Finding Text
Reporting
ALN 66.818: Brownfields RLF Program and Brownfields Assessment Grant
Criteria: The grant award requires the following reports for the Brownfields RLF Program: Federal Financial Reports (SF-425) done at least annually, and quarterly progress reports. The grant award requires the following reports for the Brownfields Assessment Grant: Federal Financial Reports (SF-425) done at least annually, and quarterly progress reports.
Condition: For the Brownfields RLF Program, the Authority provided the quarterly reports for testing. There was no indication of review of the reports submitted during the 2022 year. The Authority was not able to provide the SF-425 report for the audit period. They were only able to provide the final SF-425 report submitted after the audit period.
For the Brownfields Assessment Grant, the Authority provided the quarterly reports for testing. There was indication of review provided for three of the four quarters, but no indication was provided for the reports covering the quarter ending June 30, 2022. The Authority was not able to provide the SF-425 report for the audit period. They were only able to provide the final SF-425 report submitted after the audit period.
Context: The quarterly reports were submitted, and amounts reported agreed to the accounting records for both the Brownfields RLF Program and the Assessment Grant. Management indicated reviews were completed, but did not provide evidence of this for all the quarterly reports. For the SF-425 reports, only the final reports were provided.
Effect: The reports should be reviewed to ensure accurate information is reported, and documentation of the review should be retained. The Authority did not follow the terms of the agreement for frequency in reporting for the SF-425 reports.
Questioned Costs: None.
Cause: The Authority didn’t retain evidence of the review for all quarterly reports. If the SF-425 reports were submitted annually, this information was not retained.
Auditor Recommendation: We recommend that the Authority retain evidence of review for all submitted reports and submit the SF-425 reports in accordance with the grant terms and conditions for the Brownfields RLF Program and the Brownfields Assessment Grant.
Great Falls Development Authority Response: During the pandemic, separation of staff, rapid growth, and increased complexity of our organization proved that some of our procedural systems were no longer adequate. We relied too much on single team members being solely responsible for reporting on some grants or contracts. We have put in place three measures to ensure that all reports are submitted as required and that all reports are filed with each grant or
contract. First, each grant or contract now has at least three staff team members responsible for report submittal and filing, the grant or contract manager, their direct supervisor, and our CFO. Second, all documents concerning each grant or contract will be stored electronically on our server and on our Sharepoint. Third, have put in place a more robust management structure to handle our rapid growth, have created an Executive Assistant position, and are creating an Accounting Assistant position to properly manage the increased administrative workload.