Finding 623049 (2022-002)

Material Weakness
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-09-25
Audit: 41663
Organization: Mahoning County (OH)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The County's Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards was overstated by $3,091,886 due to incorrect reporting of cumulative expenditures for the SLFRF program.
  • Impacted Requirements: Noncompliance with federal reporting standards and errors in the Schedule could jeopardize future grant awards and misrepresent major federal programs during audits.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: County management should enhance controls, review grant documents, and implement a tracking system for federal expenditures to ensure compliance and accurate reporting.

Finding Text

2 CFR ? 1000 gives regulatory effect to the United States Department of Treasury for 2 CFR ? 200.328 and 329 which states, in part, that unless otherwise approved by OMB, the Federal awarding agency must solicit only the OMB-approved governmentwide data elements for collection of financial information at time of publication the Federal Financial Report or such future, OMB-approved, governmentwide data elements available from the OMB-designated standards lead. This information must be collected with the frequency required by the terms and conditions of the Federal award, but no less frequently than annually nor more frequently than quarterly. Additionally, program-specific reporting requirements under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program 1 & 2 (ERA) and State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF), requires all ERA and SLFRF grantees must submit quarterly reports with reporting periods of one calendar quarter and several cumulative fields covering all activity from the date of award through the quarter close. The key line items in the form are: 1. The cumulative amount obligated by the grantee; and 2. The cumulative amount expended by the grantee Additionally, 2 CFR Subpart F ? 200.510(b) requires the auditee to prepare a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (the Schedule) for the period covered by the County?s financial statements which must include the total federal awards expended as determined in accordance with ? 200.502. At a minimum, the schedule must: (1) List individual Federal programs by Federal agency. (2) For Federal awards received as a subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must be included. (3) Provide total Federal awards expended for each individual Federal program and the AL number or other identifying number when the AL information is not available. (4) Include the total amount provided to subrecipients from each Federal program. (5) For loan or loan guarantee programs described in ? 200.502 Basis for determining Federal awards expended, paragraph (b), identify in the notes to the schedule the balances outstanding at the end of the audit period. (6) Include notes that describe the significant accounting policies used in preparing the schedule, and note whether or not the auditee has elected to use the 10 percent de minimis cost rate as covered in ? 200.414 Indirect (F&A) costs. Testing over the County's quarterly reporting requirements for the ERA program identified the following: "See Schedule of Findings for table" Furthermore, testing over the County's quarterly reporting requirements for the SLFRF program identified the following: "See Schedule of Findings for table" Furthermore, the lack of effective controls over this compliance requirement resulted in the Schedule being misstated. As a result of the cumulative expenditure amounts being incorrectly reported for the SLFRF program, the County's Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (Schedule) was overstated by $3,091,886. Adjustments, to which management have agreed, are reflected in the accompanying Schedule. Noncompliance with grant requirements as well as errors and omissions on the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards could have an adverse effect on future grant awards by the awarding agency in addition to an inaccurate assessment of major federal programs that would be subjected to audit. County management should review all grant and loan award documents in order to execute policies and procedures which help ensure compliance with grant and loan requirements, including Schedule reporting requirements. The County should implement a system to track all federal expenditures and related information separately from other expenditures and report federal expenditures with proper support including, but not limited to, grant agreements, calculation of the expenditures, and any federal reporting requirements. This will help ensure the County is in compliance with grant and loan requirements, the Schedule is complete and accurate, and major federal programs are accurately identified for audit.

Categories

Reporting Subrecipient Monitoring

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 46606 2022-002
    Material Weakness
  • 46607 2022-002
    Material Weakness
  • 623048 2022-002
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 Covid-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $8.71M
93.558 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families $5.41M
20.205 Highway Planning and Construction $5.03M
93.778 Medical Assistance Program $3.83M
93.563 Child Support Enforcement $3.20M
21.023 Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program $2.86M
10.760 Water and Waste Disposal Systems for Rural Communities $2.82M
93.658 Foster Care_title IV-E $2.57M
10.561 State Administrative Matching Grants for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program $1.96M
93.959 Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse $1.79M
93.659 Adoption Assistance $1.57M
93.788 Opioid Str $1.23M
14.900 Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control in Privately-Owned Housing $983,271
93.575 Child Care and Development Block Grant $583,981
14.228 Community Development Block Grants/state's Program and Non-Entitlement Grants in Hawaii $364,742
14.267 Continuum of Care Program $302,748
93.556 Promoting Safe and Stable Families $281,209
93.958 Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services $225,876
14.239 Home Investment Partnerships Program $222,599
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $199,961
93.667 Social Services Block Grant $186,493
93.645 Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program $141,174
84.126 Rehabilitation Services_vocational Rehabilitation Grants to States $139,060
84.181 Special Education-Grants for Infants and Families $129,597
97.042 Emergency Management Performance Grants $115,342
93.150 Projects for Assistance in Transition From Homelessness (path) $109,203
84.425 Covid-19 Education Stabilization Fund $101,255
16.588 Violence Against Women Formula Grants $100,831
16.575 Crime Victim Assistance $99,614
10.561 Covid-19 State Administrative Matching Grants for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program $72,416
10.555 National School Lunch Program $61,836
16.034 Covid-19 Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program $56,640
93.674 John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood $56,477
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $44,174
93.747 Covid-19 Elder Abuse Prevention Interventions Program $40,007
20.600 State and Community Highway Safety $38,686
12.U01 Law Enforcement Services at Berlin Lake $37,948
97.012 Boating Safety Financial Assistance $33,434
10.553 School Breakfast Program $32,111
20.608 Minimum Penalties for Repeat Offenders for Driving While Intoxicated $31,886
84.181 Covid-19 Special Education-Grants for Infants and Families $30,864
93.958 Covid-19 Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services $12,317
93.959 Covid-19 Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse $9,678
21.019 Covid-19 Coronavirus Relief Fund $7,171
15.226 Payments in Lieu of Taxes $4,833
93.982 Mental Health Disaster Assistance and Emergency Mental Health $4,683
10.649 Covid-19 - Pandemic Ebt Administrative Costs $628