Finding Text
2022 ? 004: Maintenance of Release Forms Federal agency: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal program title: Housing Choice Voucher Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 14.871, 14.879 Award period: January 1, 2021 ? December 31, 2021 Type of Finding: ? Internal Control, Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance ? Other Matters Criteria or specific requirement: Most PHAs devise their own application forms that are filled out by the PHA staff during an interview with the tenant. The head of the household signs (a) one or more release forms to allow the PHA to obtain information from third parties; (b) a federally prescribed general release form for employment information; and (c) a privacy notice. Under some circumstances, other members of the family are required to sign these forms (24 CFR sections 5.212 and 5.230). Condition: During our testing, we noted the Authority failed to maintain documentation of compliance with the requirements as stated in the criteria section of this finding. Questioned Costs: Known - None Likely - Undeterminable Context: From a sample of sixty (60) program participant files selected for testing, two (2) tenant files did not contain the required release of information form signed by the tenant. The sample size was based on guidance from chapter 11 of the AICPA Audit Guide, Government Auditing Standards and Single Audits. Cause: The Authority's system of internal controls included in the policies and procedures failed to identify the noncompliance as described in the condition section of this finding. Effect: The failure of the internal controls has resulted in noncompliance with the stated criteria. Repeat Finding: Yes; 2021-007 Recommendation: We recommend that the Authority review its system of internal control related to the policies and procedures in place to mitigate the risk of noncompliance with the requirements of the stated criteria. Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.