Finding Text
Finding #2022-002; Airport Improvement Program (AIP) Award 3-42-0045-055-2020 ? CFDA No. 20.106; Year Ended December 31, 2022 CONDITION: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Authority was awarded grant 3-42-0045-055-2020 (AIP 55) to be used for the reimbursement of expenses related to the operations of the airport. In the process of submitting 2022 reimbursement requests to the FAA for AIP 55, the Authority erroneously double-counted expenses for reimbursement. CRITERIA: In accordance with the Uniform Grant Guidance, United States Department of Transportation, Airport Improvement Program, Part III, Section B., ?Allowable Costs/Cost Principles?, costs charged to federal funds under the AIP program must comply with the cost principles at 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart E, the AIP Handbook ? Change 1 and any other requirements or restrictions on the use of federal funding. This guidance further provides that allowable costs must not be included as a cost or used to meet cost sharing or matching requirements of any other federally financed program in either the current or a prior period. CAUSE: Authority management does not have the proper processes in place to avoid duplication of expenses reported from one reimbursement request to the next. EFFECT: The effect of this deficiency was noncompliance with the Airport Improvement Program requirements regarding allowable costs. QUESTIONED COSTS: For the year ended December 31, 2022, questioned costs total $30,031. REPEAT FINDING: No. RECOMMENDATION: We recommend that management develop a process of tracking operating expenses used for reimbursement requests and implement an internal control procedure to avoid duplicating expenses from previous reimbursement requests. Based on our analysis of the Authority?s 2022 operating expenses, the Authority has over $100,000 in unsubmitted/unreimbursed operating expenses that appear eligible for AIP 55 to cover the questioned costs. Therefore, we also recommend the Authority contact the Federal Aviation Administration and inquire about the procedure to revise the reimbursement requests that included duplicate expenses. Further, we recommend that management review subsequent reimbursement requests to ensure accuracy and revise, if necessary. MANAGEMENT RESPONSE: Management agrees with the recommendations. Management will develop procedures necessary to prevent the use of the same expenditure for multiple reimbursement requests. The Authority confirms there are available operating expenses in excess of $100,000 that were not used towards any other grant funding. Management will contact the Federal Aviation Administration about the need to revise the reimbursement requests with replacement expenses and the process to do so.