Recommendation Dashboard

USAID/Bangladesh require Chemonics International, Inc. to develop and implement a USAID-approved Use of Program Income Plan that will assist the Smiling Sun Franchise Program to achieve the objective of maintaining and expanding a financially sustainable network of nongovernmental organizations' franchise clinics. In addition, the plan should include procedures for handling competition from other health care organizations that provide some free health services and details as to how the nongovernmental organizations' franchise clinics can generate more revenue to help individual clinics become more self sufficient.

USAID/Haiti obtain quarterly reports on the percentage of distribution sites that have run out of food during the previous quarter and document agreement on actions to address these shortages.

USAID/Haiti obtain quarterly reports on the percentage of distribution sites that were not in compliance with approved ration sizes during the previous quarter and document agreement on actions to address these cases.

USAID/Haiti obtain written evidence that its cooperating sponsor has provided training to the staff at Pwoje Espwa distribution center regarding inventory controls and program policies and procedures.

USAID/Haiti obtain written evidence that its cooperating sponsor has obtained restitution and taken mission-approved legal action in response to the theft of food from Pwoje Espwa.

USAID/Haiti document and verify that its cooperating sponsors (a) have developed a complete beneficiary database and are using it to print lists of eligible beneficiaries prior to each distribution, and (b) have developed and implemented written procedures for food distribution.

USAID/Afghanistan develop a plan that will provide sufficient work time for the agreement officer's technical representative assigned to the Afghan Civilian Assistance Program to properly monitor and evaluate the programmatic needs for the program so that it can be implemented effectively and on schedule.

USAID/Afghanistan require the International Organization for Migration to adhere to a schedule in preparing and submitting the required planning and program reporting documents, such as implementation plans, monitoring and evaluation plans, and program reports to help the mission monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Afghan Civilian Assistance Program.

USAID/Afghanistan require the International Organization for Migration to take appropriate action to adequately staff the Afghan Civilian Assistance Program at a level sufficient to provide timely and effective assistance to eligible beneficiaries.

USAID/Afghanistan require the International Organization for Migration to review its policy on the eligibility period for which applicants under the Afghan Civilian Assistance Program can apply and receive benefits to determine whether a more appropriate eligibility period should be used.

USAID/Afghanistan require the International Organization for Migration to review its policy on completed and closed-out grants to determine whether the policy should be revised, and, if appropriate, revise the policy in order that completed grants can be closed out more rapidly.

USAID/Afghanistan require the International Organization for Migration to review its policy on the acceptance of identification from applicants under the Afghan Civilian Assistance Program to determine whether the policy should be revised and, if appropriate, revise the policy to require that national identity cards be used for identification.

USAID/Afghanistan require the International Organization for Migration to review its procedures on the distribution of education and tailoring kits to program beneficiaries, under the Afghan Civilian Assistance Program, to determine whether the kits are being distributed expeditiously and, if not, initiate actions to remedy the distribution.

USAID/Egypt disclose in its performance management plan that the performance result for the financial services project is attributable to cumulative data compiled from multiple sources.

USAID/Egypt develop a plan to verify and document reported results periodically.

USAID/Egypt develop a justification based on a cost-benefit analysis of the registry office's workload data prior to investing any additional foreign assistance funds into automated property registration activities.

We recommend that the MCC Department of Compact Implementation and Division of Finance:
Strengthen the monitoring of the MCA audit process, from submission of the audit plan through issuance of the audit report to ensure timely completion and sufficient time for OIG review, prior to issuing the report to MCC for management comment.
Increase communication between the MCAs, the audit firms, and the OIG to ensure all parties are adequately informed of the progress of all audits in a timely manner. Ensure that the MCAs understand the impact of these audits and how they affect MCC's assessment of overall controls and its financial statement audit.

We recommend that MCC management, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), establish effective and periodic communication with MCA and Threshold mission personnel, to emphasize the need for proper documentation to be maintained in the MCA files, and that these documents are readily available and promptly submitted for inspection when requested.

We recommend that MCC Department of Compact Implementation and Division of Finance:
Develop training for MCA Fiscal Agents to ensure proper reporting of re-disbursements on the QFRs to ensure the MCA is only requesting advances for immediate funding needs.
Develop a tracking mechanism to monitor prepayments and to ensure that MCC and NBC personnel are properly reviewing the quarterly submitted QFRs for proper reporting of both the projected needs for advancement of funds and actual re-disbursements of previously advanced funds.

We recommend that the MCC Division of Finance:
Strengthen its quality control reviews over financial statements, notes, and other information presented, to ensure the information received is accurate, complete, and complies with accounting standards and reporting guidance.
Increase communication with USAID to ensure information received has been reviewed and is reliable, in order for MCC to prepare complete and accurate financial statements in accordance with accounting standards and reporting guidance.

We recommend that the MCC Division of HR:
Ensure all HR personnel are aware of the requirement to document and retain the employee exit form in the OPF. In addition, direct HR personnel to obtain completed employee exit form from the Division of Security in a timely manner and document it properly in the employee's OPF.
Direct HR personnel to follow up on all missing items when performing the OPF audits and completing the Purged OPF Check List
Develop and implement a process to monitor and ensure that HR and/or NBC personnel are completing leave audits as required and processing payments for amounts due to, or amounts owed by, separating employees on a timely basis.

We recommend that the MCC Division of HR:
Review its current policies and procedures to ensure that proper authorization and approval of personnel actions are clearly documented on the required forms prior to processing.
Direct HR personnel to adhere to the documented policies and procedures when preparing, reviewing, and approving personnel actions, to ensure reviews and approvals are properly documented.
Provide the necessary training to responsible HR personnel to ensure that they are aware of the need for properly documenting reviews and approvals of personnel transactions.

We recommend that the MCC Division of HR:
Establish a consistent tracking mechanism or other historical file for MCC employees to document all changes in employee benefits that are not documented using standard forms or Employee Express.
Revise current policies and procedures to ensure that supporting documentation for all transactions processed by HR personnel on behalf of MCC employees are clearly documented either in the OPF or other historical file, and are readily available for examination.

We recommend that MCC Division of Finance:
Continue to strengthen, and revise as necessary, policies and procedures for yearend accruals to ensure that all countries, types of funding, and programs are considered when recording estimates for future expenses, and that accruals are reasonably sufficient to cover anticipated costs.
Establish and communicate procedures for the MCAs to require the submission of estimates or payment requests for current period expenses that have not, or will not be recorded until the subsequent year, for each fund type.
Ensure that the accrual amount is adequately and reasonably calculated, clearly documented and supported, and properly reviewed for completeness and accuracy prior to and subsequently after posting to the GL.

We recommend that the MCC Division of Finance:
Inquire of USAID's procedures to resolve the issue of incomplete SF 224 reporting.
Consider revisions to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with USAID to require timely responses upon inquiry by MCC management regarding financial statement audit findings related to Threshold Program transactions.

USAID's Chief Financial Officer intensify efforts to reconcile current monthly transactions with Treasury and identify, track, and resolve legacy differences recorded in the suspense accounts and in other appropriation accounts.

The Chief Financial Officer develop and implement procedures to conduct a thorough reconciliation of the outstanding loan balances maintained in its accounting system with those maintained by Midland and those reported by the borrowers.

Chief Financial Officer rectify the flaw in the financial accounting system script to ensure that payments made for amounts accrued are applied to the related contract or task order accruals before quarterly accruals are recorded against the original contract obligation in the accounting system.

USAID/Afghanistan require that its training on statement-of-work preparation be provided to all new contracting officer's technical representatives.

USAID/Afghanistan develop procedures, such as the use of quality control checklists, to ensure that statements of work include such critical elements as clear deliverables with specified due dates.

USAID/Afghanistan establish procedures requiring that a labor skills assessment be performed by a contractor, either upon award of a construction contract or upon the award of a task order under the contract. The assessment would include, as appropriate but not limited to, the availability of qualified local labor, vocational training needed to cultivate local labor, and plans to coordinate with the mission to obtain appropriate visas for non-Afghan labor.

USAID/Afghanistan establish written procedures to ensure that all significant construction projects have onsite quality assurance engineers.

The mission develop an overall implementation plan for the Kabul power plant project that incorporates updated construction schedules for the contractor and subcontractor, identifies delays in critical tasks, and establishes steps to keep the project on track.

USAID/Afghanistan develop a comprehensive sustainability plan that includes considerations for anticipated fuel purchases as well as the impact and timing of future mission projects affecting the 105-megawatt plant.

USAID/Afghanistan prepare a detailed implementation plan that documents the current status of the Kajakai project and explains how the mission intends to proceed with installation of turbine 2, including potential barriers to successful installation of the turbine and contingency plans to overcome these barriers.

USAID/Afghanistan recover at least $2.1 million (including interest imputed through May 13, 2009) from the contractor.

USAID/Guatemala's follow-on democracy and governance program aim to implement reforms at sufficient scale to achieve transformational impact.

USAID/Guatemala include support for civil society advocacy efforts in its follow-on program or arrange for such support in coordination with other donors.

USAID/Guatemala condition further efforts to train Government of Guatemala employees on progress toward civil service reform.

USAID/Guatemala, in coordination with its implementing partners, establish procedures for systematically evaluating and following up with training participants as appropriate to assess the impact and effectiveness of training.

USAID/Guatemala make a determination of eligibility for $36,238 in unsupported leverage contributions and $598,188 in ineligible contributions under the Youth Alliance Program and for any shortfalls in contributions obtain additional contributions under the current Youth Challenge Program.

USAID/Guatemala verify that Creative Associates has implemented a satisfactory system for valuing volunteer work under the program.

USAID/Guatemala, in conjunction with its implementing partners, develop and implement a system to reasonably ensure that reported information is accurate.

USAID/Guatemala develop a performance management plan for its follow-on democracy and governance program that meets USAID policy requirements.

USAID/Egypt develop and document a training plan for assistance recipients to explain USAID rules, regulations, and expectations, prior to beginning activities.

USAID/Egypt develop and document a training plan to provide its democracy and governance staff refresher training on how to effectively manage programs including contracting and financial management responsibilities.

USAID/Egypt document a review of its programs to determine whether a mission-wide order on antiterrorism measures would help to mitigate the mission's risk of inadvertently providing financing to terrorist organizations or individuals associated with terrorism.

USAID/Egypt document and provide training to the democracy and governance implementers on USAID's antiterrorism measures.

USAID/Egypt develop a standardized checklist to document management reviews as a part of democracy and governance program assessments.

USAID/Egypt make a management decision on the questioned cost sharing and recover estimated cost share contributions of $8,493 identified for amounts deemed payable.

USAID/Egypt document a review of the democracy and governance agreements' financial information to determine if appropriate cost share contributions have been made and document a plan to recover any outstanding contributions.

USAID/Egypt develop a written plan to require its technical representatives to provide certifications about training participants' noncompliance with documentation requirements, which would be reported to the mission director immediately to limit potential governmental liabilities.

USAID/Egypt explore and document possibilities to recover the unused equipment and put it to immediate and better use within 15 days.

USAID/Egypt document a review of authorizing designation letters for its technical representatives to ensure that staff have appropriate authority to manage agreements and administratively approve financial payments.

USAID/Philippines develop and implement procedures that require the agreement officer's technical representative to review the Sustainable Health Improvements through Empowerment and Local Development Project in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao's performance management plan on an annual or semiannual basis to ensure that it contributes to an effective system of measuring progress toward intended objectives.

USAID/Philippines provide written guidance to its implementers as to what constitutes "training" for purposes of reporting project performance.

USAID/Philippines develop and implement procedures that require its agreement officer's technical representative to periodically conduct an independent review of the performance data submitted by implementers.