2020 ‐ 001: Material Weaknesses in Internal Controls over Compliance— Activities Allowed and Allowable Costs for Non-payroll expenses, Period of Performance, Reporting, and Special Test and Provisions.
Compliance requirement Corrective Action
Activities Allowed/Allowable Costs and Period of Perform...
2020 ‐ 001: Material Weaknesses in Internal Controls over Compliance— Activities Allowed and Allowable Costs for Non-payroll expenses, Period of Performance, Reporting, and Special Test and Provisions.
Compliance requirement Corrective Action
Activities Allowed/Allowable Costs and Period of Performance
Microsoft D365 was implemented in 2022 as the ERP system for Dairyland Power. Microsoft D365 will allow for project tracking ensuring appropriate approval workflows specific to federal assistance programs. Workflows will be set to ensure costs are routed to personnel who have authority to approve and also have knowledge of cost allowability as stipulated by the federal award. The system also supports historical data requirements by allowing retention of documents withing the system at the transaction level. The use of the Microsoft D365 ERP will ensure the evidence of approval for non-payroll expenses would be appropriately logged and retained within the system.
This corrective action is currently in place.
Reporting and Special Test and Provision
Dairyland Power has recently established Grant Policies to ensure that internal processes are managed in compliance with federal awards. An Allowable Cost Policy was created to clearly define roles and responsibilities for the management of federal awards and also identifies the review and approval process of reimbursement requests/reports. A multi-layer approval process for the approval of reimbursement exists. The Project manager, in coordination with the Grant Specialist and the Compliance Team, will review federal project costs and prepare reimbursement reports per the instructions. The reimbursement request/report will then be submitted to the Grant Manager, who will review the reimbursement request/report for cost allowability and completeness. Upon approval from the Grant Manager, the reimbursement request will be forwarded to the Treasury Manager who will review, approve, and submit the request through the proper submission channel by the deadline. Evidence of review will be saved for documentation purposes. Dairyland Management will conduct an annual review of the established Grant Policies or reassess them when necessary. Employees at Dairyland who participate in the federal award process will be provided with training on the Grant Policies. This corrective action is currently in place.
In addition to the above corrective action, Dairyland Power has also engaged an external audit service to conduct a review of the design and operating effectiveness of Dairyland’s grant process internal controls. The purpose is to provide Dairyland with a comprehensive assessment of the existing Dairyland internal control processes and policies related to federal awards. Expected completion of this audit is January 2025.
Anticipated Completion Date — January 2025
Responsible Party — Tim Lightfoot, Controller