Audit 324905

FY End
2023-12-31
Total Expended
$6.58M
Findings
10
Programs
6
Year: 2023 Accepted: 2024-10-16

Organization Exclusion Status:

Checking exclusion status...

Findings

ID Ref Severity Repeat Requirement
502913 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
502914 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
502915 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
502916 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
502917 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
1079355 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
1079356 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
1079357 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
1079358 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL
1079359 2023-002 Material Weakness Yes ABL

Programs

ALN Program Spent Major Findings
93.600 Head Start $4.76M Yes 1
93.568 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance $1.21M Yes 1
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $208,576 - 0
93.569 Community Services Block Grant $158,145 - 1
93.499 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance - Water Assistance Program $143,315 - 1
81.042 Weatherization Assistance for Low-Income Persons $101,072 - 1

Contacts

Name Title Type
M4HNC173GJP5 Tamika Shiggs Auditee
8435495576 Lisa Wechsler Auditor
No contacts on file

Notes to SEFA

Title: Note A – Basis of Presentation Accounting Policies: Note A – Basis of Presentation The accompanying schedule of expenditure of federal awards (the Schedule) includes the federal award activity of Lowcountry Community Action Agency, Inc. (LCAA) under programs of the federal government for the year ended December 31, 2022. The information in the schedule is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Because the Schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of LCAA, it is not intended to and does not present the financial position, change in net assets, or cash flows of LCAA. Note B – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, wherein certain types of expenditures may or may not be allowable or may be limited as to reimbursement. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: LCAA has elected not to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under Uniform Guidance. The management and general expenses are reimbursed by grantors based on an Indirect Cost Plan approved by the Agency’s federal cognizant agency. The approved provisional rate for the current year is 29.3% through July, after which it was raised to 33.3%, based on direct salaries charged to each program. The accompanying schedule of expenditure of federal awards (the Schedule) includes the federal award activity of Lowcountry Community Action Agency, Inc. (LCAA) under programs of the federal government for the year ended December 31, 2022. The information in the schedule is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Because the Schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of LCAA, it is not intended to and does not present the financial position, change in net assets, or cash flows of LCAA.
Title: Note B – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Accounting Policies: Note A – Basis of Presentation The accompanying schedule of expenditure of federal awards (the Schedule) includes the federal award activity of Lowcountry Community Action Agency, Inc. (LCAA) under programs of the federal government for the year ended December 31, 2022. The information in the schedule is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Because the Schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of LCAA, it is not intended to and does not present the financial position, change in net assets, or cash flows of LCAA. Note B – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, wherein certain types of expenditures may or may not be allowable or may be limited as to reimbursement. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: LCAA has elected not to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under Uniform Guidance. The management and general expenses are reimbursed by grantors based on an Indirect Cost Plan approved by the Agency’s federal cognizant agency. The approved provisional rate for the current year is 29.3% through July, after which it was raised to 33.3%, based on direct salaries charged to each program. Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, wherein certain types of expenditures may or may not be allowable or may be limited as to reimbursement.
Title: Note C – Indirect Cost Rate Accounting Policies: Note A – Basis of Presentation The accompanying schedule of expenditure of federal awards (the Schedule) includes the federal award activity of Lowcountry Community Action Agency, Inc. (LCAA) under programs of the federal government for the year ended December 31, 2022. The information in the schedule is presented in accordance with the requirements of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Because the Schedule presents only a selected portion of the operations of LCAA, it is not intended to and does not present the financial position, change in net assets, or cash flows of LCAA. Note B – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Expenditures reported on the Schedule are reported on the accrual basis of accounting. Such expenditures are recognized following the cost principles contained in Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, wherein certain types of expenditures may or may not be allowable or may be limited as to reimbursement. De Minimis Rate Used: N Rate Explanation: LCAA has elected not to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under Uniform Guidance. The management and general expenses are reimbursed by grantors based on an Indirect Cost Plan approved by the Agency’s federal cognizant agency. The approved provisional rate for the current year is 29.3% through July, after which it was raised to 33.3%, based on direct salaries charged to each program. LCAA has elected not to use the 10% de minimis indirect cost rate as allowed under Uniform Guidance. The management and general expenses are reimbursed by grantors based on an Indirect Cost Plan approved by the Agency’s federal cognizant agency. The approved provisional rate for the current year is 29.3% through July, after which it was raised to 33.3%, based on direct salaries charged to each program.

Finding Details

Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.
Known Questioned Cost: $17,680. Criteria: The Agency should be paying its unemployment expenses in accordance with what has been calculated. Condition: The transition to new accounting software and returning payroll processing back to in-house has created a challenging process that requires additional training and changes in accounting procedures to accommodate the software. Context: The Agency’s payroll software automatically accrues payroll liabilities to each grant. When those liabilities were paid by the Agency, the Agency used the expense reports for unemployment from the general ledger instead of the payroll liability report from the payroll module. Additionally, when the liabilities were paid, the Agency recorded the payments into the expense account and not the liability account. These compounding factors led to the overpayment of $17,680 in unemployment expenses charged to federal programs. The cumulative balance of overpayments, net of refunds and credits applied during the current year, is $105,902 and are broken down as follows: (SEE CHART IN SCHEDULE OF FINGINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023) Both the Head Start Cluster and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program were major programs identified for the audit of the year ended December 31, 2023. Cause: The Agency has gone through several staff changes and a new software implementation that led to gaps in the skills, knowledge and experience required to process the unemployment payments properly. Effect: Unemployment expenses were overstated to the grantors and overpaid by the Agency. Recommendation: We recommend that formal procedures be put in place for recording and reporting unemployment expenses. This should include a reconciliation between the payroll module, general ledger and quarterly filing reports. Additionally, the Agency needs to have the overpayments refunded and notify the grantors of overpayments. Views of responsible officials and planned corrective action: Management has reviewed the matter and agrees that an error has occurred. Corrections in payroll processing procedures will be implemented and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce has been contacted to retrieve the overpayments.