Finding 1100027 (2024-001)

CRITERIA/SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT: As a recipient of federal, State, and local funds from various grantor agencies, the Regional Office of Education No. 3 (ROE) must incorporate certain procedures into its operations in order to comply with the grant agreements with these entities. Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance) requires that a recipient submit performance reports as required by the federal award. Specifically, these expenditure reports should be submitted to the granting agency in a timely manner. The ROE is responsible for establishing and maintaining an internal control system over the completion of timely quarterly expenditure reports required for grants administered by the Illinois State Board of Education. The Illinois State Board of Education requires expenditure reports to be filed within 20 days of the applicable end of each quarter. CONDITION: During the course of the audit, auditors noted 10 of the 25 (40%) quarterly expenditure reports required by the Illinois State Board of Education were not submitted timely. Seven of the quarterly expenditure reports were submitted between 2 and 4 days late, one quarterly expenditure reports was submitted between 10 and 20 days late, and two quarterly expenditure report were submitted between 80 and 100 days late. For the federal program, auditors noted 3 of the 4 (75%) quarterly expenditure reports required by the Illinois State Board of Education were not submitted timely. One of the quarterly expenditure reports was submitted 2 days late, one of the quarterly expenditure reports was submitted 4 days late, and one of the quarterly expenditure reports was submitted 89 days late. QUESTIONED COSTS: None CONTEXT: The ROE is required to file expenditure reports quarterly and within 20 days of the applicable end of each quarter. EFFECT: Lack of timely filed expenditure reports could result in a delay of grant funding. In addition, noncompliance with grant requirements could lead to the granting agency requesting reimbursement or the loss of grants for future periods. CAUSE: Regional Office of Education #3 submitted multiple grant expenditure reports late. The bookkeeper did not have a schedule in place for completing expenditure reports in a timely manner. Management did not monitor the deadline for reports. RECOMMENDATION: The ROE should implement adequate internal controls to ensure that expenditure reports are filed timely. MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSE: Regional Office of Education #3 will submit timely expenditure reports. The bookkeeper has implemented a timed calendar system for reminders as well as written procedures to help ensure timely submissions. In addition, Regional Office of Education #3 has employed an additional bookkeeper to help spread the work load more evenly.