How to Invite (or Avoid) an Audit Finding

It's really very simple.  If you receive any federal funding for any project (construction, consulting, services, goods and supplies), it comes with strings. 

Debarment and suspension:  One of the most common audit findings issued by the Washington State Auditor's Office is against public agencies who fail to check and document that companies they have contracted with are not on the federal government's debarment and suspension list.  

Recent audit findings:  Here's a list of just some of the recent audit findings issued for failure to ensure compliance with the federal debarment and suspension requirements:

• Town of Cathlamet
• City of Lakewood
• Grays Harbor County Public Hospital District No. 1
• Mason County
• City of Longview
• Adams County
• City of Puyallup

What's the requirement?  According to the State Auditor's Office, "Federal grant regulations prohibit recipients from contracting with or making subawards to parties suspended or debarred from doing business with the federal government.  For vendor contracts of $25,000 or more and all subawards, the [agency] must ensure the vendor or subrecipient is not suspended or debarred." 

Practical tips:

• Check grant terms and comply:  If you receive federal funding, designate an individual responsible for compliance with the grant term, one of which, of course, is to check the federal debarment and suspension status of firms.

• Document compliance:  Document by printing out from the federal website (www.SAM.gov) that the firms are not debarred or suspended by the federal government.  Click here for a previous blog posting about how to document compliance.
  

Mike Purdy's Public Contracting Blog
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