The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Resolved Approximately One-Third of Its Audit Recommendations, None in Accordance With Federal Timeframe Requirements

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Date Issued

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Submitting OIG

Department of Health & Human Services OIG

Other Participating OIGs

Department of Health & Human Services OIG

Agencies Reviewed/Investigated

Department of Health & Human Services

Components

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Report Number

A-07-19-03233

Report Description

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), did not resolve audit recommendations in a timely manner during Federal fiscal years (FYs) 2015 and 2016. SAMHSA resolved 104 of the 292 audit recommendations that were outstanding during FYs 2015 and 2016. However, it did not resolve any of the 104 recommendations within the required 6-month resolution period. In addition, as of September 30, 2016, SAMHSA had not resolved 188 audit recommendations that were past due for resolution. These 188 past-due recommendations were procedural in nature; none of them involved dollar amounts such as recommended disallowances.

Report Type

Audit

Agency Wide

Yes

Number of Recommendations

Additional Details

https://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region7/71903233.asp

Open Recommendations

This report has 3 open recommendations.

Recommendation Number	Significant Recommendation	Recommended Questioned Costs	Recommended Funds for Better Use
267142	No	$0	$0
We recommend that SAMHSA reconcile each month the OIG stewardship reports (or the HHS electronic Single Audit recommendation listing for audits processed on or after October 1, 2018) with SAMHSA’s audit resolution records and follow up on any differences noted.
267141	No	$0	$0
We recommend that SAMHSA promptly resolve the 188 outstanding audit recommendations that were past due as of September 30, 2016.
267140	No	$0	$0
We recommend that SAMHSA finalize and follow its policies and procedures related to the audit resolution process to ensure that all management decisions are issued within the required 6-month resolution period.