Audit 412859

2025-001: Review and Approval of Reimbursement Requests Criteria: Uniform guidance requires a recipient to establish, document, and maintain effective internal control over a Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the recipient is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal regulations and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. Effective internal controls over expenditures should include appropriate supervisory review and approval to provide reasonable assurance that costs charged to Federal awards are allowable, adequately supported, and in accordance with applicable requirements and award terms. Condition: During the audit, the Center was unable to provide evidence that the Controller reviewed and approved reimbursement requests prior to their submission for reimbursement. Although reimbursement requests were submitted, documentation demonstrating the required supervisory review and approval was not maintained. Context: The Controller is responsible for providing supervisory review of reimbursement requests prior to their submission. This review is an important component of the Center's internal control structure because reimbursement requests represent expenditures being submitted to the funding source for reimbursement. Documentation of the review provides evidence that expenditures were subject to appropriate oversight prior to submission. Cause: The Center did not have controls designed and implemented effectively to ensure that documentation evidencing the Controller’s review and approval of reimbursement requests was consistently completed and retained. Effect: The lack of documented supervisory review and approval increases the risk that reimbursement requests could include costs that are inaccurate, unsupported, unallowable, or otherwise not in accordance with applicable Federal requirements or the terms and conditions of the Federal award. Additionally, without evidence of review, the Center cannot demonstrate that the control was consistently performed. Recommendation: We recommend that the Center establish and implement procedures requiring the Controller to review and approve all reimbursement requests prior to submission for reimbursement. The Center should retain sufficient documentation that supports the review and approval, such as documented electronic approval or signature.

2025-002: Review and Approval of Employee Timecards Criteria: Uniform guidance requires a recipient to establish, document, and maintain effective internal control over a Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the recipient is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal regulations and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. In addition, Uniform guidance requires charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages to be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed and to be supported by a system of internal control that provides reasonable assurance that such charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated. Condition: During the audit, the Center was unable to provide evidence that employee timecards were reviewed and approved by the Controller. As a result, the Center was unable to demonstrate that supervisory review of employee timecards was consistently performed prior to payroll processing. Context: Employee timecards provide the underlying support for hours worked and, ultimately, employee compensation and related payroll expenditures. Supervisory review and approval of timecards is an important internal control designed to provide reasonable assurance that hours reported are accurate, authorized, and properly recorded. For employees whose compensation is charged to Federal awards, appropriate timekeeping and related supervisory review are essential to support the accuracy and allowability of payroll charges. Cause: The Center did not have controls designed and implemented effectively to ensure that supervisory review and approval of employee timecards was consistently documented and retained prior to payroll processing. Effect: The lack of documented supervisory review increases the risk that payroll could be processed using inaccurate or unauthorized hours or that payroll costs could be incorrectly charged to Federal awards. Additionally, the Center was unable to demonstrate that employee timecards were consistently reviewed for accuracy and approval prior to payroll processing. Recommendation: We recommend that the Center establish and implement procedures requiring employee timecards to be reviewed and approved by the Controller prior to payroll processing. The Center should retain sufficient documentation evidencing the performance of the review and approval in accordance with its record-retention policies.