Finding Text
Federal Program: U.S. Department of Commerce, Regional Fishery Management Councils CFDA 11.441 Criteria: WPRFMC should minimize the time between the drawdown of Federal funds from the Federal government and their disbursement for Federal program purposes pursuant to 2 CFR 200.305(b). The timing and amount of advance payments must be as close as is administratively feasible to the actual disbursements for direct program or project costs. In accordance with the Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions dated November 2020, B.02(b)(1), advance payment requests should be timed such that Federal funds are on hand for a maximum of thirty calendar days before being disbursed. Condition: During our audit, we noted draw downs from the Sustainable Fisheries Fund XII award were on hand in excess of thirty days during the periods April through July 2022 and October through December 2022. Funds from the Sustainable Fisheries Fund XIII award were on hand in excess of thirty days from September through December 2022. The excess funds on hand for these awards ranged from approximately $4,000 to $16,000. Cause: Internal controls over cash management were inadequate to ensure Federal draws did not exceed related expenditures. The untimely reconciliation of award expenditures could have resulted in improper drawdowns of Federal funds. Effect or Potential Effect: Inadequate controls over cash management increases the risk of noncompliance with Federal cash management requirements and with other Federal statutes and regulations related to financial management. Recommendation: We recommend WPRFMC enhance internal controls over cash management to minimize the time elapsing between the drawdown of Federal funds and the related disbursement.