Finding Text
Criteria: The design or operation of the Organization’s internal controls should allow for management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent or detect misstatements in reporting for grant awards on a timely basis.
Condition: Certain underlying support related to the VOCA Victim Assistance Formula Grant did not agree to amounts charged to the grant. Supporting information and records indicated more funds were spent by the Organization than were charged to the grant.
Cause: Due to turnover in the accounting department and a lack of appropriate reconciliation and review processes, variances existed between supporting information and records and amounts charged to the grant.
Effect: The Organization’s records do not match requests for reimbursement under the grant and the Organization may have not billed and collected for all allowable costs incurred under the grant program.
Questioned Costs: None.
Context: Reimbursement to organizations is based upon the actual and verifiable expenses incurred on a monthly basis. Expenditures must be in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award and approved project budget.
A sample of three monthly reimbursement requests made by the Organization subject to the reporting requirement was selected for testing. Of the three monthly reimbursement requests selected, two of them contained variances between the reported amount of expenditures and the Organization’s underlying supporting documentation. Of the items tested, reported expenditures were overstated by $222 when compared to the Organization’s supporting documentation.
Views of Responsible Officials: Management acknowledges that due to turnover and ineffective reconciliation and review processes that variances exist between supporting documentation and records and amounts invoiced or charged to the grant. Management is implementing additional and revised processes and controls to address this oversight in future periods.