Audit of the Department of State Management and Monitoring of Federal Assistance Awards to For-Profit Organizations

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Date Issued

Friday, May 6, 2022

Submitting OIG

Department of State OIG

Other Participating OIGs

Department of State OIG

Agencies Reviewed/Investigated

Department of State

Components

Bureau of Political-Military Affairs

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism

Bureau of Administration

Report Number

AUD-CGI-22-26

Report Type

Audit

Agency Wide

Yes

Number of Recommendations

Questioned Costs

Funds for Better Use

Open Recommendations

This report has 8 open recommendations.

Recommendation Number	Significant Recommendation	Recommended Questioned Costs	Recommended Funds for Better Use
1	Yes	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration revise the Federal Assistance Directive to require Grants Officers (GO) and Grants Officer Representatives (GOR) to fully use the State Assistance Management System Domestic’s Post-Award Activities function to upload and review documentation for all post-award tasks, such as the review of Performance Progress Reports and Federal Financial Reports, GOR reports, annual reviews, other monitoring activities; and to document workflows for submitting, reviewing, and monitoring post-award activities among the GO, GOR, and award recipient.
2	Yes	$0	$0
Concurrent with the implementation of Recommendation 1, OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration require bureaus to perform quarterly reviews of the State Assistance Management System Domestic’s Post-Award Activities function reports. The reviews should verify that Grants Officers and Grants Officer Representatives have complied with oversight requirements such as the review of Performance Progress Reports and Federal Financial Reports, GOR reports, annual reviews, and other monitoring activities.
3	Yes	$0	$0
Concurrent with the implementation of Recommendation 1, OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration require bureaus to designate an official to review the State Assistance Management System’s Post-Award Activities function reports to verify that Grants Officers and Grants Officer Representatives comply with oversight requirements.
4	Yes	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration modify the State Assistance Management System user training to include guidance on documenting the Grants Officer and Grants Officer Representative workflows within the State Assistance Management System using the Post-Award Activities function.
6	No	$0	$0
Following implementation of Recommendation 5, OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration analyze the results of the survey to identify the reasons hindering the use of State Assistance Management System Domestic's Post-Award Activities function, including technical issues that need to be addressed and if appropriate, develop and implement a corrective action plan to increase the use of the State Assistance Management System Domestic's Post-Award Activities function.
8	No	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop and implement a communications strategy that provides Grants Officer Representatives with specific and detailed requirements for financial monitoring to improve their understanding of and compliance with those requirements. This communications strategy should underscore the importance of reviewing the Federal Financial Report to ensure that the amount of funds expended is commensurate with the work accomplished on the award.
9	No	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop and implement a communications strategy that provides Grants Officers with specific and detailed requirements for financial monitoring to improve their understanding of and compliance with those requirements. This communications strategy should underscore the critical importance of reviewing and approving the Federal Financial Report in a timely manner within the Payment Management System, rather than allowing a default approval. It should further remind Grants Officers that Grants Officer Representatives could be delegated Federal Financial Report approval responsibility within the Payment Management System to ensure timely approval of reports.
11	No	$0	$0
OIG recommends that the Bureau of Administration develop and implement a communications strategy that provides Grants Officers with specific and detailed audit requirements for foreign for-profit organizations to improve their understanding of and compliance with those requirements. This communications strategy should underscore the critical importance of requiring, obtaining, and reviewing audit reports to inform risk assessments and to formulate monitoring plans.