Finding 1153153 (2023-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
P
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2025-09-16
Audit: 366390
Organization: City of Lebanon (OH)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The City failed to include a federally funded program in the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA), leading to a material misstatement of $2,378,835.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 2 CFR §200.510(b) regarding the accurate reporting of federal awards, including proper identification of programs and expenditures.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The City should collaborate with departments to ensure all grant activities are accurately reported and consider consulting Ohio agencies for assistance in identifying federal activities.

Finding Text

Material Weakness/Noncompliance – Other 2 CFR §200.510(b) states, in part, that the auditee must prepare a Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) for the period covered by the auditee’s financial statements which must include the total Federal awards expended as determined in accordance with §200.502 Basis for determining Federal awards expended. At a minimum, the schedule must: a. List individual federal programs by Federal agency. For a cluster of programs, provide the cluster name, list individual Federal programs within the cluster of programs, and provide the applicable Federal agency name. For R&D, total Federal awards expended must be shown either by individual Federal award or by Federal agency and major subdivision within the Federal agency. b. For Federal awards received as a subrecipient, the name of the pass-through entity and identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity must be included. c. Provide total Federal awards expended for each individual Federal program and the Assistance Listing Number or other identifying number when the Assistance Listings information is not available. For a cluster of programs also provide the total for the cluster. d. Include the total amount provided to subrecipients from each Federal program. e. For loan or loan guarantee programs described in §200.502(b), identify in the notes to the schedule the balances outstanding at the end of the audit period. This is in addition to including the total Federal awards expended for loan or loan guarantee programs in the schedule. f. Include notes that describe that significant accounting policies used in preparing the schedule, and note whether or not the auditee elected to use the 10% de minimis cost rate as covered in §200.414. Subsequent to the original issuance of the 2023 audit report dated July 23, 2024, with the assistance of the pass-through entity, it was determined that the City omitted a federally funded program under the Highway Planning and Construction (ALN 20.205) – PID# 110419. The related expenditures of $2,378,835, were materially misstated by the exclusion from the City’s originally provided SEFA. The City failed to properly identify/communicate the federal designation of the project. Inaccurate completion of the SEFA could lead to inaccurate reporting of federal expenditures by the City and could jeopardize future federal funding. We recommend the City work with its departments to ensure all grant activity is properly included and a materially accurate Schedule is presented for audit. Furthermore, the City can reach out to various Ohio agencies to assist in determining Federal activity. Officials Response: See Corrective Action Plan.

Corrective Action Plan

The City will review the process for identifying federal awards to minimize the likelihood of errors in preparing the schedule of expenditures of federal awards to minimize the likelihood of errors in preparing the schedule of expenditures of federal awards. This will include inquiries of the Engineer’s Office.

Categories

Reporting Subrecipient Monitoring

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
20.205 Highway Planning and Construction $2.38M
21.027 Covid-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds - Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Program $1.33M
21.027 Covid-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $935,501
21.027 Arpa First Responders Wellness, Recruitment, Retention & Resiliency - Fire $95,383