Finding 982449 (2023-003)

Special Tests and Provisions (Reporting) Federal Department – U.S. Department of Transportation Pass-through Illinois Department of Transportation Highway Planning and Construction, Federal Assistance Listing #20.205 County Department – Department of Transportation and Highway Finding 2023 – 003 CRITERIA As required by the grant agreement(s) with the State of Illinois, Department of Transportation (IDOT), grantee agrees to submit periodic financial and performance reporting on the approved IDOT BoBS 2832 form. Grantee shall file quarterly BoBS 2832 reports with grantor describing the expenditure(s) of the funds and performance measures related thereto. Quarterly reports must be submitted no later than 30 calendar days following the period covered by the report. For the purpose of reconciliation, the grantee must submit a BoBS 2832 report for the period ending 11/30. BoBS 2832 report marked as "Final Report" must be submitted to the grantor 60 days after the end date of the agreement. Failure to submit the required BoBS 2832 reports may cause a delay or suspension of funding. The grant agreement also states that “pursuant to 2 CFR 200.328, periodic performance reports shall be submitted no later than 30 calendar days following the period covered by the report.” CONDITION During the current audit period, Cook County Department of Transportation and Highway (DOTH) did not comply with the reporting requirements as outlined in its grant agreement(s). CAUSE Based on discussions with management, this finding was the result of working with consultants who had not previously submitted reports of this nature. The reports they produced required multiple revisions due to errors which lead to DOTH failing to submit the reports in a timely manner. EFFECT Failure to submit reports in a timely manner could impair the grantor agency’s ability to monitor program activities and could result in the loss of grant funding. Also, the failure to ensure accurate amounts are reported could result in the over-reporting and future spending of grant funds. QUESTIONED COSTS None. CONTEXT During our review of seven reports submitted (five quarterly reports and two annual BoBS periodic performance and financial) under three DOTH grants, we noted the 2 annual reports were submitted late. See Finding for chart/table. In addition, for grant C-91-381-19 report, we noted that the “remaining balance available” amount included in the report was overstated by $15,924. This occurred due to a recalculation error in the report. IDENTIFICATION OF REPEATED FINDINGS None. RECOMMENDATION We recommend that DOTH develop and implement procedures to ensure reports are submitted in a timely manner and in compliance with its grant agreements. A compliance calendar of all grants reporting due dates should be maintained to assist with ensuring compliance with reporting requirements. In addition, we recommend DOTH ensure all amounts included on grant reports are accurately calculated and reported. VIEWS OF RESPONSIBLE OFFICIALS AND PLANNED CORRECTIVE ACTIONS The County agrees with the finding and recommendation. The County’s corrective action plan is on page 54.