Finding Text
Federal Grantor: All Programs Pass-through Grantor: All Programs Assistance Listing No.: All Programs Program Title: All Programs Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200.510(b) requires auditees to prepare a schedule of expenditures of federal awards which must report total federal awards expended during the audit period. At a minimum, the schedule must include: expenditures by individual program, program title and assistance listing number, programs required to be identified as part of a cluster, name of the pass-through entity and identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity for awards not received directly from the federal government, and the total amount provided to subrecipients from each federal program. Condition: The schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) reported by the County in the annual budget documents contained errors in amounts of federal expenditures reported. Additionally, the schedule did not include the identification of programs required to be part of a cluster, names of pass-through entities, identifying numbers assigned by the pass-through entities, or total amounts provided to subrecipients for the applicable programs. Furthermore, the SEFA prepared by the County does not indicate the amount of awards passed through to subrecipients. The County reported $87,238 in expenditures under assistance listing number 12.112 - Payments to States in Lieu of Real Estate Taxes. All funds expended under this program were disbursed to local schools and road districts, however, these awards to subrecipients were not reported on the SEFA. The County omitted all funds expended under assistance listing number 15.226 - Payments in Lieu of Taxes. The County reported total expenditures of $90,765 under assistance listing number 15.438 - National Forest Acquire Lands. However, $79,432 of this amount was expended under assistance listing number 10.665 - Schools and Roads - Grants to States and $11,333 of this amount was expended under assistance listing number 15.438 - National Forest Acquired Lands. All funds expended under these two programs were disbursed to local schools and road districts, however, these awards to subrecipients were not reported on the SEFA. The County omitted all funds expended under assistance listing number 15.608 - Fish and Aquatic Conservation - Aquatic Invasive Species. The County reported $32,184 in expenditures under assistance listing number 20.205 - Highway Planning and Construction, however, underlying accounting records support expenditures of $33,136. The County reported $2,295,038 in expenditures under assistance listing number 21.027 - COVID-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, however, the underlying accounting records support expenditures of $2,315,986. The difference is due to the omission of funds expended under a First Responder Equipment Grant, passed through the Missouri Department of Public Safety. The County also omitted the identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity for the grant agreement funded under this program. $2,145,888 of these funds were disbursed to subrecipients, however, these awards were not reported on the SEFA. The County reported $21,608 in expenditures under assistance listing number 97.042 - Emergency Management Performance Grants, however, the underlying accounting records support expenditures of $8,321. The County omitted the identifying numbers assigned by the pass-through entity for the each grant agreement funded under this program. Cause: The County has not implemented a proper system of internal control over SEFA preparation, such as a reconciliation to underlying accounting records or having a separate individual review the SEFA for clerical accuracy after it has been prepared. Reasons for discrepancies varied. Effect: The SEFA presented for the audit did not accurately reflect the County's actual expenditures of federal awards for the year ended December 31, 2024. Context: This is a repeat finding that was reported in the most current audit period as finding 2023-002. Recommendation: We recommend that the County implement internal controls to ensure that the SEFA completely and accurately states the expenditures of federal awards of the County each year, such as performing a reconciliation between the SEFA and underlying accounting records. Federal reimbursement grants should be reported on the SEFA based on reimbursable expenditures made during the year. Management's Response: The County Clerk and Treasurer will work with the accounts payable department to update and create spreadsheets and schedule a mid-year review of SEFA funds and grants. Implementation of spreadsheets is in progress and expected to be fully implemented by June 1, 2026.