Finding 1076559 (2023-003)

Material Weakness
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-09-30
Audit: 322964
Organization: Charter Township of Commerce (MI)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Township's report overstated expenses by about $600,000 due to inadequate internal controls.
  • Impacted Requirements: This finding violates 2 CFR 200.302, which mandates accurate financial management and reporting for federal awards.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement controls to ensure reported amounts align with actual incurred costs and supporting documentation.

Finding Text

Assistance Listing, Federal Agency, and Program Name - 21.027 U.S. Department of Treasury, COVID-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Federal Award Identification Number and Year - Not Applicable Pass-through Entity - Not Applicable - Direct funded Finding Type - Material weakness and material noncompliance with laws and regulations Repeat Finding - No Criteria - 2 CFR 200.302, Financial Management, states the non-Federal entity's financial management systems, including records documenting compliance with Federal statutes and regulations and the terms and conditions of the federal award, must be sufficient to permit the preparation of reports required by general and program-specific terms and conditions and the tracing of funds to a level of expenditures adequate to establish that such funds have been used according to the federal statutes and regulations and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. Condition - The Township's March 31, 2024 report overstated expenses incurred for the reporting period by approximately $600,000. Questioned Costs - None Identification of How Questioned Costs Were Computed - Not applicable Context - During testing, it was discovered that the project expenditure reported $4,128,095, representing the total amount of the award. However, as of the reporting date of March 31, 2024, the Township had not yet incurred expenditures totaling approximately $600,000. The March 31, 2024 report reflects the total activity through December 31, 2023. The U.S. Department of Treasury requires that the Township file a project and expenditure report annually for annual periods ended March 31 by April 30. Cause and Effect - The Township did not have an internal control structure that reconciled expenditures per the report to expenditures incurred as of the reporting date. The lack of internal control structure resulted in the March 31, 2024 report being overstated by approximately $600,000, i.e., the amount of expenditures not incurred as of the reporting date. Recommendation - We recommend that controls be implemented to ensure that amounts being recorded on grant reporting are traced to supporting costs incurred and documentation as of the reporting date to ensure reported amounts are accurate. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan- The Township will put in place a control where the treasurer, finance director, and department head responsible for the grant are reporting accurately costs incurred with reconciling supporting documentation and ensuring the reported amounts are correct.

Categories

Subrecipient Monitoring Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Material Weakness Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 500117 2023-003
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
14.251 Economic Development Initiative, Community Project Funding, and Miscellaneous Grants $2.00M
21.027 Covid-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $250,000
97.044 Assistance to Firefighters Grant $63,813