Finding 1153501 (2024-004)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-09-19

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Association failed to submit complete and accurate reports on time, leading to a significant deficiency in internal controls over compliance.
  • Impacted Requirements: Federal regulations mandate timely submission of semi-annual and annual reports, supported by proper documentation, which the Association did not meet.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement stronger controls to ensure timely reporting and adequate support for reported amounts to prevent future deficiencies.

Finding Text

Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance - Reporting Criteria: Federal regulations award recipients to submit semi-annual and annual reports in accordance with timelines defined in the award. Amounts reported are required to be complete, accurate and prepared in accordance with the entity’s basis of accounting and be supported by financial statements and schedule of expenditures of federal awards. Condition: The Association’s controls were not effective to ensure that reports were submitted timely and that amounts reported were supported by adequate documentation. • The December 31, 2024 final SF-425 for Contract #10CH01204404 was due April 30, 2024. Although the report was submitted prior to the due date, it was not accepted by the granting agency. The Association did not receive any extension from the granting agency and a final report was not available as of the date of the audit. • During the federal agency monitoring review conducted subsequent to the audit period, the Association was found to have omitted required administrative cost information on the SF-425. This omission resulted in an incomplete financial report submission. Context: Our procedures included testing four SF-429 (Real Property Status Reports) and two SF-425 (Federal Financial Report) reports that were required as part of the grant contract provisions and federal reporting requirements. Cause: The Association experienced challenges in implementing a new financial reporting system in 2021 that continued throughout the 2024 fiscal year. As a result, there was no reconciliation or support for amounts reported. Effect: Incorrect financial and non-financial data submitted via these reports may result in potential errors in analysis or other determinations by the federal grantor. This finding did not result in questioned costs since the reports were not used to request reimbursement. Repeat finding: This finding is a repeat finding in the immediately prior year. Prior year finding number was 2023- 004. Recommendation: We recommend that the Association establishes controls that require timely reporting and support amounts reported. View of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with this audit finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Head Start Cluster - Assistance Listing Number 93.600 Criteria: Federal regulations award recipients to submit semi-annual and annual reports in accordance with timelines defined in the award. Amounts reported are required to be complete, accurate and prepared in accordance with the entity’s basis of accounting and be supported by financial statements and schedule of expenditures of federal awards. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: Containment Fiscal staff has been trained on reporting requirements, including required supporting documentation and deliverable timelines. Root Cause The finding was the result of an oversight in updating the (SF) reports with additional explanatory notes. While the original reports were submitted on time, we received a reimbursement from a vendor after submission. This required the reports to be updated and resubmitted to reflect the returned funds and to maintain accurate records for the awarding agency. Action Taken A standard operating procedure (SOP) has been developed for identifying and documenting post-submission changes (e.g., vendor reimbursements or corrections). A secondary review process is now in place to ensure all SF reports are checked for completeness, including necessary notes, before submission or resubmission. Ongoing refresher training has been completed with the funding source training and technical services in August 2025 to reinforce staff understanding and compliance with reporting standards. These measures are designed to prevent recurrence of similar issues and ensure full compliance with all financial reporting requirements moving forward.

Categories

Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1153498 2024-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1153499 2024-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1153500 2024-003
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
93.600 Head Start $4.57M
93.870 Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant $278,622
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $33,754
93.590 Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Grants $17,329
10.575 Farm to School Grant Program $9,440