Finding Text
Finding 2023-002 – National Park Service (Significant Deficiency):
Information on the federal program: Rehabilitation of D.R. Glass Library, FAL No. 15.904, June 30, 2023
Criteria – Federal regulations governing historic preservation.
Condition – Non-compliance noted regarding verification of all expenses under the grant and untimely filing of interim report.
Questioned Costs – As provided below.
Context – We noted the following in connection with our testing of compliance:
■ Concerning the D. R. Glass Library renovation project, the architect certified roughly two-thirds of the $450,000 spent under the grant. The College paid out approximately $131,000 to the construction company without formal certification of incurred expenses. The construction company used AIA Document G702 for payment requests, which includes a certification section. Only three of 11 payment requests had appropriate certifications by the architect or the College before payment was made.
■ The interim report that was due on September 30, 2022 was dated October 31, 2022 and not filed until November 4, 2022 indicating it was filed untimely.
Cause – Oversight by responsible employees.
Effect – Unallowable costs could have been incurred by the construction company. Reporting deadline was missed.
Repeat Finding – No.
Auditor’s Recommendation – To ensure compliance and the appropriateness of expenses, all payment requests should be certified either by the architect or the College's designated, qualified person overseeing the project. All performance and financial reports should be filed timely.
Views of Responsible Officials – The College accepts the auditors’ recommendations. The College is comfortable that no unallowable cost payments were made in connection with this project; however, it understands that it needs to establish stricter guidelines when it comes to certifications of contractual payments. The College will more closely adhere to program reporting schedules.