Finding Text
Information on the Federal Program: Program Name: Congressional Appropriations Program Federal Agency: United States Department of Treasury AL Number/Name: 21.U01 NeighborWorks? System Program FY 2022 Appropriation 21.U04 COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Criteria: According to 2 CFR ? 200.318(a), General Procurement Standards, the non-Federal entity must have and use documented procurement procedures, consistent with State and local laws and regulations, for the acquisition of property or services required under a Federal award or subaward. The non-Federal entity's documented procurement procedures must conform to the procurement standards identified in the Uniform Guidance. In addition, 2 CFR ?200.318(i) states that the non-federal entity must maintain records sufficient to detail the history of the procurement. These records are required to include, but are not necessarily limited to the following: rationale for the method of procurement, selection of contract type, contractor selection or rejection, and the basis for the contract price. All procurement transactions must be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition consistent with ?200.319 and must be performed using the appropriate procurement method as outlined in ?200.320. Furthermore, 2 CFR ?200.320(c), Noncompetitive Procurement, states that there are specific circumstances in which noncompetitive procurement can be used. Noncompetitive procurement can only be awarded if one or more of the following circumstances apply: (1) The acquisition of property or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold; (2) The item is available only from a single source; (3) The public exigency or emergency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from publicizing a competitive solicitation; (4) The Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity expressly authorizes a noncompetitive procurement in response to a written request from the non-Federal entity; or (5) After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined inadequate. Condition: During our review of the Corporation?s procurement policies, we noted that the Corporation?s written internal procurement policies and procedures are not in conformity with the requirements identified in the Uniform Guidance procurement requirements. During our testing of the procurement, suspension and debarment compliance requirement, we selected 54 procurement samples for testing. We noted that 12 out of the 54 procurement samples were procured by way of a noncompetitive proposal process through a solicitation from only one source under the criteria of either: (1) the item is available only from a single source or (2) there is an urgent and compelling need for the goods or services. However, based on our review of the 12 procurement files, we noted that all of the 12 procurement files do not appropriately justify the use of a noncompetitive procurement process due to the following reasons: 1. The supplies or services being procured are sold or provided by other vendors, not just by a single source. 2. Incumbency of the vendor is not a valid noncompetitive procurement justification. 3. Contracting without providing for full and open competition shall not be justified on the basis of (1) lack of advance planning by the requiring activity; or (2) concerns related to the amount of funds available for the acquisition of supplies or services. Cause: The Corporation?s personnel did not adhere to the federal requirements and the Corporation?s internal procurement policies and procedures particularly on the use of noncompetitive procurements. Effect: Failure to perform procurement procedures in accordance with the Corporation?s documented policies and the procurement procedures under the Uniform Guidance procurement requirements could result in expenditures incurred being disallowed. Questioned Costs: Not determinable. Context: This is a condition identified per review of the Corporation?s compliance with the specified requirements using a non-statistical sample. The total federal expenditures related to the 12 noncompetitive procurements is $2,786,980 for the year ended September 30, 2022. The total contract value of the 12 noncompetitive procurements is $13,507,008 with contract terms that ranges from 3 to 5 years. The total federal expenditures for all of the 54 procurement samples selected for testing is $9,409,871 from a total population of expenditures subject to procurement of $15,481,554 for the year ended September 30, 2022. Repeat Finding: This is not a repeat finding. Recommendation: We recommend that the Corporation update its current procurement policies and procedures to conform with the requirements identified in the Uniform Guidance procurement requirements. In addition, the Corporation should ensure that the use of the Noncompetitive Procurement criteria under the Uniform Guidance procurement requirements are adhered to and appropriate justifications for these contracts are used and documented appropriately. Finally, the Corporation should have a system in place to track and monitor the terms of vendor contracts in order to plan in advance if the contracts will need to be subject to a competitive procurement process providing full and open competition as required. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the finding and recommendations set forth within and has developed a corrective action plan to address the instances of noncompliance identified and lapses in prescribed internal controls.