Finding 571927 (2024-003)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
M
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-07-25
Audit: 363014
Organization: City of Athens (OH)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The City has a significant deficiency in monitoring subrecipients, leading to unallowable expenditures.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 2 CFR 200.332, which mandates monitoring of subrecipients to ensure adherence to federal regulations.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Strengthen monitoring controls by implementing vendor verification and reviewing invoices for draw down requests from subrecipients.

Finding Text

Criteria: 2 CFR 200.332 establishes requirements for pass-through entities. Included in these requirements is to monitor the activities of a subrecipient as necessary to ensure that the subrecipient complies with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the subaward. Condition: The City did have procedures in place to monitor allowable costs and activities of its subrecipients. However, while conducting a review of expenditures through the monitoring of the Appalachia Community Grant (ACG), the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD), noted that a subrecipient of the City had made unallowable expenditures for the grant. This demonstrates a control weakness in the subrecipient monitoring controls conducted by the City. Context: The City, ODOD, and the subrecipient are working on a way to recover any questioned costs associated with this and these do not represent questioned costs of the City. Effect: There is a significant deficiency in the subrecipient monitoring controls of the City that could allow future unallowable costs or activities at subrecipients, if not improved. Recommendation: We recommend that the City implement stronger monitoring controls including vendor verification and review of invoices for the draw down requests that they receive from their subrecipients.

Corrective Action Plan

The City of Athens has reviewed the findings of ODOD and has modified subrecipient monitoring procedures to detect these types of issues in the future.

Categories

Subrecipient Monitoring Allowable Costs / Cost Principles

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1148369 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $6.92M
20.205 Highway Planning and Construction $2.98M
97.044 Assistance to Firefighters Grant $106,955
16.588 Violence Against Women Formula Grants $48,563
14.228 Community Development Block Grants/state's Program and Non-Entitlement Grants in Hawaii $16,486
16.607 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program $8,584