Purpose

The objective of our examination was to determine whether payments the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (Division) made to Tidal Basin Government Consulting, LLC (Tidal Basin) were appropriate pursuant to the terms of the contract. During the examination period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023, the Division paid Tidal Basin $24.1 million, which included $22.5 million for professional services and $1.6 million for travel expenses.

Background

The Division’s mission is to provide leadership, coordination and support to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate disasters and other emergencies. To help carry out this mission, the Division contracted with Tidal Basin to provide disaster recovery services to supplement the Division’s staff for Disaster Recovery Programs for Public Assistance, Hazard Mitigation, Individual Assistance, and Disaster Finance. 

Under the terms of the contract, the Division paid Tidal Basin for professional services under five different consultant job titles billed at not-to-exceed hourly rates. The Division also paid Tidal Basin for expenses incurred as part of the consultants’ pre-approved travel. The contract totals $91.7 million for the period July 31, 2019 through July 30, 2025. 

Key Findings

The Division lacked the necessary controls to ensure expenses paid to Tidal Basin during the examination period were appropriate to pay. Specifically, the Division:

• Certified that $24.1 million was appropriate without reviewing the approved staffing and travel plans to ensure that these expenses were authorized by the Division. 
• Certified that $1.6 million in travel expenses were justified without designating the Tidal Basin consultants’ official stations or maintaining and reviewing the consultants’ home addresses to determine whether they were in travel status and therefore due travel reimbursement.
• Paid Tidal Basin $11,968 for travel expenses that did not comply with requirements in the OSC Travel Manual, as required by the contract.
• Approved 28 vouchers totaling $8.3 million without documenting which charges were just, true, correct, and appropriate to pay.

Key Recommendations

• Review and update the Division’s policies, procedures, and other controls over the payment process to ensure expenses paid by the Division are appropriate. 
• Review payments to Tidal Basin to determine if the expenses were just, true, and correct and recover improper payments, as appropriate.
• Obtain and proactively require that all expenses have the necessary documentation to establish that the costs are just, due and owing.
• Provide training to ensure staff responsible for reviewing and approving invoices follow the requirements of the contract and the controls over the payment process.