FAC Explorer

Finding 50883 (2022-002)

Significant Deficiency Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-07-27
Audit: 53428
Organization: City of Baton Rouge - Parish of East Baton Rouge (LA)
Auditor: Postlethwaite & Netterville Apac

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The City-Parish failed to file all required monthly reports for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP 2), and the reports that were filed lacked proper support from accounting records.
  • Impacted Requirements: Timely filing and accurate reporting of financial and performance data are mandated by program regulations, which were not met, leading to potential inaccuracies in reporting to the U.S. Treasury.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The City-Parish Finance Department should prepare or review all financial reports to ensure accuracy and compliance, and existing procedures for report preparation and filing should be reassessed for effectiveness.

Finding Text

2022-002) Reporting Questioned Costs: N/A Department of the Treasury 21.023 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) Grant No(s): N/A Criteria: Financial and performance reports filed with granting agencies must be filed timely in accordance with program regulations and guidance and financial amounts must be supported by the accounting records. The ERAP 1 and ERAP 2 Programs require the filing of monthly and quarterly reports to include various information, including dollar amounts of assistance paid, number of households served, and other information. Condition: The City-Parish did not file all of the required monthly reports for ERAP 2. Furthermore, the financial amounts within both the monthly and quarterly reports were lacking in support from the accounting records of the City-Parish. This is a repeat of finding 2021-002 in our prior year report. Universe/ Population: Of twelve required monthly filings, we selected 12 months for the purpose of determining the timeliness of filing and to determine whether amounts were materially accurate and supported by the accounting records. Of the twelve required filings, six of the reports were not filed, and the six that were filed lacked support of the accounting records. Two of the eight quarterly reports (4 for ERAP 1 and 4 for ERAP 2) were subjected to audit. Neither of the reports selected for audit were filed timely and both included amounts that could not be supported by the accounting records. Effect: The amounts of assistance and other programmatic data may be reported inaccurately to the grantor, in this case, the United States Treasury. Cause: The City-Parish?s Finance Department was not sufficiently involved in the preparation and/or review of the monthly and quarterly reports. Recommendation: The monthly and quarterly reports should be prepared, or at least reviewed, by the City-Parish Finance Department to ensure the financial amounts reported agree to the accounting records. Also, the City-Parish?s procedures for preparing, reviewing, and filing financial reports should be revisited so they effectively ensure accurate and timely reporting to granting authorities. View of Responsible Official: The Office of Community Development (OCD) was in contact with the Treasury to resolve an error with the Treasury reporting portal that prevented report submission. The error was not resolved by Treasury until June 2022. The monthly report requires reporting of the number of households that received assistance and the total amount of ERAP funds paid for those participants in the reporting period. A City-Parish contractor issues the rental assistance and requests reimbursement from the City-Parish at a later date. The Treasury reports are due prior to the reimbursement being paid to the contractor. However, costs for the participants must still be included in the Treasury Report. Due to this timing difference, the monthly report would not be supported by the City-Parish accounting records at the time of the report being filed.

Corrective Action Plan

2022-002) Reporting Management?s response and corrective action is as follows: The Office of Community Development (OCD) was in contact with the Treasury to resolve an error with the Treasury reporting portal that prevented report submission. The error was not resolved by Treasury until June 2022. The monthly report requires reporting of the number of households that received assistance and the total amount of ERAP funds paid for those participants in the reporting period. A City-Parish contractor issues the rental assistance and requests reimbursement from the City-Parish at a later date. The Treasury reports are due prior to the reimbursement being paid to the contractor. However, costs for the participants must still be included in the Treasury Report. Due to this timing difference, the monthly report would not be supported by the City-Parish accounting records at the time of the report being filed. Expected Implementation Date: December 2023 Contact person: Marlee Pittman, Interim Director, Office of Community Development

Categories

Cash Management Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 50873 2022-006
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 50874 2022-007
    Significant Deficiency
  • 50875 2022-008
    Significant Deficiency
  • 50876 2022-009
    Significant Deficiency
  • 50877 2022-006
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 50878 2022-007
    Significant Deficiency
  • 50879 2022-010
    Material Weakness
  • 50880 2022-011
    Material Weakness
  • 50881 2022-012
    Material Weakness
  • 50882 2022-012
    Material Weakness
  • 50884 2022-003
    -
  • 50954 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 50955 2022-005
    Significant Deficiency
  • 50956 2022-013
    Significant Deficiency
  • 50957 2022-014
    Significant Deficiency
  • 627315 2022-006
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 627316 2022-007
    Significant Deficiency
  • 627317 2022-008
    Significant Deficiency
  • 627318 2022-009
    Significant Deficiency
  • 627319 2022-006
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 627320 2022-007
    Significant Deficiency
  • 627321 2022-010
    Material Weakness
  • 627322 2022-011
    Material Weakness
  • 627323 2022-012
    Material Weakness
  • 627324 2022-012
    Material Weakness
  • 627325 2022-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 627326 2022-003
    -
  • 627396 2022-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 627397 2022-005
    Significant Deficiency
  • 627398 2022-013
    Significant Deficiency
  • 627399 2022-014
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $37.49M
21.023 Emergency Rental Assistance Program $25.10M
20.205 Highway Planning and Construction $6.92M
97.039 Hazard Mitigation Grant $6.14M
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $5.84M
97.029 Flood Mitigation Assistance $5.47M
14.228 Community Development Block Grants/state's Program and Non-Entitlement Grants in Hawaii $4.75M
59.075 Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program $3.52M
17.258 Wia Adult Program $1.54M
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $1.32M
17.259 Wia Adult Program $1.17M
20.106 Airport Improvement Program $1.13M
93.569 Community Services Block Grant $1.11M
93.243 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services_projects of Regional and National Significance $936,096
17.278 Wia Adult Program $879,136
93.137 Community Programs to Improve Minority Health Grant Program $818,074
93.686 Ending the Hiv Epidemic: A Plan for America Ryan White Hiv/aids Program Parts A and B (b) $757,086
93.600 Head Start $678,481
14.231 Emergency Solutions Grant Program $602,607
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $586,510
93.568 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance $339,173
97.067 Homeland Security Grant Program $245,647
20.600 State and Community Highway Safety $202,452
93.658 Foster Care_title IV-E $119,398
93.498 Provider Relief Fund $113,017
93.127 Emergency Medical Services for Children $101,508
95.001 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program $97,145
20.616 National Priority Safety Programs $79,996
16.034 Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program $78,600
14.905 Lead Hazard Reduction Demonstration Grant Program $76,888
20.607 Alcohol Open Container Requirements $75,705
14.241 Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids $67,030
97.042 Emergency Management Performance Grants $61,857
16.843 Gulf States Regional Law Enforcement Technology Training and Technical Assistance Initiative (b) $30,000
16.738 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program $21,000
66.817 State and Tribal Response Program Grants $20,000
17.277 Wia Adult Program $14,798
16.609 Project Safe Neighborhoods $10,854
14.239 Home Investment Partnerships Program $9,810
97.024 Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program $7,912
21.009 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (vita) Matching Grant Program $7,356
10.664 Cooperative Forestry Assistance $4,130
93.069 Public Health Emergency Preparedness $1,861
93.914 Hiv Emergency Relief Project Grants $201
97.044 Assistance to Firefighters Grant $12