PIH updates guidance on financial reporting requirements

HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH) has issued a new notice revising its guidance on the financial reporting requirements for the housing choice voucher program through the Financial Assessment Subsystem for public housing and the Voucher Management System.

Notice PIH 2012-21, issued May 10, 2012, replaces previous guidance on the same subject provided in Notice PIH 2010-45 and remains in effect until amended, superseded, or rescinded.

The new notice makes many key changes to the previous guidance. For example:

• In section 4, “Financial and Compliance Procedures,” the notice states that PIH will generally reimburse an agency for a special purpose audit if it requires the agency to procure such an audit. However, if the agency has “substantial administrative fee funding” available, PIH may instead direct the agency to use some of this funding to cover the expense of the audit.
• A new paragraph has been added to the end of section 8, ”FASS Waiver and Extension Requests”:
  

  HUD will not entertain any waivers of the requirement to file FASS-PH reports; however, PHAs that need extra time to make their submissions may request from HUD an extension of the reporting requirement to submit unaudited financial statements or a waiver of the reporting compliance date requirement found at 24 CFR 5.801(d) for submission of audited statements.

• Section 10, “HCV-Related Programs,” now includes references to VASH vouchers and provides a link to revised instructions for reporting on these vouchers on the Financial Data Schedule (FDS).
• Section 10 also includes revised instructions for reporting on Mainstream 5 vouchers: “In the past, some HUD guidance instructed PHAs to report PIH’s Mainstream 5 vouchers under CFDA #14.181, ‘Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities.’ This instruction is no longer valid. PHAs should report PIH’s Mainstream 5 vouchers under CFDA #14.879, ‘Mainstream Vouchers.’”
• A paragraph has been added to section 12, “Clarifications for Reporting Equity in FASS-PH,” to address a new standard on fund balance reporting issued by the Government Accounting Standards Board, GASB #54. The paragraph refers to special FDS reporting instructions for PHAs affected by GASB #54 (Section 8–only agencies that report using modified accrual) and a new GASB #54 supplementary reporting schedule.
• A new section 13 has been added to address reporting by Moving to Work (MTW) agencies in FASS-PH. This section provides a link to special FDS reporting instructions for MTW agencies.

NMA’s HCV Financial Accounting and Reporting provides comprehensive training and guidance with the most current HUD rules and regulations. To stay updated on the latest program information, subscribe to the PIH Alert and Housing Resource Newsletter.