Finding 1170197 (2024-006)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2026-01-21
Audit: 383150
Organization: Richland Community College (IL)
Auditor: SIKICH CPA LLC

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The College delayed drawing down federal direct funds until September 2024, outside the award period for the 2023-2024 year, leading to noncompliance.
  • Impacted Requirements: Internal and external reconciliation processes were affected, risking inconsistencies between the College's records and the Department of Education's records.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Establish clear procedures for timely drawdowns of federal funds and ensure compliance with cash monitoring rules to improve reconciliation accuracy.

Finding Text

2024-006 - Student Financial Aid Cluster - (a) Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (b) Federal Work Study Program (c) Federal Pell Grant Program (d) Federal Direct Student Loans, Assistance Listing No. (a) 84.007 (b) 84.033 (c) 84.063 (d) 84.268 - Year Ended June 30, 2024 Criteria: A school performs internal reconciliation when it compares business office records of funds requested, received, disbursed, and returned to financial aid office records of funds awarded to students. When the school compares its reconciled internal records to the Department’s records of funds received and returned, and of grants or loans originated and disbursed to students at the school, it is performing external reconciliation. A school ensures that the Department’s records reconcile with the school’s records, both at the cumulative and individual student levels, when it performs external reconciliation. (34 CFR 668.166) Condition: The College disbursed funds to students during the appropriate semesters in a timely manner, however, did not draw the federal direct funds down from the Department of Education until September 2024, outside of the award period for the disbursed award year of 2023-2024. We consider this finding an instance of noncompliance and is not a repeated finding. Statistical sampling was not used in making sample selections. Questioned Costs: N/A Cause: The Institution had significant staff turnover, which impacted proper timing for drawdowns. Effect: The College is unable to properly reconcile on a monthly basis as funds posted to student ledgers are not drawn down from the Department of Education until months after disbursement. This may lead to inconsistencies between school records and the Department of Education within the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system. Recommendation: Sikich recommends the Institution create standards of procedures to disburse the appropriate student eligible Federal Direct program amounts following heightened cash monitoring rules, and once applied request the drawdown within a set number of days to ensure proper reconciliation. View of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this Single Audit Finding and response is included in the Corrective Action Plan.

Corrective Action Plan

2024-006 - Student Financial Aid Cluster - (a) Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (b) Federal Work Study Program (c) Federal Pell Grant Program (d) Federal Direct Student Loans, Assistance Listing No. (a) 84.007 (b) 84.033 (c) 84.063 (d) 84.268 - Year Ended June 30, 2024 Criteria: A school performs internal reconciliation when it compares business office records of funds requested, received, disbursed, and returned to financial aid office records of funds awarded to students. When the school compares its reconciled internal records to the Department’s records of funds received and returned, and of grants or loans originated and disbursed to students at the school, it is performing external reconciliation. A school ensures that the Department’s records reconcile with the school’s records, both at the cumulative and individual student levels, when it performs external reconciliation. (34 CFR 668.166) Condition: The College disbursed funds to students during the appropriate semesters in a timely manner, however, did not draw the federal direct funds down from the Department of Education until September 2024, outside of the award period for the disbursed award year of 2023-2024. We consider this finding an instance of noncompliance and is not a repeated finding. Statistical sampling was not used in making sample selections. Responsible Person: Director of Financial Aid and Veteran Affairs, Controller, Vice President of Financial Services Corrective Action Plan: Between the Census date and Pell disbursement date, the Director of Financial Aid & Veteran Affairs, Controller, and Vice President of Financial Services will verify the amount of Federal dollars to be drawn down using the U.S. Department of Education Common Origination & Disbursement webpage. The draw down will occur prior to the Pell disbursement date. Implementation Date: January/February 2026

Categories

Student Financial Aid

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1170186 2024-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170187 2024-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170188 2024-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170189 2024-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170190 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170191 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170192 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170193 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170194 2024-006
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170195 2024-006
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170196 2024-006
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $3.14M
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $681,539
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $105,099
93.575 CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT $91,974
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $53,850
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $31,945
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $20,327
10.902 SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION $12,034
84.002 ADULT EDUCATION - BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $11,505