Audit 387991

FINDING 2025-001 Information on the federal program: Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster (CNC) – Internal Controls Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program for Children Assistance Listing Number: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs - Cost Principles Audit Finding: Significant Deficiency Criteria: 2 CFR section 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal awards in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." Condition: An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs - Cost Principles compliance requirements. Cause: The School Corporation's management had not developed a system of internal controls to ensure compliance with the compliance requirements listed above. Effect: The failure to establish an effective internal control system placed the School Corporation at risk of noncompliance with the grant agreement and the compliance requirements. A lack of segregation of duties within an internal control system could have also allowed noncompliance with the compliance requirements and allowed the misuse and mismanagement of federal funds and assets by not having proper oversight, reviews, and approvals over the activities of the programs. Questioned Costs: There were no questioned costs identified. Context: During testing payroll disbursements charged to CNC grants, we noted: • One selection in a sample of 40 for which the employee was paid above their contracted hourly rate • One selection in a sample of 40 for which the contract sheet for fiscal year 2025 did not include an accurate breakdown for café employees employed for less than one year and employees employed more than one year Identification as a repeat finding, if applicable: No. Recommendation: We recommended that the School Corporation's management establish a system of controls to retain and track employe contracted hourly rates compared to their paid rate. We also recommend management make it explicitly clear as to the breakdown between café employees employed for more than one year and employees employed for less than one year. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and has prepared a corrective action plan.