Finding Text
2022-002 – Eligibility (Significant Deficiency)
Information on Federal Program:
U.S. State Department. Award Listing Number 19.517 Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for Africa: Sunrise Project, Cairo Urban Refugees VII
U.S. State Department. Award Listing Number 19.517 Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for Africa: Sunrise Project, Cairo Urban Refugees VIII
Criteria:
The Code of Federal Regulations Section 200.403(g) states that for eligibility under federal awards, they must be adequately documented and there must be sufficient documentation which should be maintained.
Condition:
During our testing of eligibility, we noted that management could not provide adequate supporting documentation for 12 of 40 beneficiaries sampled.
Cause:
Policies and procedures were not implemented by the awarded agency to require subrecipients to maintain documents to support that beneficiaries who received benefits meet the eligibility requirement for those benefits.
Effect or Potential Effect:
Expenses of $13,656 may have been improperly charged to the program for the services provided to these individuals. While management notes that prior to providing benefits under this program information is checked and verified for eligibility, BDO was unable to confirm the eligibility of the beneficiaries via review of supporting documentation for 12 of 40 beneficiaries tested.
Questioned Costs:
During the year ended December 31, 2023, the average cost of the participants in the program was $1,138 per participant, therefore, for the 12 participants whose support couldn’t be provided, the estimated question cost is calculated as $1,138 x 12 = $13,656.
Context:
We tested a sample of 40 participants and found 12 exceptions as noted in the condition. This is a condition identified per review of the Organization’s compliance with specified requirements using a statistical sample.
Recommendation:
We recommend that the Organization implement policies and procedures that would require subrecipients to maintain adequate supporting documentation for beneficiaries prior to them receiving benefits.
Views of Responsible Officials:
The Organization agrees with the federal award finding identified in the audit. The Organization’s response to this finding is described in the accompanying management’s planned corrective actions.