USAID's Agricultural Credit Enhancement Project: Audit of Costs Incurred by Development Alternatives Inc.

Abstract

On July 15, 2010, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI) a 4.5-year, $49.1 million task order to implement the Agricultural Credit Enhancement (ACE) project. The projects objectives were to manage all operations of the Agricultural Development Fund the agency established to help the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock lend money to small commercial farms and agribusinesses. USAID modified the task order 20 times, increasing the projects estimated cost to $75.2 million and extending the period of performance by 1 month. SIGARs financial audit, performed by Castro and Company LLC (Castro), reviewed $73.5 million in expenditures and fixed fees charged to the task order for the period from July 15, 2010, through February 25, 2015. The objectives ofthe audit were to (1) identify and report on significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in DAIs internal controls related to the task order; (2) identify and report on instances of material noncompliance with the terms of the task order and applicable laws and regulations, including any potential fraud or abuse; (3) determine and report on whether DAI has taken corrective action on prior findings and recommendations; and (4) express an opinion on the fair presentation of DAIs Special Purpose Financial Statement (SPFS). See Castros report for the precise audit objectives. In contracting with an independent audit firm and drawing from the results of the audit, SIGAR is required by auditing standards to review the audit work performed. Accordingly, SIGAR oversaw the audit and reviewed its results. Our review disclosed no instances where Castro did not comply, in all material respects, with U.S. generally accepted government auditing standards.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1138950

Entities

People

  • John Sopko

Organizations

  • Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accounting
  • Acquisition
  • Afghanistan
  • Auditing
  • Contractors
  • Contracts
  • Corporations
  • Fringe Benefits
  • Governments
  • Indirect Costs
  • Inventory
  • Law
  • Money
  • Procurement
  • Standards
  • Training
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Business

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Industrial Economics
  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.