FAC Explorer

Finding 538132 (2024-101)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
B
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-03-27
Audit: 349149
Organization: Navajo County (AZ)
Auditor: Fester & Chapman PLLC

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The County charged payroll costs to federal grants based on budgeted time instead of actual time worked, leading to potential inaccuracies.
  • Impacted Requirements: Lack of documentation and reconciliation violates 2 CFR §200.430(i), which mandates that payroll charges reflect actual work performed.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The County should enhance internal controls and establish a process to reconcile budgeted payroll with actual time spent on grant activities.

Finding Text

During our audit, we noted that the County charged payroll costs to federal grants based on budgeted time allocations rather than actual time spent on grant activities. The County lacked sufficient documentation to support the actual time worked on the grant program and did not perform a true-up or reconciliation process to adjust these charges to reflect the actual effort expended on the grant projects.The absence of a reconciliation process between budgeted and actual time spent on grant activities may have resulted in inaccurate charges to federal awards. This could potentially lead to questioned costs and impact the allowability of payroll expenses charged to the grants. The County’s policies and procedures did not include a process for reconciling budgeted payroll allocations to actual time spent on grant activities. Additionally, there was a lack of understanding among some department personnel regarding the requirement to base final charges on actual effort rather than budget estimates. As provided in 2 CFR §200.430(i) of the Uniform Guidance, charges to federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed. Payroll distribution records must reasonably reflect an employee’s total activity and support the allocation of salary or wages across specific activities. The County should strengthen its comprehensive internal control policies and procedures to ensure that payroll costs charged to federal awards are accurate, allowable, and properly supported. Additionally, the County should implement a process to reconcile the budgeted payroll allocations with actual time spent on grant activities. The County's corrective action plan at the end of this report includes the views and planned actions of its responsible officials. We are not required to audit and have not audited these responses or corrective actions and therefore we provide no assurances as to their accuracy.

Corrective Action Plan

Concur. To help ensure the County’s policies and procedures include a process for reconciling budgeted payroll allocations to actual time spent on grant activities and provide sufficient documentation to support the actual time worked on the grant program, the County has revised its process for tracking the actual time spent on grant activities in order to provide sufficient documentation to support the actual time worked on the grant program and a reconciliation process to adjust these charges to reflect the actual effort expended on the grant projects. The recommended solutions include strengthening its comprehensive internal control policies and procedures to ensure that payroll costs charged to federal award are accurate, allowable, and properly supported. Additionally, the County will implement a process to reconcile the budgeted payroll allocation with actual time spent on grant activities. The County’s goal is to meet and complete recommendations by the end of fiscal year 2025-26.

Categories

Questioned Costs Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 538133 2024-101
    Significant Deficiency
  • 538134 2024-101
    Significant Deficiency
  • 538135 2024-102
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 538136 2024-102
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 538137 2024-102
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 538138 2024-103
    Significant Deficiency
  • 538139 2024-103
    Significant Deficiency
  • 538140 2024-103
    Significant Deficiency
  • 538141 2024-104
    Significant Deficiency
  • 538142 2024-104
    Significant Deficiency
  • 538143 2024-104
    Significant Deficiency
  • 538144 2024-105
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114574 2024-101
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114575 2024-101
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114576 2024-101
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114577 2024-102
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1114578 2024-102
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1114579 2024-102
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1114580 2024-103
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114581 2024-103
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114582 2024-103
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114583 2024-104
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114584 2024-104
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114585 2024-104
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1114586 2024-105
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $2.84M
21.032 Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund $2.39M
10.665 Schools and Roads - Grants to States $758,061
17.278 Wioa Dislocated Worker Formula Grants $591,933
17.258 Wioa Adult Program $572,583
17.259 Wioa Youth Activities $500,483
10.557 Wic Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children $463,322
93.391 Activities to Support State, Tribal, Local and Territorial (stlt) Health Department Response to Public Health Or Healthcare Crises $419,961
93.268 Immunization Cooperative Agreements $326,363
16.838 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Other Substances Use Program $318,984
93.069 Public Health Emergency Preparedness $310,209
93.323 Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (elc) $304,903
16.575 Crime Victim Assistance $162,077
95.001 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program $160,439
84.371 Comprehensive Literacy Development $135,862
97.042 Emergency Management Performance Grants $131,206
93.994 Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to the States $109,623
16.738 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program $101,160
93.563 Child Support Services $98,765
10.664 Cooperative Forestry Assistance $73,075
93.136 Injury Prevention and Control Research and State and Community Based Programs $70,526
32.011 Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program $68,712
97.067 Homeland Security Grant Program $67,613
16.588 Violence Against Women Formula Grants $65,847
93.967 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Collaboration with Academia to Strengthen Public Health $60,554
93.991 Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant $49,903
93.940 Hiv Prevention Activities Health Department Based $42,884
21.016 Equitable Sharing $33,604
93.788 Opioid Str $24,295
20.600 State and Community Highway Safety $21,846
14.228 Community Development Block Grants/state's Program and Non-Entitlement Grants in Hawaii $19,000
90.404 Hava Election Security Grants $16,974
16.043 Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program $13,414
93.977 Sexually Transmitted Diseases (std) Prevention and Control Grants $13,368
16.576 Crime Victim Compensation $12,100
45.164 Promotion of the Humanities Public Programs $11,820
45.310 Grants to States $10,957
84.027 Special Education Grants to States $6,205
20.616 National Priority Safety Programs $3,007
84.013 Title I State Agency Program for Neglected and Delinquent Children and Youth $1,917
16.922 Equitable Sharing Program $1,680
93.354 Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response $1,618
93.103 Food and Drug Administration Research $611