Late last week, the Federal Communications Commission sent audit announcement notices to some participants in the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) program. In a letter to organizations being audited, the FCC notes that the audit “is intended to determine compliance with FCC rules and the ECF Program requirements,” and that the “efficiency of your audit will depend on the availability of you and your staff to assist with this audit and the documentation that is available prior to, and during the course of the audit.” ECF audits are being conducted by Censeo Consulting Group.
In its message to audit recipients, the Commission notes that “it is possible to complete much of [the] audit with the information and documents” provided to USAC during the application and invoicing process. However, they will “likely request additional documentation that is not available through USAC to confirm compliance with program requirements. The FCC also expects audit participants “to anonymize or deidentify any and all personally identifiable information (PII) related to your students, school staff, or library patrons that may be revealed in any of the documentation and/or responses” to audit inquiries.
As of December 9, 2022, the ECF program had disbursed almost $2.4 billion.
