Reports

Small Business Administration OIG

SBA’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund Program Award Practices

This SBA OIG pandemic oversight report reviewed the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund application review and approval process. The objective of this review was to determine whether the controls SBA implemented to award RRF program funds in accordance with the Act and other applicable guidance were effective. SBA developed an implementation plan including a risk framework that was intended to reduce the risk of making improper payments and awarding Restaurant Revitalization Funds (RRF) to ineligible recipients. However, the plan did not include all program...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 3/26/2024

Small Business Administration OIG

Ending Active Collections on Delinquent COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) is issuing this management advisory to bring attention to concerns regarding SBA’s decision to end active collections on delinquent COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) with an outstanding balance of $100,000 or less. First, SBA’s decision to cease collections risks violating the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, which prohibits ending collections on fraudulent, false, or misrepresented claims, because SBA OIG and other oversight agencies are continuing to work on identifying COVID-19 EIDL fraud that...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/29/2023

1 - Open

To address concerns in the COVID-19 EIDL program, we recommend the Administrator direct the Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access to perform a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis, consistent with federal regulations, to include periodic comparisons of costs incurred and amounts collected on the portfolio of COVID-19 EIDLs of $100,000 or less to assess whether collection costs exceed recovery amounts.

2 - Open

To address concerns in the COVID-19 EIDL program, we recommend the Administrator direct the Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access to reevaluate and amend as appropriate the April 27, 2022 decision to end active collections contingent on the outcome of the more comprehensive cost-benefit analysis.

3 - Open

To address concerns in the COVID-19 EIDL program, we recommend the Administrator direct the Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access to ensure SBA does not end active collections pursuant to the April 27, 2022 decision on any COVID-19 EIDL of $100,000 or less made to borrowers who received multiple COVID-19 EIDLs that, when combined, exceed $100,000.

4 - Open

To address concerns in the COVID-19 EIDL program, we recommend the Administrator direct the Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access to ensure SBA does not end active collections on any COVID-19 EIDL that appears to be fraudulent, false, or misrepresented, including loans identified as such by OIG or other federal oversight entities, without 1) reviewing the loan application for fraud and 2) attempting active collection, at a minimum, regardless of the outcome of a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis.

5 - Open

To maximize the return to taxpayers, we recommend the Administrator direct the Associate Administrator for the Office of Capital Access to evaluate the COVID-19 EIDL portfolio, in collaboration with Treasury, to determine if selling the portfolio, including delinquent loans of $100,000 or less, is in the best interest of the government.

Small Business Administration OIG

SBA’s Oversight of Restaurant Revitalization Fund Recipients

We reviewed the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) oversight of Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) recipients. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorized SBA to administer the RRF and provided $28.6 billion to assist eligible small businesses adversely affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We determined program officials developed a plan for monitoring RRF award recipients use of funds and recovering unused or improperly awarded funds. However, program implementation was not executed in accordance with the plan. We made six recommendations for SBA to...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/29/2023

Small Business Administration OIG

COVID-19 and Disaster Assistance Information Systems Security Controls

This report presents the results of our audit to determine whether the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) maintained effective management control activities and monitoring of the design and implementation of third-party operated SBA systems. SBA needed information technology systems from third-party service providers that could improve the system efficiency and productivity to process high transaction volumes, transmit data between other information systems, and safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of the personally identifiable information processed by the programs. We found the...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/27/2022

1 - Open

Ensure the existing SBA System Development Methodology is updated to include supply chain risk-management practices as required by OMB Circular A-130 and high-value asset system designation guidance. Also, ensure high-value asset system risks are incorporated into the enterprise risk management framework, as recommended by OMB M-19-03 and SBA SOP 90 47 6.

10 - Open

Implement an automated process to document and monitor system changes as recommended by NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5.

2 - Open

Communicate and enforce the SBA System Development Methodology in which a traceability matrix is used to ensure that system requirements can be tested and demonstrated in the operational system. Ensure all requirements are aligned with the contractual acceptance criteria.

3 - Open

Implement in updated agency guidance, the requirements of OMB Circular No. A-123 that stipulate a SOC 1 Type 2 report is needed for all new and existing financial systems. This guidance should also require confirmation at least annually that the controls are functioning as designed.

4 - Closed

Enforce the requirement to establish and implement internal controls to ensure appropriate program officials perform and document contract reviews to ensure that information security is appropriately addressed in the contracting language, as required by OMB Circular A-130 and SBA SOP 90 47 6.

5 - Open

In conjunction with the Enterprise Risk Management Board, implement enterprise-wide privacy risk mitigation practices that can be assimilated into new and existing system program designs.

6 - Open

Complete an initial assessment and authorization for each information system and all agency-designated common controls before operation.

7 - Open

Transition information systems and common controls to an ongoing authorization process (when eligible for such a process) with the formal approval of the respective authorizing officials or reauthorize information systems and common controls as needed, on a time or event-driven basis in accordance with agency risk tolerance, as required by OMB Circular No. A-130 and SOP 90 47 6.

8 - Open

Review and update POA&Ms at least quarterly as required by SOP 90 47 6.

9 - Closed

Ensure data-sharing agreements are reviewed annually as required by SBA SOP 90 47 6.

Small Business Administration OIG

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Applications Submitted from Foreign IP Addresses

We evaluated the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) controls to flag or prevent potentially fraudulent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications submitted from foreign Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Although the agency implemented several layers of controls to prevent or reduce fraud from foreign countries, individuals at foreign IP addresses were able to access the COVID-19 EIDL application system. SBA received millions of attempts to submit COVID-19 EIDL applications from foreign IP addresses and stopped most of them; however, the agency...

Full Details: Oversight.gov Report Page

Audit | 9/12/2022

Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit

COVID Relief Funding Distribution

Our audit objective was to answer the following questions: (1) What is Kansas’ process for distributing COVID relief funding?; and (2) Have Kansas’ distributions of COVID relief funding been appropriate? The scope of our work included examining the distribution process for CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act funding. Additionally, we evaluated a sample of CARES Act expenditures made in 42 Kansas counties.

Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit

Reviewing Connectivity Emergency Response Grants for Broadband Development

Our audit objective was to answer the question: what entities received Connectivity Emergency Response Grants and where were they located? We found that the Kansas Department of Commerce (Commerce) awarded $48.5 million in Connectivity Emergency Response Grant funds through 66 grants to all seven regions in Kansas with the largest amounts going to South Central, Southwest, and Northeast Kansas. We also found that Commerce denied some applications through its review process.

Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit

Evaluating the Kansas Department of Labor’s Response to COVID-19 Unemployment Claims (Part 2)

This audit report assessed what factors caused delays in the Kansas Department of Labor’s unemployment claims processing during the COVID-19 pandemic? To answer this question, we spoke with officials from the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) and reviewed KDOL staffing, incident, and call center reports. This audit also includes an updated unemployment insurance fraud estimate. In February 2021 we released the first part of this audit. In that audit we reported a preliminary estimate of how much fraud could have occurred in Kansas in 2020. In this report, we used KDOL claims data from January...

Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit

Comparing the Impact of COVID-19 on Death Rates During Certain Months of 2019 and 2020

Representative John Barker requested this limited-scope audit, which was authorized by the Legislative Post Audit Committee at its February 24, 2021 meeting. Our audit objective was to answer the following question: How did causes of death during the COVID-19 pandemic compare to those before the pandemic? To answer this question, we reviewed death record data from 2019 and 2020 for the last third of each year (September 1 – December 31).

Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit

Evaluating the Kansas Department of Labor's Response to COVID-19 Unemployment Claims (Part 1)

This audit attempts to answer the following question. What types of unemployment claims fraud schemes is the Kansas Department of Labor aware of and how are they being addressed?

Date Range

Report Type

Report Category

Submitting Agency

State/Local Agency

State (State and Local Reports)

Fraud Type

Agency Reviewed

Related Organizations

Management Challenges

Any Recommendations

Any Open Recommendations

Reports

SBA’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund Program Award Practices

Ending Active Collections on Delinquent COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans

SBA’s Oversight of Restaurant Revitalization Fund Recipients

COVID-19 and Disaster Assistance Information Systems Security Controls

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Applications Submitted from Foreign IP Addresses

COVID Relief Funding Distribution

Reviewing Connectivity Emergency Response Grants for Broadband Development

Evaluating the Kansas Department of Labor’s Response to COVID-19 Unemployment Claims (Part 2)

Comparing the Impact of COVID-19 on Death Rates During Certain Months of 2019 and 2020

Evaluating the Kansas Department of Labor's Response to COVID-19 Unemployment Claims (Part 1)

Glossary

Glossary name will go here