Finding Text
FINDING: 2022-002 Type of Finding: Material weakness in internal control over procurement Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Treasury Federal Program Title: State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Pass-Through Agency: Minnesota Department of Education Pass-Through Number: Not available Award Period: Year ended June 30, 2022 Criteria or Specific Requirement: ?200.319 requires that all procurement transactions must be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition consistent with the standards of this section. In order to ensure objective contractor performance and eliminate unfair competitive advantage, contractors that develop or draft specifications, requirements, statements of work, or invitations for bids or requests for proposals must be excluded from competing for such procurements. Condition: During our testing, it was noted that the District did not retain quotes or document its considerations of open competition for two procurements over the micro-purchase threshold before the related contract was awarded. Questioned Costs: None Context: Of a sample of 3 vendors tested for cost analysis in line with the procurement standard requirement, there were no documented cases of the district properly following procurement guidelines. Cause: The District did not have the controls and procedures in place to ensure the proper documentation of its procurement and open competitions considerations related to the underlying procurements. Effect: A lack of proper documentation could lead to using vendors for small purchase acquisitions without ensuring comparable pricing from other vendors and justifying costs. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: It is recommended that the District creates some sort of standard procedure or form that indicates what method is being used to track all procured items over the micro-purchase threshold ($10,000) to help formally document of how open competition is being assessed and then retain documentation of any quotes, bids or direct negotiation procedures completed. Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.