Finding 982491 (2022-001)

Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Assistance Listing Number: 21.027 Federal Program Name: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Pass-through Entity: Washington State Department of Agriculture Pass-through Award Numbers: K3996, K3627 Criteria: Under 2 CFR 200.303(a), the non-federal entity must establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards. Condition: During the year ended December 31, 2022, EastWest Food Rescue did not sufficiently document internal controls over compliance with requirements for activities allowed or unallowed and allowable costs/cost principles. We have determined this to be a significant deficiency in internal control over compliance. Cause: Prior to 2022, EastWest Food Rescue had little experience with significant federal programs and was not familiar with the additional documentation requirements with regards to internal controls over compliance. Effect: Although there were no such instances identified during the audit, inadequate internal control over activities allowed or unallowed and allowable costs/cost principles could lead to potential waste or abuse of federal award funds, whether due to fraud or error, and future disallowed costs. Recommendation: We recommend that management implements formal procedures to document internal controls over the allowability of expenditures incurred with federal program funds. Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the finding.