While auditing school districts’ federal programs this year, auditors have noted a challenge related to the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which was part of the federal government’s COVID-19 relief package and intended to facilitate a fast conversion to remote learning.
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Electronic payment fraud is on the rise, and bad actors are using vendor master files to do it. A simple request to change a vendor’s contact information, payment address or banking details can end with thousands or even millions of dollars redirected to fraudulent accounts. This latest blog post from SAO offers tips and strategies for safeguarding your government’s funds.
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While credit cards have many benefits, they also create an increased risk for misuse, mismanagement and fraud. That’s why SAO recommends periodically performing a credit card cleanup to keep your program running efficiently and securely.
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Some contractors are banned from doing business with the federal government, and it’s your job to know who they are. If you use federal grant money to pay a banned contractor, you risk auditors questioning your spending. Even worse, you might have to repay that money to your federal grantors.
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Spring has sprung, and it’s time to start cleaning up your financial records from years’ past! Why not tackle the messy buildup in your vendor master file? This database file containing information about your government’s vendors needs a periodic scrubbing. Cleaning your vendor master file will require a well-coordinated plan. It’s likely that the project could span several months. To get you started, we’ve compiled some easy steps to follow.
… CONTINUE READING →Piggybacking is the ability to use another government’s bid award without going through your own competitive process. It can be complicated, which is why we have updated our guide—Piggybacking under Washington State Law—to address your most common questions and alert you to changes in our guidance. Don’t worry: It still includes a step-by-step approach to piggybacking, as well as an optional checklist for you to use!
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Before hiring a contractor to work on your home, it’s wise to make sure they are licensed, bonded and insured. It helps to protect you if the contractor doesn’t complete work properly, if there are any damages, or if workers are injured while at your home. For governments, it’s not just wise—it’s required by law.
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Smaller governments frequently procure goods and services without a procurement manager. While smaller governments can get by without designated procurement managers for their daily operations, they occasionally take on larger projects like new building construction that can strain their limited resources.
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With recent passage of the CARES Act, FEMA’s Public Assistance Program has received an influx of resources available to state and local governments. Based on our years of experience auditing FEMA public assistance grants and FEMA’s current guidance, we have a few suggestions and resources for you.
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In 2019, the Legislature amended the statute to allow any public agency to use the bid of another public agency for its own purposes if the awarding agency met their own bidding requirements. This is a change to how our Office looks at piggybacking and group purchasing arrangements. For audit purposes, we would expect local governments to evaluate group purchasing contracts as outlined below.
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