Audit 379236

2025-004 PROCUREMENT United States Department of Agriculture Passed through Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Child Nutrition Cluster (Federal Assistance No. 10.555) Passed through Louisiana Department of Education Child Nutrition Cluster (Federal Assistance Nos. 10.553, 10.555, 10.559, and 10.582) Criteria: Non-federal entities must follow the procurement standards set out at 2 CFR sections 200.318 through 200.326 and use their own documented procurement procedures, which reflect applicable State and local laws and regulations provided that the procurements conform to applicable Federal statutes and the procurement requirements identified in 2 CFR part 200. Internal controls should be designed to ensure compliance with these federal requirements. Condition: The School Board’s current procurement process for School Food Service contracts does not include an independent review of the bid analysis prepared after the public opening of sealed bids. The bid analysis, which summarizes and evaluates the bids received, is prepared solely by a School Food Service employee and is not reviewed or approved by any other individual or department prior to being utilized by the School Board to award the contract. Although no input errors were noted through testing procedures, the School Board relied on unverified information when making award decisions intended to comply with procurement regulations. A total of 12 contracts were tested, of which 6 required bid tabulation analysis summaries to be prepared. Through testing performed, it was noted there did not appear to be a review of the bid tabulation analysis summary inputs prior to approval by the board in each of the 6 instances. Cause: Proper procedures were not implemented to ensure compliance with all procurement regulations and the established procedures were not properly executed by Child Nutrition personnel. Questioned Costs: Not applicable as no input errors were identified on the bid analysis tabulation summaries tested. Effect: While procurement purchases were ultimately determined to be in compliance with Federal procurement standards, the opportunity existed for non-compliance with Federal regulations. Recommendation: The School Board should remind Child Nutrition personnel of established procedures and establish additional internal controls to ensure that all inputs are entered into the bid analysis summary are complete and accurate. View of Responsible Official: Management agrees with the finding and will take corrective action. See corrective action plan submitted by management.

2025-005: REPORTING United States Department of Agriculture Passed through Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Child Nutrition Cluster (Federal Assistance No. 10.555) Passed through Louisiana Department of Education Child Nutrition Cluster (Federal Assistance Nos. 10.553, 10.555, 10.559, and 10.582) Criteria: Appendix II of Part 200 of Uniform Guidance establishes non-federal entities must establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards to provide reasonable assurance of compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition: During our audit of the Child Nutrition Program, we noted that the same individual was responsible for preparing, reviewing, and certifying claims for reimbursement submitted to the Louisiana Department of Education. There was no evidence of independent verification of system edit checks or reconciliation of meal counts prior to submission. Our testing identified multiple instances across various schools and months, where the number of meals claimed was less than the number of meals actually served. The total of unclaimed meals and reimbursement are below: Meal type Total Served Total Claimed Total Unclaimed Rate Value of unclaimed meals Breakfast 354,271 348,373 5,898 $2.84 $ 16,750.32 Lunch 498,948 498,926 22 $4.01 88.22 Snack 71,001 55,286 15,715 $1.21 19,015.15 Total 924,220 902,585 21,635 $ 35,853.69 Cause: The School Board did not establish adequate internal control procedures to ensure segregation of duties or independent review of claims. This lack of oversight allowed errors to occur and remain undetected. Questioned Costs: Not applicable as the School Board under claimed reimbursements they were eligible to receive. Effect: The School Board under-claimed meals served, resulting in unreimbursed costs for lunches, breakfasts, and snacks during the audit period. Recommendation: The School Board should implement segregation of duties so that different individuals prepare, review, and certify claims reimbursements. Additionally, the School Board should establish procedures for independent verification of system edit checks and reconciliation of meal counts prior to submission of claims. View of Responsible Official: Management agrees with the finding and will take corrective action. See corrective action plan submitted by management.