Auditing Communications Act, Accounting, & NFFS Requirements O - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Auditing Communications Act, Accounting, & NFFS Requirements

Office of Inspector General

PMBA Presentation May 2016

Background

Station audits routinely identify non-compliance issues with Communications Act, accounting, & Non-Federal Financial Support (NFFS) reporting requirements. Findings include:

• Inadequate advance notice of public meetings;
• Financial records not available for public inspection;
• Community Advisory Board issues;
• EEO (Employment Statistical Report) not available to public;
• Lack of discrete accounting for CSG funds; and
• Over-reporting NFFS.

Auditing Communications Act Requirements

Audit Criteria - Certification Requirements for Station Grant Recipients

• pen meetings;
• pen financial records;
• Community Advisory Board (CAB);
• EEO information (employment statistics); and
• donor lists and political activities.

Advance Notice of Public Meetings

• Meetings announced but not by a method specified in CPB

guidance (e.g., posted at station offices, station magazine, or announced on-air)

• Meetings announced but less than 7 days
• Meetings not announced
• Meetings not open to public

Financial Records Not Available to the Public

• CPB Annual Financial Report (AFR)
• financial statement audit report
• other CPB grant financial reports
• or any combination of these reports

CAB Not Operating

• CAB established but did not hold meetings
• CAB not established
• CAB discontinued during audit period
• Group formed for other purposes but had some responsibilities

similar to a CAB

EEO Information

• FCC EEO information available at station
• CPB SAS Employment Statistical Report not available to

public

Annual Certification of Compliance with General Provisions

CPB’s Radio & Television Community Service Grant Legal Agreement:

– Requires grantees to certify its compliance with grant General Provisions and Eligibility Criteria annually to receive a new grant. – A station’s compliance is subject to audit by the Inspector General, and improper certifications may result in penalties under the Federal False Claims Act.

– Grantee represents and warrants: “That Applicant recognizes any false information provided may subject Applicant to penalties under the Federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §3729-3733.”

Documenting Compliance

• Open Meetings

– 7 days advance notice of meetings of governing board, committees of the board, and the Community Advisory Board.

• Web posting announcement of public meetings (retain hard copy or

electronic copy of screen shot of announcement with date posted to web to evidence 7 days advance notice).

– Copy of open meeting minutes to evidence quorum & deliberations. – Closed meeting notice requirement.

• Written explanation of why meeting was closed citing reasons

allowed under the Act for closing a specific meeting.

Documenting Compliance

• Open financial records

– Audited financial statements. – AFR or Financial Summary Report (FSR).

• CAB

– Meetings were held and a quorum was present. – Right to review programming, services, and significant policy decisions. – Advised governing board whether programming was meeting the specialized educational and cultural needs of the communities.

Documenting Compliance

• EEO Information

– Make available the employment portion of the annual Station Activity Survey (SAS), Employment Statistical Report. – EEO information must be made available to the public at every station location with six or more employees.

• Donor List

– Station practice (controls) for not sharing member or donors names with political parties. – Station practice (controls) for sharing membership or donors names with any nonaffiliated third parties.

Documenting Compliance

• Donor Lists (continued)

– Opt-out practices (controls) if station shares information, did the station:

• Disclose to members/donors beforehand that personal

information may be shared and give members/donors the option not to have their personal information shared?

• Periodically remind members/donors that personal

information may be shared and they have the option not to continue to share this information?

Auditing Accounting Requirements

Audit Criteria: CSG General Provisions & Eligibility Criteria requires discrete accounting of CPB revenues & expenditures.

• Discrete accounting requires a unique code that identifies CPB

revenues & expenses (restricted & unrestricted), so grantor & auditor can discretely track those funds in accounting system.

• No requirement to segregate CSG funds in separate bank

accounts.

• Co-mingling is allowable as long as accounting system can

easily identify transactions associated with CSG grant.

Auditing NFFS Requirements

Audit Criteria: CPB Financial Reporting Guidelines address reporting NFFS on the Annual Financial Report (AFR) or Financial Summary Report (FSR)

• Contributions vs. payments,
• NFFS criteria (i.e., recipient, form, source, purpose),
• Federal funds,
• Revenues that do not qualify due to policy restrictions,
• Restrictions on TV digital capital investments,
• Underwriting,
• In-kind contributions, and
• Indirect administrative support.

NFFS Compliance

• In-kind Contributions – no evidence that goods and

services were received from donor & some types of trades are excluded because of policy restrictions

• Exchange Transactions – payments in exchange for

services provided by public broadcasting (source & purpose)

• Federal or Public Broadcasting Revenues – unallowable

source of revenues

NFFS Compliance

Other exceptions to NFFS criteria:

• Auction/Special fundraising cost offset
• TV digital capital investments
• Institutional indirect administrative support
• Uncollectible underwriting
• Presenting fees

OIG Contact Information

• Bill Richardson, Deputy Inspector General

brichardson@cpb.org, (202) 879-9661

• OIG Office: (202) 879-9669
• OIG Hotline: (202) 879-9728 or (800) 599-2170, (202) 879-

9699 (fax), http://www.cpb.org/oig/contact.php online complaint form

• OIG Email: oigemail@cpb.org