Executive Level II." If salaries are in excess of the salary cap, the amount of salaries charged to a federal award must be reduced to the Executive Level II amount, with any excess being paid by the non-federal entity with non-federal funds. Condition: The Organization charged three employees' salaries in excess of the federal salary cap. Questioned Costs: $900. Context: Three (3) of forty (40) payroll transactions selected for testing. Cause: The Organization’s internal draw down tracking worksheet contained an old salary for the employee or salary was not updated as employees are added to and removed from the grant throughout the fiscal year. Effect: Resulted in the Organization charging three employees' salaries in excess of the Federal salary cap. Repeat Finding: No. Recommendation: CLA recommends formatting the internal HRSA draw down worksheet to include conditional formatting when an employee's pay per pay period exceeds the amount that would be allowed by the federal salary cap. Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Action taken in response to finding: Esperanza reviewed the current year’s HRSA drawdown sheet and updated all personnel salaries. We will also revise the draw down sheet so each person’s current salary is visible each month, and apply conditional formatting to highlight any person making in excess of the salary cap. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Ryan Gadia Planned completion date for corrective action plan: May 31, 2024. If there are any questions regarding this plan, please call Ryan Gadia at (773) 640-5792.

Categories

Questioned Costs Cash Management Significant Deficiency Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 377353 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 953794 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 953795 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
93.224 Consolidated Health Centers (community Health Centers, Migrant Health Centers, Health Care for the Homeless, and Public Housing Primary Care) $2.90M
93.323 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (elc) $691,270
93.527 Affordable Care Act (aca) Grants for New and Expanded Services Under the Health Center Program $332,197
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $323,165
93.391 Activities to Support State, Tribal, Local and Territorial (stlt) Health Department Response to Public Health Or Healthcare Crises $166,333
93.914 Hiv Emergency Relief Project Grants $88,008
93.421 Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services Through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation’s Health $57,384