Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Audit Finding: Failure to Confirm Federal Debarment and Suspension

One of the most common audit findings from the Washington State Auditor's Office (and probably from the auditors in other states) involves a public agency that receives federal funding, but fails to verify that the selected contractor, consultant, or vendor has not been debarred or suspended from doing business on federally funded projects.

The Washington State Auditor's Office recently found that the City of South Bend (WA) failed to check on the debarment status of vendors on $756,375 in federal disaster funds received. The City's project manager checked the
State Department of Labor and Industries' debarment list, believing that it was the only action required.

The City should have also checked the federal database, Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), found at
http://www.epls.gov.

To read the complete audit finding,
click here.

If you receive any federal funds, make sure that you check the debarment status of all contractors, consultants, and vendors on EPLS.

1 comment:

NIGP said...

I got "caught' on this a few years back, too. The auditors told me I had to print out the page from the site to prove I checked it.

Tina M. Borger, CPPO