Abstract
The housing and urban Development (HUD) department is very vital in the development of our nation as it is directly responsible for the economic and community growth of this nation.
Its priorities include providing the opportunity for the ownership of homes especially for the minority groups such as the poor and the disabled without discrimination.
It struggles to achieve this goal by funding various programs and implementing a variety of financial accountability measures which ensure that the funds are not mismanaged.
The housing and Urban Development
Introduction
The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is responsible for increasing ownership of homes for the nation’s citizens without discrimination. This especially targets the poor, the elderly and also people with disabilities and those living with AIDS. It’s also responsible for promoting economic and community development and the implementation of housing law. The HUD offers housing grants such as single family housing programs, multifamily housing etc.
Discussion
The department funds its programs though the issuing of grants such as the government grants which was established with the aim of providing better services to government, education, public housing and non-profit organizations and also to small-scale businesses and individuals.
Small businesses are provided with universal access by the department as their importance in job growth and the strength of the economy cannot be ignored.
However, getting grants is not always guaranteed due to the under funding of the department. The president Budget failed to increase funds in the department’s main rental assistance program which are needed for the continued assistance to poor families. This means that at least five percent of the house vouchers in use by poor families will not be renewed in 2009. Under funding has resulted in deterioration of a large number of public houses and unless funding is restored to a sustainable level, the loss of houses is expected to escalate in 2009. These shortfalls are bound to have a destructive effect on the economic development.
The department convened a forum of senior managers to examine new method of preventing fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement of the funded programs. In the forum, different working groups were created and general strategies and solutions for the department’s major program areas formulated. In order to determine if funds are processed according to the approved control plans compliance reviews have to be performed on all programs. It also issues guidance for program offices on Front End Risk Assessment (FERA). These guidelines are used when assessing risks for new or revised programs. In the HUD’s five year plan, it planned to implement a process for the early identification of programs ignoring the assessment.
It also plans to create a Risk Management Division web page to highlight risk management initiatives and also give useful tips in the assessment of program risks.
The plan also includes the implementation of an audit recovery process which identifies payment errors resulting in overpayments to contractors.
The question I would ask the agency if I donated a large sum of money so that I know how it was being used would include:
Are you willing to report all sales under the contract and pay back the appropriate amount on a quarterly basis?
Will you comply with the regulated Standard Operating Procedures?
Can I review the agency’s accounting system and procedures for classifying sales?
The question listed above will see to it that the agency accounts for every single penny. This will ensure that the funds won’t be mismanaged or wasted
Reference
Financial Management 5-year plan. Retrieved on 14. 06.08 from:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/cfulsyearplan.pdf
