Finding: SECTION III – Federal Awards Findings: 2024-001 Expense Approval Documentation – Significant Deficiency
During the audit performed by Carver, Florek and James, CPA’s, there was a finding related to expense approval documentation. A total of 20 transactions related to SAFE’s building construction project were tested and 16 did not contain certain documentation of approval.
Cause: During the pre-construction phase, SAFE’s Board of Directors accepted a construction bid from Quality Construction for the purposes of expanding SAFE’s emergency shelter facility. The Board of Directors authorized the total amount of the contract for construction and for architectural services, to include project management. Architectural services and project management were provided by MMW Architects. The Board further authorized Stacey Umhey and Heidi Pederson to approve all invoices related to the project. In their role as project managers, Architects from MMW Architects approved all construction invoices for costs incurred prior to forwarding those invoices to SAFE. Ms. Umhey and Ms. Pederson relied on this approval for costs of the project and considered this approval by the architects to be in compliance with SAFE’s policy.
Corrective Action: All future invoices will be approved by the authorized SAFE staff person, even in instances where there is project manager approval. This corrective action will be put in place immediately and will continue into the future.