Finding Text
2022-002 Suspension and Debarment
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Treasury
Federal Program Name: COVID-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Effort
Assistance Listing Number: 21.027
Federal Award Identification Number and Year: N/A
Award Period: 2022 and 2021
Pass-through Entity: n/a
Questioned Costs: None
Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance, Other Matters
Criteria or Specific Requirement: 2 CFR 200.303, requires that non-federal entities receiving federal awards establish and maintain internal control designed to reasonably ensure compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal award. Effective internal controls should include procedures in place to ensure the required certifications for covered contracts and subawards are received, documented, and contracts are not made with a debarred or suspended party.
Condition: During our testing, it was noted the County did not have adequate controls designed to ensure that suspension and debarment requirements were being met.
Context: Of the 5 vendors tested, we noted that all 5 were not verified by the County or certifications from the vendor collected to ensure the vendors were neither suspended or debarred.
Cause: The County has not designed and implemented internal controls to ensure compliance with suspension and debarment requirements outlined.
Effect: Failure to obtain the required certifications or perform verification procedures with SAM.gov could result in the payment of federal funds to vendors that are suspended or debarred from participation in federal assistance programs.
Recommendation: We recommend the County implement internal controls to ensure that suspension and debarment assessment are performed during the procurement and contracting phase. In addition, sufficient documentation should be retained to evidence suspension and debarment verification is performed.
Repeat Finding: No
Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.