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Corporate Contributions

Report Information

Date Issued
Report Number
2021-15794
Report Type
Audit
Description
The Office of the Inspector General included an audit of Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) corporate contributions in our annual audit plan due to the potential reputational risk associated with contributions that do not comply with TVA policies and procedures. Our audit objective was to determine if corporate contributions were made in compliance with TVA’s Standard Programs and Processes (SPP) 36.001, Corporate Contributions (Contributions Policy).We found 41 contributions totaling $296,582 made using miscellaneous vouchers rather than submitted through TVA’s online request and approval system in violation of TVA’s Contributions Policy. We also noted the Contributions Policy and TVA‑SPP‑13.092, Miscellaneous Vouchers, contradict one another. TVA‑SPP‑13.092, Miscellaneous Vouchers, states miscellaneous vouchers may be used for payment of contributions while the Contributions Policy states all contributions made by TVA must be processed through the Community Relations office to confirm consistent adherence to the approval requirements and minimize overlapping of contributions, including sponsorships.We also found control weaknesses including inadequate segregation of duties, inadequate controls for contribution approvals, and a lack of ongoing technical support for the contributions request and approval system. Additionally, in-kind donations are not managed and tracked as outlined in the Contributions Policy.
Joint Report
Yes
Participating OIG
Tennessee Valley Authority OIG
Agency Wide
Yes (agency-wide)
Questioned Costs
$0
Funds for Better Use
$0
View report on Oversight.gov

Recommendations

We recommend the Vice President, External Strategy and Regulatory Oversight consider processing in-kind donations through the same system as contributions to allow for easier tracking and management of in-kind donations and associated documentation.

We recommend the Vice President, External Strategy and Regulatory Oversight update Tennessee Valley Authority Standard Programs and Processes 36.001, Corporate Contributions, to clarify the responsibility for maintaining in-kind donation documentation.

We recommend the Vice President, External Strategy and Regulatory Oversight reinforce the requirement for Investment Recovery to track and report in-kind donations annually.

We recommend the Vice President, External Strategy and Regulatory Oversight consider an upgrade and/or replacement of the online contributions request and approval system, to receive ongoing support from Technology and Innovation, and allow for better segregation of duties and processing of contribution requests.

We recommend the Vice President, External Strategy and Regulatory Oversight update the contributions system to automatically assign the approver to a contributions request according to the levels required by Tennessee Valley Authority Standard Programs and Processes 36.001, Corporate Contributions.