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The objective of this desk review is to evaluate Commonwealth of Virginia documentation supporting the uses of its Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) proceeds as reported in GrantSolutions, and to assess risk of unallowable use of funds. The scope of our review will include obligation and expenditure data as reported in the GrantSolutions portal.

During our audit, we identified internal control and compliance findings that we believe are either directly, or indirectly, related to a lack of resources available for processing and adjudicating unemployment claims with the onset of the COVID-19 public health emergency. To address the rapid rise in unemployment, the federal government provided additional federal funding to states and implemented several new unemployment-related benefits. The Commission struggled to adapt to these changes due to a lack of both staffing and technology resources. As a result, the Commission was not able to...

The Emergency Rental Assistance program helps individuals affected by the public health emergency to cover the cost of rent and utilities. Through June 2021, DOA received $434.7 million in federal funds through the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan Act for the program. From March 2021 through September 2021, the program provided $64.0 million in benefits for 15,968 households. We make recommendations for DOA to improve how it administers the Emergency Rental Assistance program, including by improving the program’s application process, modifying the process for...

We have audited the financial statements of the governmental activities, the business-type activities, the aggregate discretely presented component units, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the State of Tennessee as of and for the year ended June 30, 2021, and the related notes to the financial statements, which collectively comprise the State of Tennessee’s basic financial statements. The purpose of this report is solely to describe the scope of our testing of internal control and compliance and the results of that testing, and not to provide an opinion on the...

The Student Success Act provides an extra $1 billion of tax money a year for early childhood education and K-12 school improvement. It requires the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) to track district performance and work with districts to improve, building on other recent state and federal initiatives and bringing the state the closest it has been to meeting the funding recommendations of the Quality Education Model. This advisory report identifies five key risks we found that could undermine K-12 system improvement as the state implements the 2019 Student Success Act. The report draws on...

As a part of our audit of the Louisiana State University (LSU) and our work related to the Single Audit of the State of Louisiana for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2021, we performed procedures at the LSU and Related Campuses to provide assurances on financial information that is significant to the LSU's financial statements; evaluate the effectiveness of LSU and Related Campuses’ internal controls over financial reporting and compliance; and determine whether LSU and Related Campuses complied with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, we determined whether management has taken...

From May 21, 2021 to November 9, 2021, the Louisiana Department of Education (DOE) paid $486,050 on two emergency contracts without first obtaining the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (BESE’s) approval. The Louisiana Administrative Code requires that professional and consulting services contracts recommended by the Superintendent of Education at, or above, a certain amount (currently $50,000) be approved by BESE. By paying contractors for professional and consulting services prior to obtaining BESE’s approval, DOE may have violated a provision of the Louisiana...

This audit report provides the results of our evaluation of the Louisiana Workforce Commission’s (LWC) Unemployment Insurance program and federally-funded COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment assistance programs. The purpose of this audit was to determine if the IRS Form 1099-Gs (1099s) filed by LWC with the IRS accurately reported the amount of unemployment benefits paid to claimants during calendar years 2020 and 2021. Overall, we found that LWC filed accurate 1099s for unemployment benefits paid to 698,372 (99.7%) of 700,204 claimants in calendar year 2020. However, we found that LWC did...

This Insights Report highlights identity fraud related challenges in federal programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. By evaluating previous oversight work in this space from members of the PRAC’s Identity Fraud Reduction and Redress Working Group, this report presents best practices to reduce identity fraud before it occurs and to assist victims of identity fraud if it does occur. These best practices may be helpful for federal agencies to utilize moving forward. This report also identifies that across the federal government there is a larger focus on reducing identity fraud up front, while...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus woman was arrested in Utah on federal charges related to stealing the identity of a baby who died as an infant. The woman allegedly used the infant’s identity to obtain a passport, a student pilot license, a job as a flight attendant, admission into The Ohio State University and pandemic relief loans.