Audit 403664

Finding 2025-001 – Significant Deficiency (Repeat Finding) Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Passthrough Entity: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Assistance Listing Number and Federal Program: Child Nutrition Cluster – 10.553 School Breakfast Program, 10.555 National School Lunch Program, 10.555 COVID-19 Supply Chain Assistance, 10.559 Summer Food Service Program for Children. Compliance Requirement: L. Reporting Criteria: Per 7 CFR 210.8(a) and 7 CFR 220.11(c), the District is required to have proper internal controls over the reporting of monthly meal counts to ensure that information submitted for free and reduced meals is accurate and complete. The monthly meal counts are reported to DESE for reimbursement based on the number of free and reduced meals served during the month. The amount of reimbursement will depend on the number of each type of meal and whether it was for breakfast or lunch. Condition: During testing, we noted a lack of oversight on one of the monthly Claim for Reimbursement forms. There was no indication that a review was performed before the form was submitted to DESE, nor was there indication that a subsequent review was performed after submission. It was noted that one building submitted a Claim for Reimbursement form for February 2025 that was not correctly completed. The meal count for lunch on the Claim for Reimbursement form did not match the meal count reported on the District’s Infinite Campus software. Cause: Control procedures were not in place to ensure that monthly Claims for Reimbursements and Free and Reduced applications are accurately calculated and input before the forms are submitted. Effect: Without timely review of reports before submission, requested grant revenue can be understated or overstated when based on incorrect grant reports. In addition, other grant noncompliance can be overlooked. This could result in missed funding, excess funding, or other adverse conditions with the grantors. Questioned Costs: No questioned costs noted. Perspective Information: This appears to be an isolated issue as only one of the twelve months tested contained an error where the meal count on the Claim for Reimbursement form did not match the meal count reported on the District’s Infinite Campus Software. Recommendation: We recommend that the District implement written procedures that require a monthly review be performed by a second party for Claims for Reimbursement for the food service programs. This should be done prior to submitting the reimbursement claim to DESE. The review should be performed to ensure that all information has been entered, is accurate, and is classified on the appropriate lines to ensure reimbursements are for the correct amounts.