Federal Reports

What We Looked AtWe performed a quality control review (QCR) on the single audit that Accuity LLP performed for the Highways Division, Department of Transportation for the State of Hawaii’s (HIDOT) fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021. During this period, HIDOT expended approximately $226.5 million from U.S. Department of Transportation programs. Accuity determined that DOT’s major programs were the Federal Highway Administration’s Highway Planning and Construction Cluster, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Alcohol Open Container Requirements program. Our QCR objectives were to determine whether (1) the audit work complied with the Single Audit Act of 1984, as amended and the Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Guidance, and the extent to which we could rely on the auditor’s work on DOT’s major programs and (2) HIDOT’s reporting package complied with the reporting requirements of the Uniform Guidance. What We FoundAccuity complied with the requirements of the Single Audit Act, the Uniform Guidance, and DOT’s major programs. We found nothing to indicate that Accuity’s opinion on DOT’s major programs was inappropriate or unreliable. However, we identified deficiencies that require correction in future audits. Accordingly, we assigned Accuity an overall rating of pass with deficiencies.

The owner of a company contracted to do work for Amtrak signed a pre-trial diversion agreement on May 8, 2023, in Marion County Superior Court, Indiana. Our investigation found that the contractor stole two train horns from the Beech Grove Maintenance Facility and later sold them to individuals he met on various train-related internet sites and online forums. The contractor agreed to pay $10,000 in restitution, including $4,750 to the company.

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) provided general guidance and technical assistance for State educational agencies (SEA), to assist them in implementing significant disproportionality regulatory requirements. OSEP also performed ongoing monitoring of SEAs’ compliance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requirements and program results. However, we determined that OSEP has not performed a risk assessment to determine if the change in the regulation affects the control activities that it has established for monitoring significant disproportionality, particularly regarding data reliability.