Finding Text
Federal Program Name: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Funds ? American Rescue Plan Act Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal Assistance Listing Title and Number: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund ? Institutional Portion, 84.425F Award Year: July 1, 2021 ? June 30, 2022 Criteria or Specific Requirement: Procurement, suspension and debarment Condition: The University did not comply with the federal procurement, suspension and debarment requirements ? Material Weakness and Material Noncompliance Questioned Costs: $633,205, calculated as costs identified in our sample that were not expended in accordance with the applicable procurement, suspension and debarment requirements. Context: During testing of compliance with the procurement, suspension and debarment compliance requirements, 11 of 14 selections resulted in errors. From a population of 69 expenditure transactions with a total dollar value of $1,996,507, a sample of 14 transactions valued at $638,171 were selected for testing. 11 of the items sampled did not apply the applicable procurement, suspension and debarment requirements in identifying and selecting a vendor. Our sample was not, and was not intended to be, statistically valid. Effect: Goods and services were procured without applying the appropriate compliance guidelines. Cause: While the University has a draft procurement policy, it is not necessarily compliant with federal regulations and was not consistently applied to acquisitions funded with ARPA dollars. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend the University update the procurement policies to comply with federal requirements and ensure the updated policy is followed when acquiring goods and services using federal funds. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action: See corrective action plan prepared by management.