Finding 588363 (2021-007)

2021-007 REPORTING - SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY Federal Program Emergency Rental Assistance ALN 21.023; passed through the County of Berks Criteria The grant agreements for the three grants related to emergency rental assistance each contain reporting requirements. The grant agreements for Federal ERA1 and ERA2 require the Authority to provide certain reporting information to the County within 30 days of each calendar quarter to allow the County to complete and submit the report. ERA1 funds passed through the state and County indicate that the Authority must prepare and submit a summarized monthly report in the format required by the Commonwealth no later than the 10th of each month, beginning May 10, 2021. Treasury has issued reporting guidance to all grantees. Condition/Cause The Authority did not maintain documentation of internal controls over reporting for the program. Additionally, while reporting spreadsheets were provided, the final reports submitted and back-up for the amounts reported were not maintained. Effect The Authority did not have documentation to support an internal control over reporting. Additionally, as certain files were over-written, the Authority could not produce documentation to support information reported. Questioned Costs Less than $25,000. Context During our testing, we requested all quarterly reports submitted, as well as a sample of 3 monthly reports. While the Authority could provide certain spreadsheets, the report submitted as well as a detail of supporting documentation could not be provided. Repeat Finding No. Recommendation We recommend that all grant reports are reviewed by a person independent of the preparer who has knowledge of the grant requirements. This review should include comparing the amounts reported to detailed support for accuracy. We also recommend that the Authority review their recordkeeping procedures for documentation related to grant reporting. There should be a process in place to ensure all required documentation is maintained and filed in an orderly system that allows the Authority to locate and provide documentation when required. Management Response See corrective action plan included in this report package.