Audit 2597

FY End
2023-05-31
Total Expended
$14.10M
Findings
2
Programs
7
Organization: Lake Forest College (IL)
Year: 2023 Accepted: 2023-11-08
Auditor: Rsm US LLP

Organization Exclusion Status:

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Findings

ID Ref Severity Repeat Requirement
1383 2023-001 - - N
577825 2023-001 - - N

Programs

ALN Program Spent Major Findings
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $8.02M Yes 0
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $3.30M Yes 0
84.038 Federal Perkins Loan Program $1.41M Yes 1
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $531,694 - 0
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $477,510 Yes 0
84.033 Federal Work-Study Program $298,829 Yes 0
47.074 Biological Sciences $56,652 - 0

Contacts

Name Title Type
NCHSEV4M47D9 Aj Rodino Auditee
8477355039 Craig Wories Auditor
No contacts on file

Notes to SEFA

Title: Note 1: Basis of Presentation Accounting Policies: Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in the Uniform Guidance, wherein certain types of expenditures are not allowable or are limited as to reimbursement. Negative amounts shown on the Schedule represent adjustments or credits made in the normal course of business to amounts reported as expenditures in prior years. De Minimis Rate Used: Y Rate Explanation: The College has elected to use the 10 percent de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under the Uniform Guidance. The accompanying schedule of expenditures of federal awards (the Schedule) includes the federal award activity of Lake Forest College (the College) under programs of the federal government for the year ended May 31, 2023. The information in this Schedule is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Because the Schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of the College, it is not intended to and does not present the financial position, changes in net assets, or cash flows of the College.
Title: Note 3. Federal Government Student Loan Programs Accounting Policies: Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in the Uniform Guidance, wherein certain types of expenditures are not allowable or are limited as to reimbursement. Negative amounts shown on the Schedule represent adjustments or credits made in the normal course of business to amounts reported as expenditures in prior years. De Minimis Rate Used: Y Rate Explanation: The College has elected to use the 10 percent de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under the Uniform Guidance. The Federal Perkins Loan Program is administered directly by the College, and balances and transactions relating to this program are included in the College’s financial statements. No new loans are allowed to be issued, therefore, the collections received on past loans including interest will be held until the liquidation process occurs and the final federal share of the remaining Federal Perkins Loan Program cash is remitted to the Department of Education. The beginning balance on these loans is disclosed in the Schedule. The balance of the loans outstanding under the Federal Perkins Loan Program was $778,326 as of May 31, 2023. The College is responsible only for the performance of certain administrative duties with respect to the Federal Direct Loan Program. Accordingly, these loans are not included in the College’s financial statements and it is not practical to determine the balance of loans outstanding to students and former students of the College under this program as of May 31, 2023.
Title: Note 4. Reconciliation of the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards to the Statement of Activities Accounting Policies: Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in the Uniform Guidance, wherein certain types of expenditures are not allowable or are limited as to reimbursement. Negative amounts shown on the Schedule represent adjustments or credits made in the normal course of business to amounts reported as expenditures in prior years. De Minimis Rate Used: Y Rate Explanation: The College has elected to use the 10 percent de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under the Uniform Guidance. Net assets with donor restrictions, derived from federal aid, gifts, or grants, may be used only to meet expenses for the purposes specifically identified by sponsoring agencies. Federal aid, gifts, or grants are recognized as Government grants revenue in the College’s financial statements as expended. The following is a reconciliation of total expenditures reported on the accompanying Schedule to the revenue items shown as Government grants revenue on the Statement of Activities included in the College’s financial statements. For financial statement purposes, Pell grants are not reflected in the statement of activities. The College records Pell grants and Perkins and Federal Direct Loans received by students through the College as intermediary transactions, and not grants. Therefore, these expenditures are presented below as federal funds for student financial assistance but are not reported as expenditures of the College. These expenditures are subtracted from the total expenditures on the schedule of expenditures of federal awards to agree with revenue on the statement of activities. Reconciling items between the total expenditures on the schedule of expenditures of federal awards and the government grants revenue on the statement of activities are as follows:
Title: Note 5. Disaster Grants – Public Assistance (Presidentially Declared Disasters), ALN 97.036 Accounting Policies: Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in the Uniform Guidance, wherein certain types of expenditures are not allowable or are limited as to reimbursement. Negative amounts shown on the Schedule represent adjustments or credits made in the normal course of business to amounts reported as expenditures in prior years. De Minimis Rate Used: Y Rate Explanation: The College has elected to use the 10 percent de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under the Uniform Guidance. After a Presidentially-Declared Disaster, FEMA provides a Public Assistance Grant to reimburse eligible costs associated with repair, replacement, or restoration of disaster damaged facilities. Nonfederal entities must record expenditures on the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) when (1) FEMA has approved the nonfederal entity’s project worksheet, and (2) the nonfederal entity has incurred the eligible expenditures. For the year ended June 30, 2023, a total of $531,694 for approved eligible expenditures was included on the FY23 SEFA under ALN 97.036. These expenditures were incurred in fiscal year 2022.

Finding Details

Finding 2023-001 – Perkins Loan Recordkeeping and Retention Repeat Finding: No Federal Program Title – U.S. Department of Education Student Financial Assistance Cluster Federal Perkins Loan Program 84.038 Condition Lake Forest College had two instances where the original promissory could not be located for a student who received a Federal Perkins Loan. Criteria Uniform Grant Guidance (34 CFR 674.19(e)) states an institution shall keep the original promissory notes and repayment schedules until the loans are satisfied. If required to release original documents in order to enforce the loan, the institution must retain certified true copies of those documents. An institution shall keep the original paper promissory note or original paper MPN and repayment schedules in a locked, fireproof container. If a promissory note was signed electronically, the institution must store it electronically and the promissory note must be retrievable in a coherent format. An original electronically signed MPN must be retained by the institution for three years after all the loans made on the MPN are satisfied. Uniform Grant Guidance (2 CFR 200.303) requires nonfederal entities receiving Federal awards establish and maintain internal controls deigned to reasonably ensure compliance with Federal laws, regulations and program compliance requirements. Effective internal controls should include procedures to ensure all original loan documents are properly maintained. Questioned Costs None. Cause Attributing to human error, the College was unsuccessful in finding the original promissory notes. Over the course of the past 20 years numerous staff changes, along with transitioning from physical paper MPN’s to electronic copies has resulted in the potential misplacement of these two MPN’s. Effect Lack of retention of original promissory notes is noncompliance with Federal regulation and could result in the loss of future funding. Recommendation We recommend the College review current processes for ensuring all records are retained for students who received Federal Perkins Loans. Views of responsible officials We agree with this finding. See corrective action plan.
Finding 2023-001 – Perkins Loan Recordkeeping and Retention Repeat Finding: No Federal Program Title – U.S. Department of Education Student Financial Assistance Cluster Federal Perkins Loan Program 84.038 Condition Lake Forest College had two instances where the original promissory could not be located for a student who received a Federal Perkins Loan. Criteria Uniform Grant Guidance (34 CFR 674.19(e)) states an institution shall keep the original promissory notes and repayment schedules until the loans are satisfied. If required to release original documents in order to enforce the loan, the institution must retain certified true copies of those documents. An institution shall keep the original paper promissory note or original paper MPN and repayment schedules in a locked, fireproof container. If a promissory note was signed electronically, the institution must store it electronically and the promissory note must be retrievable in a coherent format. An original electronically signed MPN must be retained by the institution for three years after all the loans made on the MPN are satisfied. Uniform Grant Guidance (2 CFR 200.303) requires nonfederal entities receiving Federal awards establish and maintain internal controls deigned to reasonably ensure compliance with Federal laws, regulations and program compliance requirements. Effective internal controls should include procedures to ensure all original loan documents are properly maintained. Questioned Costs None. Cause Attributing to human error, the College was unsuccessful in finding the original promissory notes. Over the course of the past 20 years numerous staff changes, along with transitioning from physical paper MPN’s to electronic copies has resulted in the potential misplacement of these two MPN’s. Effect Lack of retention of original promissory notes is noncompliance with Federal regulation and could result in the loss of future funding. Recommendation We recommend the College review current processes for ensuring all records are retained for students who received Federal Perkins Loans. Views of responsible officials We agree with this finding. See corrective action plan.