We conducted a performance audit of National Endowment for the Arts (Arts Endowment) awards issued to the Massachusetts Cultural Council (Council). Based on our review, we determined the Council generally met the financial and compliance requirements set forth in the award documents. However, the Council did not fully comply with Federal grants management requirements. For instance, the Council: did not report actual costs on one of three Federal Financial Reports (FFR); did not follow its FFR reporting policy; included unsupported costs and costs incurred outside the award period on all three FFRs; included unallowable fundraising, foreign travel, and entertainment costs on two of three FFRs; included unallowable sub-awards on two of three FFRs; did not follow Federal Financial Accountability and Transparency Act reporting requirements; and did not provide the required notification to all its Federal award participants; and did not submit its FFR and FDR reports by the reporting deadlines. Thus, we are questioning $3,014,242 in unsupported and unallowable costs, with a potential refund of $60,000 due to the Arts Endowment. There are 16 recommendations to address the findings, ten to the Council and six to the Arts Endowment.
Boston, MA
United States
