Corrective Action Plans

Finding 454029 (2022-001)

Significant Deficiency 2022

VA

Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Reporting Significant Deficiency

WINCHESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS12 N. Washington Street Winchester, VA 22601Jason Van Heukelum, Ed.D.SuperintendentCORRECTIVE ACTION PLANJanuary 12, 2023The Federal Audit ClearinghouseWinchester Public Schools respectfully submits the following corrective action plan for the year ended June 30, 2022.Name a...

WINCHESTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS12 N. Washington Street Winchester, VA 22601Jason Van Heukelum, Ed.D.SuperintendentCORRECTIVE ACTION PLANJanuary 12, 2023The Federal Audit ClearinghouseWinchester Public Schools respectfully submits the following corrective action plan for the year ended June 30, 2022.Name and address of independent public accounting firm:Brown, Edwards & Company, L.L.P. 1909 Financial DriveHarrisonburg, Virginia 22801Audit period: June 30, 2022The findings from the June 30, 2022 Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs (the "Schedule") are discussed below. The findings are numbered consistently with the number assigned in the Schedule.FINDINGS- FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDITC. FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS - MAJOR FEDERAL AWARD PROGRAMS AUDIT 2022-001: Controls Over Cutoff - Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) - AL# 84.42SD, 84.425U (Significant Deficiency in Controls Over Compliance)Condition:During our review of ESSER expenditures, we noted approximately $14,000 of allowable costs that were recorded in the wrong period.Criteria:The expenditures must be reported in the proper period for accurate reporting on the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards.Cause:Procedures in place to ensure all expenditures are recorded in the proper period were not followed.Effect:Approximately $14,000 of allowable costs were recorded in fiscal year 2022 instead of fiscal year 2021.Questioned Cost Amount:NIA - the expenditures in question are allowable costs that were reported in the wrong fiscal year.Perspective Information:Two items out of25 tested.Context:The individual overseeing the project did not provide invoices to Finance in a timely manner.Recommendation:We recommend continued communications with all departments to ensure all invoices are being submitted to Finance in a timely manner in order to record expenditures in the proper reporting period.Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action:The Director of Finance of Winchester Public Schools will communicate the importance of getting invoices to the School's finance department in a timely manner.2022-002: Unallowable Costs - Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) -AL# 84.425D, 84.425UCondition:As part of om audit, we noted one instance where payroll for an elementary school teacher was incorrectly charged to this program.Criteria:All expenditures being coded to Federal programs must be reviewed to ensure they are an allowable cost.Cause:Procedures in place to ensure all expenditures are allowable were not followed.Effect:Payroll for one elementary school teacher was incorrectly recorded as an ESSER expenditure.Questioned Cost Amount:The total of the error noted in testing was approximately $450. The projected error is estimated to be approximately $7,900.Perspective Information:One item out of25 tested.Context:Budget reports submitted to and approved by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) include details explaining how Winchester Public Schools will spend ESSER funds. The elementary school position was not included in this report and, thus, not approved by the VDOE.Recommendation:We recommend continued review of payroll costs and positions before using ESSER funds.Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Action:The Director of Finance of Winchester Public Schools concurred with the finding and made the appropriate entries to remove these payroll costs out of the grant. The School's finance department will continue to have heightened scrutiny when using Federal funds.If the Federal Audit Clearinghouse has questions regarding this plan, please call Garland Miller Jr., Financial and System Analyst at (540) 667-4532 ext 13121Sincerely yours,Name. Garland Miller JrTitle : Financial and System Analyst

View Audit 313818

Finding 454028 (2022-001)

None 2022

Bellflower Unified School District

CA

Questioned Costs Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Period of Performance

January 12, 2023To Whom It May Concern:Finding 2022-001Finding 2022-001 addresses the use of CRF funding and the purchase made that covered period 8/25/21-8/24/22. The District moved forward with this expenditure in good faith based on their understanding of expenditure allowances and reporting. Ho...

January 12, 2023To Whom It May Concern:Finding 2022-001Finding 2022-001 addresses the use of CRF funding and the purchase made that covered period 8/25/21-8/24/22. The District moved forward with this expenditure in good faith based on their understanding of expenditure allowances and reporting. However, because the contract was for yearlong services and extended beyond the close of the reporting window on 10/06/21, CRF funding should not have been utilized.The District has contacted and shared the finding with CDE for additional guidance of how they want us to correct this matter. The District will also implement moving forward a check and balance system of working with the grantee to clarify any concerns about deadlines or allowable expenditures. If further assistance is needed we will work with our auditors to make the adjustments needed.Respectfully,Jorge MartinezDirector, Fiscal ServicesBellflower Unified School District562-866-9011 x 2161

View Audit 313807 Questioned Costs: $1

Finding 453885 (2022-003)

Material Weakness 2022

Clark Atlanta University

GA

Reporting Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Finding No. 2022-003:In order to address the above finding, management has put the below plan in place and included the status related to the steps of the plan:

View Audit 313784

Finding 453817 (2022-001)

Significant Deficiency 2022

Town of Preston

CT

Cash Management Reporting Significant Deficiency

Finding Reference Number: 2020-01 ? Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Financial ReportingDescription of Finding:The Town should have internal controls over financial reporting that provides reasonable assurance that the accounting records can be relied upon and used to prepare the basic fin...

Finding Reference Number: 2020-01 ? Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Financial ReportingDescription of Finding:The Town should have internal controls over financial reporting that provides reasonable assurance that the accounting records can be relied upon and used to prepare the basic financial statements and related notes in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Having effective internal controls and procedures over financial reporting will ensure that the financial information is being accurately presented and allow the governing body to make sound financial decisions on a timely basis.There were multiple rounds of revisions to the trial balances before a final trial balance was able to be provided. Significant effort was expended identifying required information and corresponding adjustments and reconciliations. The audit process was delayed while Town personnel and audit staff worked towards a complete set of financial statements. Material journal entries were required to ensure the financial statements were properly stated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.Some of the deficiencies in the Town?s internal control over financial reporting processes are described below:o The interfund balances between the General Fund and the other funds were not reconciled on a timely basis.o The Town and the Board of Education do not currently have formalized accounting policies and procedures manuals detailing the daily, monthly, quarterly, and year-end closing procedures.Statement of Concurrence or Nonconcurrence:The Town and Board of Education agrees with this finding.Corrective Action:The Town agrees with the finding regarding internal control over financial reporting. The Town has a new Finance Director and Treasurer and has engaged additional accounting assistance to develop policies and procedures and ensure that controls are in place to ensure that the financial records are reported accurately and timely.Name of Contact Person:Cynthia Varricchio, MBA, Director of Finance and School Business Operations, (860) 889-6098, varricchioc@prestonschools.orgProjected Completion Date: June 30, 2023

View Audit 313765

Finding 453787 (2022-002)

Significant Deficiency 2022

City of Portsmouth

OH

Procurement, Suspension & Debarment Eligibility Reporting § 200.303

2022-002 Coronavirus State and Local Recovery Funds (CSLRF) ? Assistance Listing No. 21.027Recommendation: We recommend that the city review and evaluate procedures to ensure that the procedures over safeguarding assets, maintenance of records, and reconciliation of activity are consistently perform...

2022-002 Coronavirus State and Local Recovery Funds (CSLRF) ? Assistance Listing No. 21.027Recommendation: We recommend that the city review and evaluate procedures to ensure that the procedures over safeguarding assets, maintenance of records, and reconciliation of activity are consistently performed.Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.Action taken in response to finding: Management concurs with the recommendation. The accounts will be reconciled prior to the program ending on a regular cycle during the program to ensure appropriate accounts and the accuracy of the supporting documentation is provided going forward.Described action planned or taken: The Standard Operating Procedures that provide additional detail will be followed to document the process of reconciling the account on a timely basis. Online applications programs are being created by the department of technology to assist in the program documentation gathering in order to ensure applicants can provide all necessary support for the program in a secure environment.Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Kyera Pope, Accounting Administrator, Gloria Taylor, Interim Chief Financial OfficerPlanned completion date for corrective action plan: 7/1/2022.If the Auditor of Public Accounts has questions regarding this plan, please call Mimi Terry, Interim City Manager.

View Audit 313753

Finding 453167 (2022-004)

Significant Deficiency 2022

Rockingham County

NC

Eligibility Reporting

Finding: 2022-004Name of contact person: Lisa Chaney, Mandy Edwards, Nicole Victory and Debbie McGuireCorrective Action: "Management will provide refresher training to all staff on what processes to follow when changes are reported to ensure accurate and timely review of all benefits. Management w...

Finding: 2022-004Name of contact person: Lisa Chaney, Mandy Edwards, Nicole Victory and Debbie McGuireCorrective Action: "Management will provide refresher training to all staff on what processes to follow when changes are reported to ensure accurate and timely review of all benefits. Management will review and revise current procedures in place to ensure that all eligibility determination criteria and documentation is completed timely and accurately reflected in the case file within the NC Fast Case Management System. "Proposed Completion Date: Training will be completed by October 28th, 2022

View Audit 313677

Finding 453164 (2022-006)

Significant Deficiency 2022

Rockingham County

NC

Eligibility Reporting

Finding: 2022-006Name of contact person: Felissa H. Ferrell, Cathy MurrayCorrective Action: "The functionality of the system does not connect the child to the other siblings when the 5120 is keyed in the NC FAST System. When the social worker keys in the relationships of the family members in the ...

Finding: 2022-006Name of contact person: Felissa H. Ferrell, Cathy MurrayCorrective Action: "The functionality of the system does not connect the child to the other siblings when the 5120 is keyed in the NC FAST System. When the social worker keys in the relationships of the family members in the household, they establish each parent and child, however, the system does not connect the sibling to the other siblings. If a paper 5120 were to be utilized, this would not be an issue. Apparently, with the recent NC FAST System updates, in order for all the siblings to show up on the 5120, it will now require the worker to establish the children to parent, then they will have to establish a relationship to each sibling and/or other members in the household, connecting them all together. This will require additonal data entries. It appears the system was intuitively doing this when connected with the EB NC FAST system however, the upgrades and separation has now made this not function.The Quality Assurance Social Work Specialist will commence a training with the supervisors and CPS workers, who complete the 5120, to ensure the staff understand the extra steps they are required to complete in the NC FAST system. The Quality Assurance Social Work Specialist will review the 5120s to ensure that the FAU is populating correctly. If the additional steps do not show the 5120 populating correctly, then a NC FAST Help Ticket will be generated, likely a level 3, which will require a patch. "Proposed Completion Date: Training will be completed by October 28th, 2022

View Audit 313677

Finding 453160 (2022-004)

Material Weakness 2022

Creative Health Services, Inc.

PA

Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Cash Management Reporting

View of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective ActionThe Organization is planning to assign responsibility of grant compliance to someone in the Organization.

View Audit 313666

Finding 452944 (2022-003)

Significant Deficiency 2022

Superior School District No. 11

NE

Subrecipient Monitoring Reporting Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

INTERNAL CONTROL OVER SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURES OF FEDERAL AWARDS PREPARATION AND REVIEWCriteriaAs described in our engagement letter, management is responsible for establishing and maintaining internal controls, including monitoring, and for the fair presentation of the schedule of expenditures of f...

INTERNAL CONTROL OVER SCHEDULE OF EXPENDITURES OF FEDERAL AWARDS PREPARATION AND REVIEWCriteriaAs described in our engagement letter, management is responsible for establishing and maintaining internal controls, including monitoring, and for the fair presentation of the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, including the notes to the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, in conformity with the modified cash basis of accounting.ConditionThe District does not have a system of internal control that would provide management with reasonable assurance that the District's schedule of expenditures of federal awards and related disclosures are complete and presented in accordance with the modified cash basis of accounting. As such, management requested us to compile the trial balance from the general ledger and prepare a draft of the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, including the related note disclosures.CauseManagement does not prepare the schedule of expenditures of federal awards in accordance with the modified cash basis of accounting.Potential EffectThe potential exists that a material misstatement of the schedule of expenditures of federal awards could occur and not be prevented or detected by the District's internal control.RecommendationWe recommend that the District review and approve the proposed auditor adjusting entries and the adequacy of schedule of the expenditures of federal awards disclosures prepared by the auditors and apply analytic procedures to the draft financial statements, among other procedures as considered necessary by management.

View Audit 313570

Finding 452472 (2022-001)

Significant Deficiency 2022

Eastern Virginia Medical School

VA

Student Financial Aid Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Timely Submission of Enrollment DataEVMS has implemented a new student information system to assist with managing student data and enrollment reporting. The EVMS Information Technology developed a new report that will be automatically generated every Monday to show any status changes that occurred i...

Timely Submission of Enrollment DataEVMS has implemented a new student information system to assist with managing student data and enrollment reporting. The EVMS Information Technology developed a new report that will be automatically generated every Monday to show any status changes that occurred in the previous week. This report will be emailed every Monday to several areas, including the Registrar?s Office and Financial Services. The Registrar?s Office will reconcile the enrollment report that is sent to the National Student Clearinghouse every week to ensure the changes are being properly updated in the report. Enrollment reports will continue to be processed on a monthly basis to the National Student Clearinghouse which will be then sent to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).Financial Services will serve as a secondary review after the fact for all students who have had a status change to go on a leave of absence, withdraw from EVMS, return from a leave of absence, or graduate off cycle. Financial Services will check NSLDS around 30 days after the change has occurred to ensure that the last enrollment report information is accurate and up to date. If there are any discrepancies with the status or last date of attendance, Financial Services will reach out to the Registrar and the Director of Financial Aid. The Director of Financial Aid will update the student?s record directly in NSLDS and the Registrar will ensure that the update is on the next version of the enrollment report so that it does not override the manual update.EVMS Financial Aid and Financial Services drafted a new policy to address the requirements and timing related to notifications of a status change for students. Once approved, the policy will be distributed to all departments impacted and training will be scheduled with responsible parties.The contact person for this finding is David Golay, Registrar.

View Audit 313465

Finding 452443 (2022-001)

Significant Deficiency 2022

University of Dayton

OH

HUD Housing Programs Reporting

Finding Number 2022-001 ? Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) ReportingThe University experienced material lost revenue in fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the impactof COVID-19 on operations. Management will amend the previously posted reports and correctivemeasures will be taken ...

Finding Number 2022-001 ? Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) ReportingThe University experienced material lost revenue in fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the impactof COVID-19 on operations. Management will amend the previously posted reports and correctivemeasures will be taken to monitor and manage changes to rules and regulations promulgated by the DOEif applicable.

View Audit 313446

Finding 452425 (2022-020)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness Reporting § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-020No finding in prior yearThe DHS Division of Family Development (DFD) agrees with the audit finding regarding the submission of subawards to the FFFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS).In accordance with the finding recommendation, the DFD will develop internal controls and procedur...

FINDING # 2022-020No finding in prior yearThe DHS Division of Family Development (DFD) agrees with the audit finding regarding the submission of subawards to the FFFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS).In accordance with the finding recommendation, the DFD will develop internal controls and procedures to ensure the timely reporting of all required subawards to FSRS. An initial review of the FSRS by DFD fiscal staff appeared to indicate that some federal grant data that should be prepopulated on the website was missing (e.g. Child Care M&M available; discretionary not found). DFD will work with the necessary federal agencies to ensure that the Division can input the required information for all awards.Assessment and development of policy and procedures related to this task will take approximately three months. Staff assignment, training, and submission of federal grant information to the federal website will occur over the next State fiscal year 2024.Projected policy and procedures development completion: July 1, 2023.Assignment and submission of federal reports: June 30, 2024.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON Fiscal Year 2024Thomas Mattaliano, CFO-DFD(609) 588-3370Thomas.Mattaliano@dhs.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452421 (2022-019)

Significant Deficiency 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Reporting Significant Deficiency § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-019No finding in prior yearAll performance and special reports noted in the audit finding must be approved by the Applied Public Policy Research Institute for Study and Evaluation (APPRISE - USDHHS Consultants) before they are submitted to USDHHS. The final reports noted as exceptions...

FINDING # 2022-019No finding in prior yearAll performance and special reports noted in the audit finding must be approved by the Applied Public Policy Research Institute for Study and Evaluation (APPRISE - USDHHS Consultants) before they are submitted to USDHHS. The final reports noted as exceptions were not submitted on time due to pandemic related complications, staff retirements and communication issues with APPRISE. As recommended, the DCA has reviewed current reporting procedures and Program staff will be assigned the responsibility to prepare all reports, work with APPRISE to obtain required approvals, and submit the all required reports on a timely basis. Reporting due dates and deadlines will be documented to ensure that initial reports are produced timely. The timeframe needed to coordinate with the APPRISE consultants for reviews and updates to the reports will also be built into the process so that final reports are submitted to USDHHS by the due date. All reporting procedures will be documented and distributed to LIHEAP program staff. COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON June 30, 2023Fidel Ekhelar(609) 815-3905Fidel.Ekhelar@dca.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452419 (2022-017)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness Reporting § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-017No finding in prior yearThe Department of Community Affairs (DCA) now has a staff member in place with assigned responsibility for the FFATA reporting in the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) and other required federal reporting. To ensure that all required reporting in FSRS...

FINDING # 2022-017No finding in prior yearThe Department of Community Affairs (DCA) now has a staff member in place with assigned responsibility for the FFATA reporting in the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) and other required federal reporting. To ensure that all required reporting in FSRS is completed timely, the process and procedures will be fully documented and the LIHEAP program manager will verify completion each month. DCA will also hire additional staff or cross-train current staff to further support the federal reporting function.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON June 30, 2023Fidel Ekhelar(609) 815-3905Fidel.Ekhelar@dca.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452414 (2022-015)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-0152021-017With the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) previously developed as a result of the prior year 2021 audit finding, the Department?s Grants Unit with coordination from ELC program fiscal staff added a new function to the SAGE system that pulls all subaward data for all of ELC usin...

FINDING # 2022-0152021-017With the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) previously developed as a result of the prior year 2021 audit finding, the Department?s Grants Unit with coordination from ELC program fiscal staff added a new function to the SAGE system that pulls all subaward data for all of ELC using its assigned ALN number 93.323. This system change was implemented in September 2022 that allows SAGE to pull data by CFDA number and enables the ELC fiscal staff to access all ELC subawards. ELC fiscal staff also has a reminder set to report at the end of each month, to enter FFATA information into FSRS, and to upload each report to SharePoint ELC Document Library at the end of each month.As per the prior year CAP created in September 2022, FFATA information for ELC subawards began being entered into FSRS on September 1, 2022.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON September 2022Secil Onat(609) 913-5308Secil.Onat@doh.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452410 (2022-013)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness Reporting § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-013No finding in prior yearThe Department of Health, Division of Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health?s (DEEOH), Vaccine Preventable Disease Program (VPDP) will attain full compliance with Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requirements. The VPD...

FINDING # 2022-013No finding in prior yearThe Department of Health, Division of Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health?s (DEEOH), Vaccine Preventable Disease Program (VPDP) will attain full compliance with Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requirements. The VPDP on boarded a full-time lead fiscal/grants officer in August 2022 to oversee the Immunization Cooperative Agreements, including COVID-19 supplemental funding. VPDP fiscal/grants leadership will implement FFATA procedures for the Immunization Cooperative Agreement. These procedures shall include creating a list of all active first-tier subawards of federal funds DEEOH has issued at $30,000 or more under this Cooperative Agreement. The list will include all the data fields required for FFATA reporting. DEEOH fiscal/grants leadership will ensure each of the identified sub-awards is entered on the FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) website within 30 days of award issuance or award amendment.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON March 24, 2023Susan Barcarola(609) 913-5302Susan.Barcarola1@doh.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452405 (2022-012)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness Reporting § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-0122021-015The Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services (DoAS) continues to work towards attaining full compliance with Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requirements. The DoAS continues to consult with the Department and/or other DHS Divisio...

FINDING # 2022-0122021-015The Department of Human Services, Division of Aging Services (DoAS) continues to work towards attaining full compliance with Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requirements. The DoAS continues to consult with the Department and/or other DHS Division fiscal leadership to finalize the FFATA procedures. These procedures shall include creating a list of all active first-tier subawards of federal funds DoAS has issued at $30,000 or more. The list will include all the data fields required for FFATA reporting. DoAS grants management members will ensure each of the identified subawards is entered on the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) website. DoAS will also revise internal procedures to ensure all future subawards of $30,000 or more are entered on FSRS within 30 days of award.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON April 30, 2023Hetal Bhatt609-438-4586Hetal.Bhatt@dhs.nj.govDennis McGowan609-438-4739Dennis.McGowan@dhs.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452399 (2022-009)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Subrecipient Monitoring Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Material Weakness § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-009No finding in prior yearThe Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has internal controls and procedures in place to ensure that required subawards are reported timely to FSRS in accordance with FFATA reporting requirements. The Homeowner Assistance Fund award received by DCA was uni...

FINDING # 2022-009No finding in prior yearThe Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has internal controls and procedures in place to ensure that required subawards are reported timely to FSRS in accordance with FFATA reporting requirements. The Homeowner Assistance Fund award received by DCA was unique in that it was planned and fully reallocated via Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement to a DCA affiliate organization to administer on the State?s behalf. As a result, the DCA did not initially believe this single reallocation transaction was subject to FFATA reporting requirements. The Accountability Officer at the affiliate organization will be involved should another program and contractual arrangement of this type occur and will ensure that the FSRS reporting is done timely. No further subaward transactions are expected to be processed by DCA as the full allocation was disbursed to our affiliate organization upon receipt of the award and execution of the MOU.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON Fiscal Years 2023-2024John Alexy(609) 913.4385John.Alexy@dca.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452398 (2022-008)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-008No finding in prior yearU.S. Treasury?s COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA) was established in 2021 to support housing stability throughout the pandemic by providing assistance payments for renters facing eviction. The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is a dire...

FINDING # 2022-008No finding in prior yearU.S. Treasury?s COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA) was established in 2021 to support housing stability throughout the pandemic by providing assistance payments for renters facing eviction. The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is a direct recipient of ERA funding for use in preventing evictions for over 70,000 families throughout the State of New Jersey.Since the rollout of the new ERA program back in 2021, the reporting requirements and guidance provided by U.S. Treasury to ERA recipients evolved with numerous changes and updates posted that also required DCA to change and update systems over time. As the programs continued to evolve so did DCA?s reporting process. U.S. Treasury initially required monthly reporting starting in April 2021, through which ERA recipients provided U.S. Treasury with very high-level counts of the numbers of households receiving assistance and the amounts of ERA funds distributed. The monthly reporting requirement was then discontinued after the June 30, 2022 submission and thereafter, U.S. Treasury shifted the ERA Reporting guidance to be focused primarily on the quarterly reporting requirements and also amended those reporting requirements going forward.When preparing monthly and quarterly reports, DCA?s data source used has always been the most reliable one at the time the report was due in order to ensure accuracy of information reported to U.S. Treasury. As previously stated, DCA?s systems evolved as needed in order to keep up with the constant changes in reporting requirements for the ERA program.? At the inception of the program, reporting was done from the primary Podio system that obligated and requested payments.? DCA then worked to build the necessary reports from the MRI system that generated ERA payments in order to trace payments back to checks issued ? representing distributions incurred.? Most recently DCA has been working to reconcile MRI with the State?s NJCFS accounting system to further validate the MRI data. Over time variances have been identified that affect reporting such as void and uncashed check actions.DCA recognizes the need to ensure supporting documentation used to prepare quarterly and other required reports for Treasury is captured and retained for audit purposes. DCA continues to build?a three-way reconciliation between the three primary systems to document explainable variances among the systems, such as timing differences, voids, returned items, etc. DCA has implemented a corrective action plan to enhance the availability of supporting documentation for ERA Treasury reporting.Corrective Action Plan:A. ERA Monthly reports are no longer required by Treasury. No further action is needed.B. ERA Quarterly Reports and Final ReportsI. On a monthly basis, Podio, MRI and Treasury data will be reconciled with variances identified (typically voids and uncashed checks).II. The Quarterly report files will be generated for retention, and an explanatory memo will accompany it. The memo will include the following:Quarterly Reporting Explanatory Memo:Contents:1. Source of Data used to generate the reports.a. If the source changed from the prior quarter, then an explanation will be provided.2. Date the source data was pulled.a. Listed by source if multiple sources are being used.3. Changes in approach.a. Any change in the approach used to prepare the reports will be documented, including internal changes and those issued by US Treasury.b. If Treasury issues guidance that changes reporting requirements, then such guidance will be included as an attachment to the memo.4. Recommendation by the Program Director, or his/her delegate, to proceed with submitting the Report.5. If an extension was requested, the memo will be updated to include the reason and justification for the extension.6. Submission Confirmation. Documented confirmation by DCA, or its delegate, that the quarterly report was submitted.7. At times, Treasury makes changes to the portal that are not communicated ahead of time. Any change or issues with the submission will be documented.8. DCA will download a copy of the final submission file from DCA?s portal.9. The memo, submission, .csv files, and final PDF file from treasury?s portal will be saved to a secure folder.?COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON June 30, 2023Elena Gaines(609) 913-4468Elena.Gaines@dca.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452395 (2022-007)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness Reporting § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-007No finding in prior yearIn recent years, the DLWD has transitioned from a manual contract process to a web-based system (i.e., SAGE and IGX systems) and has also experienced changes in personnel responsible for the contracting process. Although progress has been made with getting ...

FINDING # 2022-007No finding in prior yearIn recent years, the DLWD has transitioned from a manual contract process to a web-based system (i.e., SAGE and IGX systems) and has also experienced changes in personnel responsible for the contracting process. Although progress has been made with getting the FFATA Reporting Unit access to these automated systems, the DLWD will continue to enhance the communication between the offices that prepare and approve the contracts/agreements and the FFATA Reporting Unit. DLWD will also develop procedures to ensure that timely and accurate information is provided to the FFATA Reporting Unit and that group will also be included in the grant approval process so the unit is notified timely.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON December 31, 2023Ahmanish Robinson(609) 984-4356Ahmanish.Robinson@dol.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 452388 (2022-004)

Significant Deficiency 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Questioned Costs Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-0042021-010New Jersey continues to make progress towards meeting the first payment and non-monetary time lapse standards as recovery from the historic claims filing related to the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As indicated in the prior year update, time lapse standards for both first ...

FINDING # 2022-0042021-010New Jersey continues to make progress towards meeting the first payment and non-monetary time lapse standards as recovery from the historic claims filing related to the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As indicated in the prior year update, time lapse standards for both first payment and non-monetary continue to increase from the lows seen during the pandemic. Most recent figures for February 2023 show first payment time lapse at 65.1% and year-to-date at 54.5%, both up from what was reported last November 2022 at 40% and 36.4%, respectively. Non-monetary time lapse figures have also improved, with the most recent February 2023 figures reported as 62.6% for the month and 44.1% year-to-date, which is up from 24.0% for March 2022 and year-to-date at that time of 33.0%).It is important to note that before the pandemic hit in March 2020, New Jersey current figures at that time met all first payment and non-monetary time lapse standards for the reporting year that ended March 2020. The decrease to the timeliness figures is a direct result of the significant increase to workload volumes resulting from the pandemic and not due to a lack of proper internal controls.In addition to the high workloads, New Jersey has also implemented strict anti-fraud measures that include all new claims filed going through an identity proofing process before any payments can be issued. Delays on the claimant end to complete the verification process ? either by the claimant not going through the process or having difficulty with completing it ? also will have a direct impact on first payment time lapse. Increased education to claimants on the requirement to verify their ID, as well as increasing the tools and greater availability of support for ID verification will provide claimants with more options to meet this requirement. New Jersey has worked with our identity verification partner to allow for three different methods of verification; 1) self-service online, 2) connect to a `Trusted Referee? with our identity verification partner who will provide the verification online through a video call, or 3) an in-person appointment at a walk-in center to complete the process. In addition to what is offered by the vendor, One Stop centers throughout the State have been equipped with upgraded monitors with cameras that will allow claimants that are unable to complete the process with our vendor to report to one of these centers and complete the process there.As New Jersey continues to work through the backlog of claims, it is anticipated that overall time lapse figures will continue to improve and for the reporting year ending March 2024 progress will be made towards meeting the established standards.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON April 2023Gregory Castellani(609) 292-2460Gregory.Castellani@dol.nj.gov

View Audit 313443 Questioned Costs: $1

Finding 452381 (2022-002)

Material Weakness 2022

State of New Jersey

NJ

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Subrecipient Monitoring Material Weakness § 200.303

FINDING # 2022-002No finding in prior yearThe Department of Agriculture, Division of Food and Nutrition (DOA) was delinquent in submitting required reporting in the FFFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) due to the inability to make system updates for the UEI change during the pandemic. This preve...

FINDING # 2022-002No finding in prior yearThe Department of Agriculture, Division of Food and Nutrition (DOA) was delinquent in submitting required reporting in the FFFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) due to the inability to make system updates for the UEI change during the pandemic. This prevented the DOA from pulling data to submit the reports to the FSRS. The DOA has two technical staff members assigned to query the data fields required to upload the report. Once the query is complete the data is converted to a CSV file and uploaded to FSRS. As of December 2022, monthly reporting has resumed. Successful monthly upload documentation will now be provided and monitored by the Assistant Division Director and Fiscal Coordinator.COMPLETION DATE/CONTACT PERSON December 2022Melissa Pajak(609) 690-8880Melissa.Pajak@ag.nj.gov

View Audit 313443

Finding 451887 (2022-001)

Significant Deficiency 2022

California State University

CA

Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Reporting

The University has reviewed and enhanced its procedures and internal controls to ensure reporitng requirements related to the HEERF grants are met and information is reported timely and accurately.

View Audit 313412

Finding 451353 (2022-001)

Material Weakness 2022

Creighton University

NE

Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties § 200.303

Finding 2022-001Federal Program Title ? COVID-19 Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund ? Student AidAssistance Listing No. ? 84.425EFederal Agency ? U.S. Department of Education (ED or the Department)Grant Award Period ? April 25, 2020 to May 15, 2022Compliance Requirement ? ReportingContact Person...

Finding 2022-001Federal Program Title ? COVID-19 Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund ? Student AidAssistance Listing No. ? 84.425EFederal Agency ? U.S. Department of Education (ED or the Department)Grant Award Period ? April 25, 2020 to May 15, 2022Compliance Requirement ? ReportingContact Person: Janet Solberg, Director of Financial AidCorrective Action Plan: Due to the deficiency that was found, the incomplete reports werecreated and posted to the website. Moving forward if additional HEERF Funds are distributed oranother type of Federal Funds that have reporting requirements, the Director of Financial Aid willprovide a memo to the Vice Provost for Enrollment and Assistant Vice Provost (AVP) of StudentRecords and Financial Services, to outline reporting requirements and timeline of requiredreporting dates. It is our expectation that the AVP of Student Records and Financial Serviceswould provide the quality control for meeting expectations.Anticipated Completion Date: Corrective actions were completed February 2023.

View Audit 313372

Finding 451352 (2022-001)

None 2022

Yale University

CT

Reporting Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

The University agrees with this finding. As mentioned, this was an oversight. When the University becameaware of the missing reporting, the University immediately publicly posted the institutional quarterly publicreport and now has a process to ensure that all reports for HEERF funding are posted ti...

The University agrees with this finding. As mentioned, this was an oversight. When the University becameaware of the missing reporting, the University immediately publicly posted the institutional quarterly publicreport and now has a process to ensure that all reports for HEERF funding are posted timely.University contacts:David Blackmon, Director of University Financial AidDavid.Blackmon@yale.eduKerry Worsencroft, Deputy Director of University Financial AidKerry.Worsencroft@yale.edu

View Audit 313369

Corrective Action Plans

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