Audit 369034

Finding Number:2024-002: Community Development Block Grant Cluster - 14.218, Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act - 17.259, and 93.558 -Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Criteria:Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200.303 and 2 CFR 200.430) requires that charges to federal awards be accurate, allowable, and supported by sufficient documentation. Internal controls should be designed and implemented to provide reasonable assurance that payroll costs are accurately billed to federal programs. Condition:During testing of payroll disbursements for allowable costs and activities allowed/unallowed compliance requirement under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Community Development Block Grant, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) the following billing errors were identified in our audit testing: WIOA: Two payroll billing errors were identified, totaling $31.  CDBG: One payroll billing error was identified, totaling $505.  TANF: Two payroll billing error were identified, totaling $7.Payroll charges are entered by accounting staff and subject to monthly review by the CFO. While this review process represents a key control, the errors identified indicate that the review was not sufficiently detailed to detect all inaccuracies. Cause:The errors resulted from insufficient internal control over the review of grant invoices and supporting documentation before billed to grantors. Effect or potential effect:The absence of a robust review process increases the risk of noncompliance with grant requirements and the potential for inaccurate billing to federal programs, even if the financial impact is not material. Recommendation:We recommend enhancing the existing review process to ensure payroll charges billed to federal programs are supported by underlying documentation such as payroll registers, time records, and allocation spreadsheets. This could include developing a standardized reconciliation checklist or requiring secondary review for accuracy. Strengthening the existing control will help minimize the risk of billing errors due to human oversight. Views of responsible officials:Salary and fringe benefit allocations to grants are entered by accounting staff and subject to monthly review by the CFO. While this control provides a layer of oversight, the manual nature of data entry and review introduces a risk of human error. To strengthen the reliability of this control, management will implement enhanced review procedures, including more detailed reconciliations and cross-verification steps. These improvements are designed to reduce the likelihood of errors and ensure the accuracy and integrity of grant-related payroll charges. Responsible party:Nora Davis, Chief Financial Officer