Finding Text
Finding 2022-007 Federal Assistance Listing Number: 16.560 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Justice Program Name: National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants Type(s) of Compliance Requirements: Allowable Costs Type of Finding: Internal Control over Compliance ? Significant Deficiency; Noncompliance Criteria: Per the U.S. Department of Justice Financial Guidelines, the costs of computing devices, software, and information technology systems that are characterized as equipment require prior written approval. In addition, any tangible personal property over $5,000 must be classified as equipment and the recipient must have adequate maintenance procedures. Equipment is a budget category whereby indirect costs may not be calculated and charged. Condition: Purchase of equipment in the amount of $11,436 was reported and charged to the grant budget as supply expense rather than equipment. As a result, indirect costs in the amount of $4,055 were incorrectly calculated on this expense and charged to the grant. In addition, $6,426 of this equipment purchase was not included in the approved budget nor did the Foundation receive prior written approval for the increased expenditure. Cause: The accounting department misclassified $11,436 of equipment costs incurred as supply expense and only obtained verbal approval for the increased expenditure. Effect: The internal control over the Allowable Costs compliance requirement is likely to be ineffective in preventing or detecting noncompliance. Context: 1 sample selection ($5,010) out of a sample of 40 items selected from a population of 373 items. Recommendation: We recommend that the Foundation develop and implement procedures to ensure that federal funds are administered in accordance with program compliance requirements. View of Responsible Officials: See corrective action plan on page 38.