Finding Text
2023-003 Clients Not Billed in Accordance with the Housing Owner's Certification and Application for Housing Assistance Payments Criteria: The rules and regulations promulgated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) require that client rent is billed on a monthly basis in accordance with the Housing Owner’s Certification and Application for Housing Assistance Payments. Condition: During the audit we noted a significant deficiency in the internal controls related to billing procedures. It was noted that client rent was not billed in accordance with the Housing Owner’s Certification and Application for Housing Assistance Payments on numerous occasions. During the audit process, the Organization noted billing issues, performed an internal analysis, and brought the issue to the attention of the auditor. As a result, the Organization recorded an adjusting journal entry increasing client rent revenue by $4,846 and created additional billings for client rent to correct the billing errors. Cause: The Organization has had significant difficulties related to training and competency of accounting staff. Additionally, review procedures implemented were not sufficient to identify and correct billing errors in a timely manner. Effect: Client rent was not billed in accordance with the Housing Owner’s Certification and Application for Housing Assistance Payments, therefore revenue was understated and additional client billings were deemed necessary. Recommendation: We recommend that accounting staff responsible for client billing is provided sufficient training and oversight. Additionally, we recommend that monthly billing of client rent is reviewed and reconciled in accordance with the Housing Owner’s Certification and Application for Housing Assistance Payments. Auditee Response: We concur with the finding and have begun implementing the recommendations.