Finding Text
Finding 2023-001 Untimely Submission of Reports
Identification of the Federal and State Program:
Assistance Listing Number: 21.023
Program Name: Eviction Diversion Initiative (EDI), Comprehensive Eviction Defense & Diversion (CEDD)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury, passed through NJ State Department of Community Affairs
Assistance Listing Number: 93.086
Program Name: Healthy Marriage Promotion and Responsible Fatherhood Grants (Fatherhood)
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
State Agency: State of New Jersey, Department of Children and Families
Program Name: Passaic and Camden County Women’s Center
Federal/State Award Year: 2023
Finding Type: Significant Deficiency
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
Questioned Costs: $0
Criteria
Per the EDI and CEDD contracts, the grantee is required to submit quarterly programmatic reports by the 15th calendar day of the month following the end of the quarter to the State of New Jersey.
Per the Fatherhood contract, the grantee is required to submit quarterly programmatic reports by the 30th calendar day of the month following the end of the quarter to the State of New Jersey.
Per the State of New Jersey 23GNLW and 23FFLW contracts, the quarterly expenditure report was due 30 days after the end of the quarter.
Condition and Context
For a sample of 16 reports tested, we noted that 10 of the reports were submitted past the required deadline as noted in the table below. The sample was not intended to be, and was not, a statistically valid sample.Cause
The Organization had turnover in staff and required additional time to complete the filings completely and accurately.
Effect or Potential Effect
The Organization is not in compliance with the timeliness of reporting requirements of the funding agencies. Funds may be held or not disbursed timely from the funding source due to the late filing of reports, which could result in cash flow problems for the Organization.
Recommendation
The Organization should evaluate its finance department and increase resources as necessary to aid in compliance and implement internal controls to facilitate timely filings of reports.
Views of Responsible Officials
The Organization plans to reorganize job duties and increase staff in the finance department to assist in the preparation of quarterly fiscal and programmatic reports to file on a timely basis. This was a result of staff turnover which created delays in filing complete and accurate reports.