Finding 11283 (2023-003)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
P
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-02-01

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) was inaccurately prepared, failing to reconcile federal expenditures with revenue received.
  • Impacted Requirements: This violates the Uniform Guidance, which mandates accurate reporting of federal awards and proper internal controls.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The Foundation needs to enhance its review and approval processes to ensure accurate reporting of federal expenditures on the SEFA.

Finding Text

Assistance Listing Numbers Name of Federal Program or Cluster 84.425 Education Stabilization Fund Under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act Questioned Costs: N/A Criteria: The Uniform Guidance Subpart F section 200.510 requires the preparation of the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) that includes an accurate reporting of federal awards expended based on the terms and conditions of the grants. In order for the SEFA to be prepared accurately and properly report the amounts expended for federal awards, a system of controls should be in existence that includes the timely preparation and review of the amounts reported on the SEFA. Universe/Population Size: None Sample Size: None Condition: The initial SEFA prepared by the Foundation’s personnel did not reconcile the federal expenditures reported on the SEFA to the federal revenue received by granting agency. Effect: The SEFA provided to us did not contain the correct amounts of federal expenditures which is the basis used to determine the major federal programs to be audited in a fiscal year. Inaccurate reporting may result in improper auditing of the wrong federal programs in any given year and noncompliance with federal regulations. Cause: The Foundation receives multiple sources of revenues, including both federal and state, which fund the costs of the charter schools. The classification of program revenue and therefore federal expenditures was not accurate and not detected during internal review, which resulted in errors on the initial SEFA. This is a repeat finding from the prior year and is considered a significant deficiency in fiscal year 2023. Recommendation: The Foundation should strengthen its controls including its review and approval processes over the information and balances that is accumulated and reported on the SEFA to make sure the expenditures reported are an accurate representation of federal reimbursements.

Corrective Action Plan

We continually strive to improve the quality of our grant process by implementing additional procedures that we believe will enhance the accuracy and timeliness of our grant accounting and reimbursements. Some of these procedures consist of the following: (1) Regular monthly grant reviews with the review comments for corrections of each SOA/school before the accountants monthly close by assigning reviewers (Grant Coordinator, Grant Administrator, Grant Manager, Treasury, Accountant and Assistant Controllers), (2) Each SOA is tasked with reviewing reimbursements prior to submitting for payments to ensure accuracy. Grant Coordinator is tasked with overseeing each SOA/School by ensuring expenditures are coded correctly and payments received correctly, this will ensure audit readiness, (3) Grant Coordinator, Grant Liaison, Grants Manager monitor all reimbursement claims in Power BI, (4) The treasury team is tasked to identify payments in a timely fashion to ensure payments are posted correctly to NetSuite by the accountant, (5) The grants team will hold quarterly meetings to resolve any grant concerns that may require feedback from Accounting: Our objective is to strengthen our teams across the board by: a. Communication b. Timeliness c. Accuracy d. Audit Preparedness e. Follow up We anticipate that our additional procedures will aid our efforts to improve the accuracy and timeliness of our grant accounting and reimbursements.

Categories

Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 587725 2023-003
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $1.03M
10.555 National School Lunch Program $400,966
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $364,514
10.553 School Breakfast Program $154,287
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $127,830
84.367 Improving Teacher Quality State Grants $46,497
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $20,079