Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to allocate Title 1 funds to participating eligible school attendance areas based on the total number of children from low-income families, including low-income children who reside in the area and attend private schools. Condition: The District did not have documentation that it had a process in place for timely consultation with private school officials to obtain the best available poverty data on the number of low-income private school children residing in participating public school attendance areas. Effect: The District was not in compliance with Title 1 eligibility requirements. Cause: It is unknown whether the District did not consult with private school officials or whether the District’s records are misplaced due to changes in personnel and the moving of records. Recommendation: The District should ensure that a process is in place for timely consultation with area private school officials, that documentation of the consultation is retained, and that funds are allocated as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. The proper process will be practiced in the new district for the allocation of Title 1 Funds by the Director of Federal Programs.
Criteria: Title 1: In operating a school-wide program, the District is required to distribute state and locally funded personnel and non-personnel resources to each school-wide program in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District is required to allocate ESSER funds to participating eligible school attendance areas based on the total number of children from low-income families, including low-income children who reside in the area and attend private schools. Condition: Title 1: The documents that were found for the Title 1 program did not include information that would allow us to ascertain whether state and local resources were distributed in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District did not have documentation that it had a process in place for timely consultation with private school officials to obtain the best available poverty data on the number of low-income private school children residing in participating public school attendance areas. Effect: Title 1: The District was unable to document that it had distributed state and local resources in an equitable manner without taking into account federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District was not in compliance with ESSER requirements related to private school consultation. Cause: Title 1: Documents that would support the equitable use of state and local resources have been misplaced. ESSER: It is unknown whether the District did not consult with private school officials or whether the District’s records are misplaced due to changes in personnel and the moving of records. Recommendation: Title 1: The District should have a process in place whereby all grant records are maintained and readily available to support compliance with grant requirements.
ESSER: The District should ensure that it has a process in place that all compliance requirements are met. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. All grant records will be properly maintained and readily available in the new district by the Finance & Federal Programs personnel.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: The District should have policies and procedures to ensure that bank reconciliations are completed timely and discrepancies between the bank and accounting records are researched and resolved. Condition: During the audit, we found correspondence that indicated that as of July 6, 2022, there had been two accounts partially reconciled through October, 2021. These and remaining bank accounts were subsequently reconciled to a point; however, significant audit adjustments were required to correct the books. Various journal entries resulted in a decrease to General Fund cash of $301,751. There were numerous checks written in December, 2021 that had a different check number in the general ledger system than the actual check number that cleared the bank. As a result, these checks were not marked as cleared in the system and the bank reconciliation did not agree with the general ledger. We had to go back through the bank statements to determine why the reconciliation and general ledger were not in balance. We found approximately $128,306 in checks that were on the outstanding check list that had already cleared the bank. There were also numerous old checks on the reconciliation that should have been investigated and voided and/or reissued. These checks totaling $158,360.34 were added back to cash through an audit adjustment. Balances for the three previous districts were appropriately brought forward in the ledger; however, activity in these accounts were posted in the wrong cash accounts, resulting in our having to track various activities to the account where it was posted and reclass to the correct cash account. We also found activity for Clarendon County School District Three's regular account throughout the year that had not been recorded. Effect: Cash as recorded in the trial balance presented for audit was overstated by $301,751. By not reconciling bank accounts each month when received and researching and resolving discrepancies, errors or fraud may go undetected by the District. By not investigating old outstanding checks and adding those voided, lost, and/or replaced back to cash, cash is understated and expenditures are overstated. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: Bank statements should be promptly reconciled to the District's general ledger monthly upon receipt. Any discrepancies should be researched and resolved. Checks outstanding for more than a month should be investigated to determine proper disposition. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Bank reconciliations will be reconciled in a timely manner by the Finance team.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. Condition: In reviewing online scanned documentation for accounts payable expenditures, we did not find any evidence of quotes or bids obtained for purchased supplies and equipment meeting the threshold requiring such quotes or bids. We also noted one expenditure in our sample that did not include an approved purchase order/requisition. Effect: The District was not in compliance with Procurement, Suspension and Debarment requirements for IDEA and is unable to substantiate that it provided full and open competition and received the best value for items purchased. Questioned Costs: Questioned costs include all supplies purchased with a cost over $1,000 that should have included documentation of quotes or bids. The total is $64,099. Cause: Unknown. While documentation of quotes and bids are typically included as part of the accounts payable documentation package, it is possible that these were stored elsewhere and have been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should follow procurement policies and include documentation that quotes and bids were obtained where required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Procurement policy and procedures will be practiced in the new district.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: The District should have policies and procedures to ensure that bank reconciliations are completed timely and discrepancies between the bank and accounting records are researched and resolved. Condition: During the audit, we found correspondence that indicated that as of July 6, 2022, there had been two accounts partially reconciled through October, 2021. These and remaining bank accounts were subsequently reconciled to a point; however, significant audit adjustments were required to correct the books. Various journal entries resulted in a decrease to General Fund cash of $301,751. There were numerous checks written in December, 2021 that had a different check number in the general ledger system than the actual check number that cleared the bank. As a result, these checks were not marked as cleared in the system and the bank reconciliation did not agree with the general ledger. We had to go back through the bank statements to determine why the reconciliation and general ledger were not in balance. We found approximately $128,306 in checks that were on the outstanding check list that had already cleared the bank. There were also numerous old checks on the reconciliation that should have been investigated and voided and/or reissued. These checks totaling $158,360.34 were added back to cash through an audit adjustment. Balances for the three previous districts were appropriately brought forward in the ledger; however, activity in these accounts were posted in the wrong cash accounts, resulting in our having to track various activities to the account where it was posted and reclass to the correct cash account. We also found activity for Clarendon County School District Three's regular account throughout the year that had not been recorded. Effect: Cash as recorded in the trial balance presented for audit was overstated by $301,751. By not reconciling bank accounts each month when received and researching and resolving discrepancies, errors or fraud may go undetected by the District. By not investigating old outstanding checks and adding those voided, lost, and/or replaced back to cash, cash is understated and expenditures are overstated. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: Bank statements should be promptly reconciled to the District's general ledger monthly upon receipt. Any discrepancies should be researched and resolved. Checks outstanding for more than a month should be investigated to determine proper disposition. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Bank reconciliations will be reconciled in a timely manner by the Finance team.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. Condition: In reviewing online scanned documentation for accounts payable expenditures, we did not find any evidence of quotes or bids obtained for purchased supplies and equipment meeting the threshold requiring such quotes or bids. We also noted one expenditure in our sample that did not include an approved purchase order/requisition. Effect: The District was not in compliance with Procurement, Suspension and Debarment requirements for IDEA and is unable to substantiate that it provided full and open competition and received the best value for items purchased. Questioned Costs: Questioned costs include all supplies purchased with a cost over $1,000 that should have included documentation of quotes or bids. The total is $64,099. Cause: Unknown. While documentation of quotes and bids are typically included as part of the accounts payable documentation package, it is possible that these were stored elsewhere and have been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should follow procurement policies and include documentation that quotes and bids were obtained where required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Procurement policy and procedures will be practiced in the new district.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to submit a spending plan to be approved by the S.C. Department of Education, to spend federal funds that are allowable under the grant and approved in its spending plan, and only expend funds for items that are necessary and reasonable in cost. Condition: For ESSER II funds, no spending plan was submitted to the S.C. Department of Education for approval. No supporting documentation was found for one ESSER expenditure of $315,516.60. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirements for determining Activities Allowed or Unallowed. Cause: It is unknown as to why the District did not submit the spending plan to the S.C. Department of Education, since according to their representative, the District was asked repeatedly to do so. Questioned Costs: Because the District did not submit a spending plan to the S.C. Department of Education for approval as required, all related costs are questioned. The total amount is $1,298,282, and includes the amount noted above where no supporting documentation was found. Recommendation: The District should ensure that all spending plans are submitted and approved, and that expenditures are made in compliance with these plans. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Compliance requirements will be practiced in the new district by Finance and Federal Programs Director.
Criteria: For equipment acquired with federal funds, the District is required to maintain equipment records, conduct a physical inventory annually, and have an appropriate control system in in place to safeguard equipment. Condition: We identified capital assets purchased with ESSER funds. The District had not updated its capital assets inventory prior to our audit fieldwork, so we combined the capital asset schedules of the previous two districts and updated for additions during the June 30, 2022 fiscal year. While these assets have been noted by us as having been purchased with federal funds, we were unable to determine that the District has done so in their records going forward. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirements for equipment and real property management. Cause: The District did not assign staff to combine the capital assets of the previous districts and record additions for the fiscal year, noting those purchased with federal funds. We were unable to determine that an inventory was conducted or that an appropriate control system was in place to safeguard equipment. Recommendation: Clarendon County School District should ensure that its capital asset records are updated to include all capital assets of Clarendon County School District Four, that it conducts a physical inventory annually, and that there is an appropriate control system in place to safeguard equipment. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Proper maintenance of assets will be practiced in the new district by the Finance & Technology Departments.
Criteria: Title 1: In operating a school-wide program, the District is required to distribute state and locally funded personnel and non-personnel resources to each school-wide program in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District is required to allocate ESSER funds to participating eligible school attendance areas based on the total number of children from low-income families, including low-income children who reside in the area and attend private schools. Condition: Title 1: The documents that were found for the Title 1 program did not include information that would allow us to ascertain whether state and local resources were distributed in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District did not have documentation that it had a process in place for timely consultation with private school officials to obtain the best available poverty data on the number of low-income private school children residing in participating public school attendance areas. Effect: Title 1: The District was unable to document that it had distributed state and local resources in an equitable manner without taking into account federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District was not in compliance with ESSER requirements related to private school consultation. Cause: Title 1: Documents that would support the equitable use of state and local resources have been misplaced. ESSER: It is unknown whether the District did not consult with private school officials or whether the District’s records are misplaced due to changes in personnel and the moving of records. Recommendation: Title 1: The District should have a process in place whereby all grant records are maintained and readily available to support compliance with grant requirements.
ESSER: The District should ensure that it has a process in place that all compliance requirements are met. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. All grant records will be properly maintained and readily available in the new district by the Finance & Federal Programs personnel.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to submit a spending plan to be approved by the S.C. Department of Education, to spend federal funds that are allowable under the grant and approved in its spending plan, and only expend funds for items that are necessary and reasonable in cost. Condition: For ESSER II funds, no spending plan was submitted to the S.C. Department of Education for approval. No supporting documentation was found for one ESSER expenditure of $315,516.60. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirements for determining Activities Allowed or Unallowed. Cause: It is unknown as to why the District did not submit the spending plan to the S.C. Department of Education, since according to their representative, the District was asked repeatedly to do so. Questioned Costs: Because the District did not submit a spending plan to the S.C. Department of Education for approval as required, all related costs are questioned. The total amount is $1,298,282, and includes the amount noted above where no supporting documentation was found. Recommendation: The District should ensure that all spending plans are submitted and approved, and that expenditures are made in compliance with these plans. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Compliance requirements will be practiced in the new district by Finance and Federal Programs Director.
Criteria: For equipment acquired with federal funds, the District is required to maintain equipment records, conduct a physical inventory annually, and have an appropriate control system in in place to safeguard equipment. Condition: We identified capital assets purchased with ESSER funds. The District had not updated its capital assets inventory prior to our audit fieldwork, so we combined the capital asset schedules of the previous two districts and updated for additions during the June 30, 2022 fiscal year. While these assets have been noted by us as having been purchased with federal funds, we were unable to determine that the District has done so in their records going forward. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirements for equipment and real property management. Cause: The District did not assign staff to combine the capital assets of the previous districts and record additions for the fiscal year, noting those purchased with federal funds. We were unable to determine that an inventory was conducted or that an appropriate control system was in place to safeguard equipment. Recommendation: Clarendon County School District should ensure that its capital asset records are updated to include all capital assets of Clarendon County School District Four, that it conducts a physical inventory annually, and that there is an appropriate control system in place to safeguard equipment. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Proper maintenance of assets will be practiced in the new district by the Finance & Technology Departments.
Criteria: Title 1: In operating a school-wide program, the District is required to distribute state and locally funded personnel and non-personnel resources to each school-wide program in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District is required to allocate ESSER funds to participating eligible school attendance areas based on the total number of children from low-income families, including low-income children who reside in the area and attend private schools. Condition: Title 1: The documents that were found for the Title 1 program did not include information that would allow us to ascertain whether state and local resources were distributed in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District did not have documentation that it had a process in place for timely consultation with private school officials to obtain the best available poverty data on the number of low-income private school children residing in participating public school attendance areas. Effect: Title 1: The District was unable to document that it had distributed state and local resources in an equitable manner without taking into account federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District was not in compliance with ESSER requirements related to private school consultation. Cause: Title 1: Documents that would support the equitable use of state and local resources have been misplaced. ESSER: It is unknown whether the District did not consult with private school officials or whether the District’s records are misplaced due to changes in personnel and the moving of records. Recommendation: Title 1: The District should have a process in place whereby all grant records are maintained and readily available to support compliance with grant requirements.
ESSER: The District should ensure that it has a process in place that all compliance requirements are met. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. All grant records will be properly maintained and readily available in the new district by the Finance & Federal Programs personnel.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to allocate Title 1 funds to participating eligible school attendance areas based on the total number of children from low-income families, including low-income children who reside in the area and attend private schools. Condition: The District did not have documentation that it had a process in place for timely consultation with private school officials to obtain the best available poverty data on the number of low-income private school children residing in participating public school attendance areas. Effect: The District was not in compliance with Title 1 eligibility requirements. Cause: It is unknown whether the District did not consult with private school officials or whether the District’s records are misplaced due to changes in personnel and the moving of records. Recommendation: The District should ensure that a process is in place for timely consultation with area private school officials, that documentation of the consultation is retained, and that funds are allocated as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. The proper process will be practiced in the new district for the allocation of Title 1 Funds by the Director of Federal Programs.
Criteria: Title 1: In operating a school-wide program, the District is required to distribute state and locally funded personnel and non-personnel resources to each school-wide program in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District is required to allocate ESSER funds to participating eligible school attendance areas based on the total number of children from low-income families, including low-income children who reside in the area and attend private schools. Condition: Title 1: The documents that were found for the Title 1 program did not include information that would allow us to ascertain whether state and local resources were distributed in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District did not have documentation that it had a process in place for timely consultation with private school officials to obtain the best available poverty data on the number of low-income private school children residing in participating public school attendance areas. Effect: Title 1: The District was unable to document that it had distributed state and local resources in an equitable manner without taking into account federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District was not in compliance with ESSER requirements related to private school consultation. Cause: Title 1: Documents that would support the equitable use of state and local resources have been misplaced. ESSER: It is unknown whether the District did not consult with private school officials or whether the District’s records are misplaced due to changes in personnel and the moving of records. Recommendation: Title 1: The District should have a process in place whereby all grant records are maintained and readily available to support compliance with grant requirements.
ESSER: The District should ensure that it has a process in place that all compliance requirements are met. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. All grant records will be properly maintained and readily available in the new district by the Finance & Federal Programs personnel.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: The District should have policies and procedures to ensure that bank reconciliations are completed timely and discrepancies between the bank and accounting records are researched and resolved. Condition: During the audit, we found correspondence that indicated that as of July 6, 2022, there had been two accounts partially reconciled through October, 2021. These and remaining bank accounts were subsequently reconciled to a point; however, significant audit adjustments were required to correct the books. Various journal entries resulted in a decrease to General Fund cash of $301,751. There were numerous checks written in December, 2021 that had a different check number in the general ledger system than the actual check number that cleared the bank. As a result, these checks were not marked as cleared in the system and the bank reconciliation did not agree with the general ledger. We had to go back through the bank statements to determine why the reconciliation and general ledger were not in balance. We found approximately $128,306 in checks that were on the outstanding check list that had already cleared the bank. There were also numerous old checks on the reconciliation that should have been investigated and voided and/or reissued. These checks totaling $158,360.34 were added back to cash through an audit adjustment. Balances for the three previous districts were appropriately brought forward in the ledger; however, activity in these accounts were posted in the wrong cash accounts, resulting in our having to track various activities to the account where it was posted and reclass to the correct cash account. We also found activity for Clarendon County School District Three's regular account throughout the year that had not been recorded. Effect: Cash as recorded in the trial balance presented for audit was overstated by $301,751. By not reconciling bank accounts each month when received and researching and resolving discrepancies, errors or fraud may go undetected by the District. By not investigating old outstanding checks and adding those voided, lost, and/or replaced back to cash, cash is understated and expenditures are overstated. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: Bank statements should be promptly reconciled to the District's general ledger monthly upon receipt. Any discrepancies should be researched and resolved. Checks outstanding for more than a month should be investigated to determine proper disposition. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Bank reconciliations will be reconciled in a timely manner by the Finance team.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. Condition: In reviewing online scanned documentation for accounts payable expenditures, we did not find any evidence of quotes or bids obtained for purchased supplies and equipment meeting the threshold requiring such quotes or bids. We also noted one expenditure in our sample that did not include an approved purchase order/requisition. Effect: The District was not in compliance with Procurement, Suspension and Debarment requirements for IDEA and is unable to substantiate that it provided full and open competition and received the best value for items purchased. Questioned Costs: Questioned costs include all supplies purchased with a cost over $1,000 that should have included documentation of quotes or bids. The total is $64,099. Cause: Unknown. While documentation of quotes and bids are typically included as part of the accounts payable documentation package, it is possible that these were stored elsewhere and have been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should follow procurement policies and include documentation that quotes and bids were obtained where required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Procurement policy and procedures will be practiced in the new district.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: The District should have policies and procedures to ensure that bank reconciliations are completed timely and discrepancies between the bank and accounting records are researched and resolved. Condition: During the audit, we found correspondence that indicated that as of July 6, 2022, there had been two accounts partially reconciled through October, 2021. These and remaining bank accounts were subsequently reconciled to a point; however, significant audit adjustments were required to correct the books. Various journal entries resulted in a decrease to General Fund cash of $301,751. There were numerous checks written in December, 2021 that had a different check number in the general ledger system than the actual check number that cleared the bank. As a result, these checks were not marked as cleared in the system and the bank reconciliation did not agree with the general ledger. We had to go back through the bank statements to determine why the reconciliation and general ledger were not in balance. We found approximately $128,306 in checks that were on the outstanding check list that had already cleared the bank. There were also numerous old checks on the reconciliation that should have been investigated and voided and/or reissued. These checks totaling $158,360.34 were added back to cash through an audit adjustment. Balances for the three previous districts were appropriately brought forward in the ledger; however, activity in these accounts were posted in the wrong cash accounts, resulting in our having to track various activities to the account where it was posted and reclass to the correct cash account. We also found activity for Clarendon County School District Three's regular account throughout the year that had not been recorded. Effect: Cash as recorded in the trial balance presented for audit was overstated by $301,751. By not reconciling bank accounts each month when received and researching and resolving discrepancies, errors or fraud may go undetected by the District. By not investigating old outstanding checks and adding those voided, lost, and/or replaced back to cash, cash is understated and expenditures are overstated. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: Bank statements should be promptly reconciled to the District's general ledger monthly upon receipt. Any discrepancies should be researched and resolved. Checks outstanding for more than a month should be investigated to determine proper disposition. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Bank reconciliations will be reconciled in a timely manner by the Finance team.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to conduct all procurement transactions in a manner providing full and open competition, in accordance with 2 CFR section 200.319. Condition: In reviewing online scanned documentation for accounts payable expenditures, we did not find any evidence of quotes or bids obtained for purchased supplies and equipment meeting the threshold requiring such quotes or bids. We also noted one expenditure in our sample that did not include an approved purchase order/requisition. Effect: The District was not in compliance with Procurement, Suspension and Debarment requirements for IDEA and is unable to substantiate that it provided full and open competition and received the best value for items purchased. Questioned Costs: Questioned costs include all supplies purchased with a cost over $1,000 that should have included documentation of quotes or bids. The total is $64,099. Cause: Unknown. While documentation of quotes and bids are typically included as part of the accounts payable documentation package, it is possible that these were stored elsewhere and have been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should follow procurement policies and include documentation that quotes and bids were obtained where required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Procurement policy and procedures will be practiced in the new district.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to submit a spending plan to be approved by the S.C. Department of Education, to spend federal funds that are allowable under the grant and approved in its spending plan, and only expend funds for items that are necessary and reasonable in cost. Condition: For ESSER II funds, no spending plan was submitted to the S.C. Department of Education for approval. No supporting documentation was found for one ESSER expenditure of $315,516.60. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirements for determining Activities Allowed or Unallowed. Cause: It is unknown as to why the District did not submit the spending plan to the S.C. Department of Education, since according to their representative, the District was asked repeatedly to do so. Questioned Costs: Because the District did not submit a spending plan to the S.C. Department of Education for approval as required, all related costs are questioned. The total amount is $1,298,282, and includes the amount noted above where no supporting documentation was found. Recommendation: The District should ensure that all spending plans are submitted and approved, and that expenditures are made in compliance with these plans. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Compliance requirements will be practiced in the new district by Finance and Federal Programs Director.
Criteria: For equipment acquired with federal funds, the District is required to maintain equipment records, conduct a physical inventory annually, and have an appropriate control system in in place to safeguard equipment. Condition: We identified capital assets purchased with ESSER funds. The District had not updated its capital assets inventory prior to our audit fieldwork, so we combined the capital asset schedules of the previous two districts and updated for additions during the June 30, 2022 fiscal year. While these assets have been noted by us as having been purchased with federal funds, we were unable to determine that the District has done so in their records going forward. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirements for equipment and real property management. Cause: The District did not assign staff to combine the capital assets of the previous districts and record additions for the fiscal year, noting those purchased with federal funds. We were unable to determine that an inventory was conducted or that an appropriate control system was in place to safeguard equipment. Recommendation: Clarendon County School District should ensure that its capital asset records are updated to include all capital assets of Clarendon County School District Four, that it conducts a physical inventory annually, and that there is an appropriate control system in place to safeguard equipment. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Proper maintenance of assets will be practiced in the new district by the Finance & Technology Departments.
Criteria: Title 1: In operating a school-wide program, the District is required to distribute state and locally funded personnel and non-personnel resources to each school-wide program in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District is required to allocate ESSER funds to participating eligible school attendance areas based on the total number of children from low-income families, including low-income children who reside in the area and attend private schools. Condition: Title 1: The documents that were found for the Title 1 program did not include information that would allow us to ascertain whether state and local resources were distributed in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District did not have documentation that it had a process in place for timely consultation with private school officials to obtain the best available poverty data on the number of low-income private school children residing in participating public school attendance areas. Effect: Title 1: The District was unable to document that it had distributed state and local resources in an equitable manner without taking into account federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District was not in compliance with ESSER requirements related to private school consultation. Cause: Title 1: Documents that would support the equitable use of state and local resources have been misplaced. ESSER: It is unknown whether the District did not consult with private school officials or whether the District’s records are misplaced due to changes in personnel and the moving of records. Recommendation: Title 1: The District should have a process in place whereby all grant records are maintained and readily available to support compliance with grant requirements.
ESSER: The District should ensure that it has a process in place that all compliance requirements are met. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. All grant records will be properly maintained and readily available in the new district by the Finance & Federal Programs personnel.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to ensure the District performs timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements and prepare for the annual audit. Condition: Internal controls were not sufficient to detect certain material misstatements in the District's year end balances that were submitted for audit. Effect: Numerous material audit adjustments were required to present the Government-wide statements, the General Fund, Special Projects Fund, EIA Fund, Food Service Fund and Debt Service Fund fairly and in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Cause: The June 30, 2021 audit for Clarendon County School District One, which consolidated into Clarendon County School District Four on July 1, 2021, was not issued until October 11, 2023, and beginning balances were not available until that time. Additionally, Clarendon County School District Four's June 30, 2021 audit was not issued until July 25, 2023. At June 30, 2022, the original Finance Director's contract with the District had ended, and he left the District. Other personnel were assigned to work on the financial closeout, but both of these individuals left the District's employment prior to its completion and fieldwork beginning. Recommendation: The District should carefully review year end balances and relevant close out procedures to ensure that all transactions are reported in the proper period and in accordance with GAAP. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal controls should be in place to permit the District to maintain accurate and organized records to support the transactions reported in the general ledger. Condition: We noted several expenditures in our samples of accounts payable transactions for which no supporting documentation could be found. There were numerous expenditures for which required purchase orders/requisitions were not located. There was a bank account in the Debt Service Fund for which no statements were found. Personnel folders did not contain contracts for all employees and very few had required identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state issued i.d. The District had to request copies of numerous bank account statements from the bank. Effect: The deficiencies in the District's record retention practices prevented the timely review of many items selected for testing during the audit. It was difficult to determine who might have access to the records or know where to find them. Cause: The District's management had all left the District prior to the audit, records were boxed up and moved around the new consolidated District. Accounts payable support was sent to be scanned and uploaded, then the originals were destroyed. Recommendation: The District did not appear to have developed an appropriate record retention policy and centralized storage area. We recommend that the District have written policies for record retention and note the staff position within the District who is responsible for various records. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by the Director of Finance.
Criteria: Internal control policies and procedures should be in place to ensure the District can perform timely and accurate financial closeout procedures in order for the District to produce its monthly and annual financial statements. Furthermore, segregation of employees' duties is a common practice in an effective internal control environment. Segregation of duties is when specific employee functions related to important accounting areas are separated among different individuals to significantly reduce the risk that any one could intentionally misappropriate assets or unintentionally make errors. Policies should be in place requiring the segregation of certain duties. Condition: The Finance Director approved purchases, approved check runs, and balanced the bank statements. Had the District consistently used purchase orders signed by the appropriate Department heads and had the Superintendent reviewed and signed off on check runs, the District would have had better segregation of duties. Effect: The District was more susceptible to fraud or errors due to multiple functions being performed by the same individual. Cause: Internal controls and segregation of duties policies were not implemented during the year. Recommendation: We recommend the District create and adopt policies and procedures to be implemented which designate duties assigned to each staff member and ensures that there is proper segregation of duties in order to safeguard the District's assets from fraud or errors. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Internal controls will be practiced in the new district by all appropriate personnel.
Criteria: District employees should be paid according to the approved salary schedule, adjusted for days and hours worked. Salaries and accounts to be charged in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion should agree with what was charged to the general ledger for each employee. Personnel files should be complete, to include identifying information such as copies of social security cards and state ID's, and a signed contract. Condition: No signed contract was included in the personnel files of 4 of 20 employees sampled. Gross pay for 3 employees did not agree to the salary shown in the Employee Master List in Smartfusion. The function charged for one employee did not agree to the Employee Master List. For 9 of the 20 employees sampled, we were unable to reconcile their salaries with the District-wide Salary Schedules, using scale and years of experience noted in the Employee Master List. Effect: We were unable to rely on internal controls over payroll in planning the audit. Cause: Unknown. Recommendation: The District should review employee salaries annually and ensure that actual gross pay and the Employee Master List are in agreement and that the salary paid is properly documented. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Employee salaries will be reviewed annually to ensure proper pay in the new district by the departments of Finance, and Human Resource.
Criteria: The District is required to comply with the requirements of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and also by maintaining required support for salaries and wages. Condition: In our sample of 20 employees, the District was unable to provide signed semi-annual certifications and/or personnel activity reports (PAR) for 13 employees charged in full or in part to federal programs. In addition, we were unable to reconcile employee pay to published salary schedules for 4 of the 20 employees sampled. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirement of OMB 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles. Cause: The District has indicated that the records were obtained; however, due to changes in personnel and records being moved, the documentation has been misplaced. Recommendation: The District should ensure that it complies annually with the requirements related to the allowability, reasonableness, and allocability of costs consistent with the approved budget and that a record retention policy exists where appropriate support for salaries and wages is retained as required. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Cost Principles compliance will be practiced in the new district by the appropriate staff.
Criteria: The District is required to submit a spending plan to be approved by the S.C. Department of Education, to spend federal funds that are allowable under the grant and approved in its spending plan, and only expend funds for items that are necessary and reasonable in cost. Condition: For ESSER II funds, no spending plan was submitted to the S.C. Department of Education for approval. No supporting documentation was found for one ESSER expenditure of $315,516.60. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirements for determining Activities Allowed or Unallowed. Cause: It is unknown as to why the District did not submit the spending plan to the S.C. Department of Education, since according to their representative, the District was asked repeatedly to do so. Questioned Costs: Because the District did not submit a spending plan to the S.C. Department of Education for approval as required, all related costs are questioned. The total amount is $1,298,282, and includes the amount noted above where no supporting documentation was found. Recommendation: The District should ensure that all spending plans are submitted and approved, and that expenditures are made in compliance with these plans. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Compliance requirements will be practiced in the new district by Finance and Federal Programs Director.
Criteria: For equipment acquired with federal funds, the District is required to maintain equipment records, conduct a physical inventory annually, and have an appropriate control system in in place to safeguard equipment. Condition: We identified capital assets purchased with ESSER funds. The District had not updated its capital assets inventory prior to our audit fieldwork, so we combined the capital asset schedules of the previous two districts and updated for additions during the June 30, 2022 fiscal year. While these assets have been noted by us as having been purchased with federal funds, we were unable to determine that the District has done so in their records going forward. Effect: The District was not in compliance with the requirements for equipment and real property management. Cause: The District did not assign staff to combine the capital assets of the previous districts and record additions for the fiscal year, noting those purchased with federal funds. We were unable to determine that an inventory was conducted or that an appropriate control system was in place to safeguard equipment. Recommendation: Clarendon County School District should ensure that its capital asset records are updated to include all capital assets of Clarendon County School District Four, that it conducts a physical inventory annually, and that there is an appropriate control system in place to safeguard equipment. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. Proper maintenance of assets will be practiced in the new district by the Finance & Technology Departments.
Criteria: Title 1: In operating a school-wide program, the District is required to distribute state and locally funded personnel and non-personnel resources to each school-wide program in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District is required to allocate ESSER funds to participating eligible school attendance areas based on the total number of children from low-income families, including low-income children who reside in the area and attend private schools. Condition: Title 1: The documents that were found for the Title 1 program did not include information that would allow us to ascertain whether state and local resources were distributed in an equitable manner without taking into account the federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District did not have documentation that it had a process in place for timely consultation with private school officials to obtain the best available poverty data on the number of low-income private school children residing in participating public school attendance areas. Effect: Title 1: The District was unable to document that it had distributed state and local resources in an equitable manner without taking into account federal funds used in the school-wide program.
ESSER: The District was not in compliance with ESSER requirements related to private school consultation. Cause: Title 1: Documents that would support the equitable use of state and local resources have been misplaced. ESSER: It is unknown whether the District did not consult with private school officials or whether the District’s records are misplaced due to changes in personnel and the moving of records. Recommendation: Title 1: The District should have a process in place whereby all grant records are maintained and readily available to support compliance with grant requirements.
ESSER: The District should ensure that it has a process in place that all compliance requirements are met. District response: The District no longer exists due to consolidation. All grant records will be properly maintained and readily available in the new district by the Finance & Federal Programs personnel.