Finding Text
2025-005: REPORTING United States Department of Agriculture Passed through Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Child Nutrition Cluster (Federal Assistance No. 10.555) Passed through Louisiana Department of Education Child Nutrition Cluster (Federal Assistance Nos. 10.553, 10.555, 10.559, and 10.582) Criteria: Appendix II of Part 200 of Uniform Guidance establishes non-federal entities must establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards to provide reasonable assurance of compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the award. Condition: During our audit of the Child Nutrition Program, we noted that the same individual was responsible for preparing, reviewing, and certifying claims for reimbursement submitted to the Louisiana Department of Education. There was no evidence of independent verification of system edit checks or reconciliation of meal counts prior to submission. Our testing identified multiple instances across various schools and months, where the number of meals claimed was less than the number of meals actually served. The total of unclaimed meals and reimbursement are below: Meal type Total Served Total Claimed Total Unclaimed Rate Value of unclaimed meals Breakfast 354,271 348,373 5,898 $2.84 $ 16,750.32 Lunch 498,948 498,926 22 $4.01 88.22 Snack 71,001 55,286 15,715 $1.21 19,015.15 Total 924,220 902,585 21,635 $ 35,853.69 Cause: The School Board did not establish adequate internal control procedures to ensure segregation of duties or independent review of claims. This lack of oversight allowed errors to occur and remain undetected. Questioned Costs: Not applicable as the School Board under claimed reimbursements they were eligible to receive. Effect: The School Board under-claimed meals served, resulting in unreimbursed costs for lunches, breakfasts, and snacks during the audit period. Recommendation: The School Board should implement segregation of duties so that different individuals prepare, review, and certify claims reimbursements. Additionally, the School Board should establish procedures for independent verification of system edit checks and reconciliation of meal counts prior to submission of claims. View of Responsible Official: Management agrees with the finding and will take corrective action. See corrective action plan submitted by management.