Report No. 2008-17
March 2008
Complete Audit Report

The United States Congress passed the Single Audit Act of 1996 to establish uniform requirements for audits of federal awards administered by states, local governments, and non-profit organizations. The Single Audit includes the federal awards expended by all state agencies, except for the public universities and various financing authorities that provide their financial information directly to the federal government. State agencies expended $8.8 billion of federal grant funds during the year ended June 30, 2007. Expenditures of federal awards have increased steadily over the past five years. Although nineteen state departments and other state offices expended federal awards, six state departments expended the bulk of the federal awards (95 percent). These six departments are: Social Services, Transportation, Labor and Industrial Relations, Elementary and Secondary Education, Health and Senior Services, and Public Safety. Overall, the state expended federal awards in 308 different programs.

There are concerns regarding subrecipient monitoring in multiple departments, including Natural Resources, Public Safety, Social Services, and Transportation. Problems with subrecipient monitoring include not adequately ensuring audit reports are received timely and that adequate corrective action is taken on findings, not following up on audit report information that differs from grant records, not ensuring that expenditures of subrecipients were allowable, not adequately documenting monitoring visits, and not ensuring equipment purchased is properly used. In addition, the Department of Social Services does not consider certain entities to be subrecipients and, as a result, does not require the subrecipients to obtain audits in accordance with OMB Circular A-133.

The departments of Elementary and Secondary Education, Public Safety, and Social Services do not ensure that all entities paid more than $25,000 are not suspended or debarred from receiving federal funds, as required by federal guidelines.

Several findings summarize prior reports issued by the State Auditor’s Office that related to various federal programs including Department of Health and Senior Services - Bioterrorism Program, Department of Health and Senior Services - Protecting Children at Child Care Providers, Early Childhood Development, Education, and Care Fund, and Social Service Child Support Delinquencies.

Also included in the single audit report are recommendations related to the Department of Agriculture - State Mediation Grants, Department of Mental Health - Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse, and Department of Social Services - Adoption Assistance, Child Care Development Block Grant, Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care Development Fund, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Rehabilitation Services - Vocational Rehabilitation Grants to States.

Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov