Accounting Systems: HHS Grant Payment Operation Has Improved and Additional Corrective Actions Are Underway

AFMD-88-18 Published: Dec 30, 1987. Publicly Released: Dec 30, 1987.

Highlights

GAO reviewed the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) grant payment operations, focusing on the: (1) effectiveness of HHS attempts to correct serious problems GAO had previously identified; and (2) problems HHS reported in its Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act report.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of Health and Human Services	To improve the overall grant closeout process, the Secretary of Health and Human Services should provide departmental guidance on closing out inactive grants when there are no final expenditure reports available.	Closed – Implemented The Office of Finance is developing grant close-out procedures. GAO will monitor issuance of these procedures as part of GAO Financial Integrity Act work. This recommendation should, therefore, be closed.
Department of Health and Human Services	The Secretary of Health and Human Services should instruct FAFD to provide the operating divisions with periodic PMS reports which list the inactive grants that should be closed.	Closed – Implemented PMS reports which list the inactive grants that should be closed are now provided to the operating divisions.

Full Report

Full Report (16 pages)

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Topics

Auditing and Financial Management

Accounts receivableCash managementFederal agency accounting systemsFederal fund accountsGrant administrationGrant monitoringInternal controlsRefunds to governmentReporting requirementsExpenditure of funds