FAC Explorer

Finding 390087 (2023-001)

Significant Deficiency Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-03-29
Audit: 300960
Organization: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (AR)
Auditor: Forvis LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: UAMS failed to submit the annual Federal Financial Report (FFR) on time, violating reporting requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with Section 200.328, which mandates timely submission of OMB-approved financial reports.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Management should enhance internal controls to ensure all reports are submitted on time, leveraging new weekly meetings for oversight.

Finding Text

Head Start Cluster Head Start, ALN 93.600 Department of Health and Human Services Program Year 2022-2023 Criteria or specific requirement - Reporting - The requirements for reporting are contained in Section 200.328 which states unless otherwise approved by OMB, the Federal awarding agency must solicit only the OMB-approved governmentwide data elements for collection of financial information (at time of publication the Federal Financial Report or such future), OMB-approved, governmentwide data elements available from the OMB-designated standards lead. This information must be collected with the frequency required by the terms and conditions of the federal award. Condition - UAMS did not submit the annual Federal Financial Report (FFR) timely. Questioned costs - $0 Context - Out of the population of seven reports required to be submitted for the Head Start program during FY2023, 2 were selected for testing. Our sampling method was not, and was not intended to be, statistically valid. There were 5 attributes tested for each report selected for testing. Effect - UAMS did not submit the annual Federal Financial Report (FFR) timely. Cause - UAMS' processes did not ensure reports were submitted timely. Repeat finding - Yes, 2022-007 Recommendation - We recommend that management design and implement internal controls that will ensure that all required reports are submitted timely. View of Responsible Officials - In order to address the exceptions identified in the audit, UAMS has implemented new processes where the staff member assigned to the Head Start program meets weekly with the Head Start Finance Manager and Director to discuss expenses allocated to the grants, assign tasks to be completed each week, and discuss reporting needs and deadlines. This finding recurred due to UAMS not implementing the new process until after January 2023. The new implemented processes have proven to assist in proper oversight and accurate financial management of the grants and allowed UAMS to meet the last reporting deadline in November 2023.

Corrective Action Plan

Corrective Action Plan Finding 2023-001 Due to the prior year finding, management set a goal to ensure reporting deadlines are met by hiring an additional grants accounting staff member dedicated to monitor the head start program regulations and ensure reports are completed and filed timely. Grants accounting staff planned to utilize checklist functionality in the new financial system that will send required task notifications prior to reporting due dates to assist in meeting reporting deadlines. A new staff member was hired in July 2023. The responsibilities of the new staff member required several months of training and additional time to reconcile the head start accounts causing the January 30, 2023, report to be filed 3 days late. New processes have been implemented where the staff member assigned to the head start program meets weekly with the head start finance manager and director to discuss expenses allocated to the grants, assign tasks to be complete each week, and discuss reporting needs and deadlines. The new implemented processes have proven to assist in proper oversight and accurate financial management of the grants and allowed us to meet the last reporting deadline in November 2023. Responsible Official: Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance & Treasurer Implementation Date: Implemented

Categories

Reporting Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 966529 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $58.34M
93.498 Provider Relief Fund $27.89M
93.600 Head Start $8.71M
93.011 National Organizations of State and Local Officials $7.99M
93.342 Health Professions Student Loans, Including Primary Care Loans/loans for Disadvantaged Students $2.95M
93.788 Opioid Str $2.81M
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $2.15M
93.391 Activities to Support State, Tribal, Local and Territorial (stlt) Health Department Response to Public Health Or Healthcare Crises $2.14M
93.838 Lung Diseases Research $1.82M
93.495 Community Health Workers for Public Health Response and Resilient $1.57M
93.107 Area Health Education Centers $1.54M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $1.53M
93.155 Rural Health Research Centers $1.48M
93.665 Emergency Grants to Address Mental and Substance Use Disorders During Covid-19 $1.31M
93.959 Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse $1.30M
93.926 Healthy Start Initiative $1.27M
93.738 Pphf: Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Program Financed Solely by Public Prevention and Health Funds $1.22M
93.086 Healthy Marriage Promotion and Responsible Fatherhood Grants $1.01M
93.073 Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities - Prevention and Surveillance $1.00M
16.582 Crime Victim Assistance/discretionary Grants $881,747
93.173 Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders $848,578
93.969 Pphf Geriatric Education Centers $747,080
93.136 Injury Prevention and Control Research and State and Community Based Programs $720,199
93.558 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families $698,690
93.439 State Physical Activity and Nutrition (span $668,793
93.137 Community Programs to Improve Minority Health Grant Program $548,681
93.530 Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Payment $546,559
93.998 Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Surveillance, Research, and Prevention $533,210
10.310 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (afri) $523,926
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $469,078
10.855 Distance Learning and Telemedicine Loans and Grants $462,742
93.800 Organized Approaches to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening $443,101
93.870 Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant $406,049
10.874 Delta Health Care Services Grant Program $404,089
93.247 Advanced Nursing Education Grant Program $402,074
93.113 Environmental Health $386,723
93.398 Cancer Research Manpower $371,965
47.074 Biological Sciences $329,649
43.003 Exploration $318,866
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program Federal Capital Contributions $315,465
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $305,404
11.307 Economic Adjustment Assistance $257,130
16.839 Stop School Violence $253,740
93.060 Sexual Risk Avoidance Education $251,235
93.867 Vision Research $242,185
84.425F Education Stabilization Fund - Heerf Institutional Aid $239,778
93.253 Poison Center Support and Enhancement Grant $222,525
93.310 Trans-Nih Research Support $220,797
93.940 Hiv Prevention Activities_health Department Based $219,251
93.859 Biomedical Research and Research Training $211,662
93.234 Traumatic Brain Injury State Demonstration Grant Program $207,339
93.000 Miscellaneous US Department of Health and Human Services Programs $198,801
93.323 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (elc) $183,381
93.110 Maternal and Child Health Federal Consolidated Programs $183,194
16.575 Crime Victim Assistance $180,711
93.516 Public Health Training Centers Program $167,770
93.855 Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation Research $162,965
93.643 Children's Justice Grants to States $152,146
93.912 Rural Health Care Services Outreach, Rural Health Network Development and Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement $132,711
93.045 Special Programs for the Aging_title Iii, Part C_nutrition Services $125,779
93.319 Outreach Programs to Reduce the Prevalence of Obesity in High Risk Rural Areas $111,211
93.680 Medical Student Education $108,231
93.077 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act Regulatory Research $107,701
93.958 Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services $102,847
93.211 Telehealth Programs $101,326
94.013 Volunteers in Service to America $97,907
93.946 Cooperative Agreements to Support State-Based Safe Motherhood and Infant Health Initiative Programs $96,792
93.421 Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services Through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation’s Health $91,488
93.397 Cancer Centers Support Grants $88,771
93.279 Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs $85,745
93.226 Research on Healthcare Costs, Quality and Outcomes $85,309
93.839 Blood Diseases and Resources Research $83,361
93.121 Oral Diseases and Disorders Research $77,633
93.396 Cancer Biology Research $77,250
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $70,412
93.364 Nursing Student Loans $69,896
11.619 Arrangements for Interdisciplinary Research Infrastructure $69,643
93.243 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services_projects of Regional and National Significance $59,397
93.393 Cancer Cause and Prevention Research $57,608
93.884 Grants for Primary Care Training and Enhancement $52,472
93.840 Translation and Implementation Science Research for Heart, Lung, Blood Diseases, and Sleep Disorders $49,210
93.351 Research Infrastructure Programs $45,462
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $42,260
93.991 Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant $39,203
10.170 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program - Farm Bill $32,668
93.590 Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Grants $27,461
47.083 Integrative Activities $27,212
93.361 Nursing Research $27,131
93.847 Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research $23,218
17.502 Occupational Safety and Health_susan Harwood Training Grants $23,061
93.846 Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Research $21,902
93.866 Aging Research $20,212
93.307 Minority Health and Health Disparities Research $19,715
93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research $17,894
93.213 Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health $17,782
93.143 Niehs Superfund Hazardous Substances_basic Research and Education $17,497
93.273 Alcohol Research Programs $17,296
93.242 Mental Health Research Grants $15,476
93.395 Cancer Treatment Research $14,590
16.000 Miscellaneous US Department of Justice Programs $13,317
93.286 Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health $12,000
32.006 Covid-19 Telehealth Program $10,640
12.420 Military Medical Research and Development $8,132
93.837 Cardiovascular Diseases Research $7,874
93.241 State Rural Hospital Flexibility Program $6,941
93.575 Child Care and Development Block Grant $6,814
47.041 Engineering $6,422
32.011 Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program $6,127
93.262 Occupational Safety and Health Program $5,318
43.008 Office of Stem Engagement (ostem) $5,246
93.747 Elder Abuse Prevention Interventions Program $4,731
93.853 Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders $1,876
93.350 National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences $1,520
93.394 Cancer Detection and Diagnosis Research $802