Finding 37948 (2022-003)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
F
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-09-04
Audit: 29568
Organization: Commonwealth Ports Authority (MP)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: CPA lacks proper oversight and monitoring of equipment and real property management, leading to noncompliance with federal requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Incomplete property records and failure to reconcile physical inventory with accounting records resulted in unidentified assets and missing information.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: CPA should ensure annual inventory results align with property records and enhance asset details in the subledger for better tracking.

Finding Text

Finding No.: 2022-003 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Transportation Assistance Listings Program: 20.106 Airport Improvement Program Award Numbers: All AIP Grants Area: Equipment and Real Property Management Questioned Costs: $-0- Criteria: In accordance with applicable equipment and real property management requirements, a State must use, manage and dispose of equipment acquired under a Federal award by the State in accordance with State laws and procedures. (1) Property records must be maintained that include a description of the property, a serial number or other identification number, the source of funding for the property (including the federal award identification number), who holds title, the acquisition date, and cost of the property, percentage of Federal participation in the project costs for the Federal award under which the property was acquired, the location, use and condition of the property, and any ultimate disposition data including the date of disposal of the property; (2) A physical inventory of the property must be taken and the results reconciled with the property records annually. Condition: Tests of equipment and real property noted the following: 1. CPA performed a capital assets inventory during fiscal year 2022. Based on controls testing, a reconciliation was performed at the department level; however, it was not reconciled with accounting records, resulting in $1,824,424 that were identified as not program assets. Total fixed asset additions capitalized and related to CPA?s major program, is as follows: See Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs for chart/table 2. The fixed assets schedule did not include information such as who holds title and the use of the assets. Of nine items (or 10%) tested of a total population of eighty-nine FAA-funded capital assets, we noted deficiencies, as follows: 3. One item (or 11%) has been unidentified, and management was not able to substantiate the existence of the actual fixed asset. It also has outlived its 20-year life expectancy. See Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs for chart/table Cause: CPA lacks oversight responsibility and monitoring controls over compliance with equipment and real property management requirements. Effect: CPA is in noncompliance with applicable equipment and real property management requirements. No questioned costs are presented as we are unable to quantify the extent of noncompliance. Identification as a Repeat Finding: Finding 2021-002. Recommendation: CPA should reconcile the results of the annual physical inventory to the property records and ascertain that the acquisition costs of the individual assets agree to the records of accounting. Further, sufficient details should be included in the fixed assets subledger to specifically identify the individual assets. Views of Responsible Officials: Management states agreement. Refer to separate Corrective Action Plan.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding No 2022-003 Name of Contact Person: Skye Aldan Hofschneider, Comptroller Zack Diaz, Internal Auditor Corrective Action: CPA agrees with this finding. CPA has implemented Equipment Management Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in June 2022 and trained staff involved in Equipment Management in August 2022. Because trainings on the newly developed SOPs were first conducted in August 2022, CPA noted and FAA acknowledged that repeat findings may be found in this audit report. CPA emphasizes that SOP trainings are continuing and mandatory for all of CPA Management, and CPA expects that the SOPs and related training will resolve this issue moving forward. Equipment SOP trainings occur twice per year and will continue indefinitely. In July 2023, CPA issued the inventory and property records to all CPA Department Heads to review, verify and confirm details of each fixed asset and provide additional identifying information for entry. These updates will be submitted to the Procurement Division in August 2023 for verification and entry into the Equipment Management System. Condition 1: The fixed asset schedule provided to the auditors included a column that listed all contributed fixed assets as funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA column was mistakenly entered into the schedule. CPA Accounting verified that the details of all assets that were identified as non-FAA assets indicate funding through other federal or local programs. The fixed asset schedule will go through verification by the Accounting Manager and Comptroller to ensure that only the program assets requested are listed. Condition 2: CPA will input the asset details to include who holds title and use of asset into the fixed asset system. CPA will update the Equipment Details Form to include title and use of assets. Condition 3: CPA will write off the asset from its fixed asset system. CPA has developed the following corrective action plan for this finding: 1. Establish Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for Equipment Management CPA has established Equipment Management SOPs that were implemented and effective on June 30, 2022. The SOPs detail the equipment management requirements, details, and responsibilities. In addition, the SOPs include an annual mandatory schedule for inventory, disposals, and reconciliation. With the completion of the inventory reconciliation in June 2023, the Procurement Department sent out the fixed asset listings to each respective department. The Department Heads are reviewing their equipment listings to verify the accuracy of equipment details, provide additional identifying information and confirm existence of all assets listed. The Department Heads will be providing monthly updates to the Procurement Department for entry into the Equipment Management System. 2. Implement Standard Equipment Management Forms Standard procurement forms have been developed to establish additional controls and reviews for all equipment. These standard forms include requirements such as identifying details for all fixed assets. 3. Develop a Training Plan for Equipment Management Procedures CPA developed an Equipment Management training plan that was implemented on June 17, 2022. The training plan includes annual requirements for training on equipment management and compliance requirements. The training is based on the established SOPs and best practices and is mandatory for all staff involved in equipment management. 4. Internal Auditor Position An internal auditor position was created on May 16, 2022 and hired on August 29, 2022. Part of the internal auditor?s responsibilities include reviewing inventory records and equipment management files for compliance. The internal auditor reports directly to the CPA Board of Director and provides monthly reports. The internal auditor monthly reports are used as a tool to identify areas of equipment management non-compliance for immediate correction. Proposed Completion Date: FY 2023

Categories

Equipment & Real Property Management

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 37949 2022-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 37950 2022-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 37951 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 37952 2022-005
    Significant Deficiency
  • 614390 2022-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 614391 2022-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 614392 2022-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 614393 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 614394 2022-005
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
97.U01 Electronic Baggage Screening Program $7.57M
20.106 Airport Improvement Program $5.15M
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $1.96M
97.072 National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program (nedctp) $150,516
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $139,637
97.U02 Law Enforcement Officer Reimbursement Program $36,017
97.039 Hazard Mitigation Grant $14,944