Finding 1170557 (2025-002)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
B
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-01-26

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Discrepancies between Goods Receipts (GR) and vendor invoices (IR) led to overstatements of expenditures in Title I and Title IV, while Perkins lacked proof of delivery for some transactions.
  • Impacted Requirements: Non-compliance with 2 CFR section 200.403(g) regarding adequate documentation and accurate cost reporting increases the risk of improper payments.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Enhance review processes for GR adjustments and enforce documentation controls to ensure all receipts are backed by proper proof of delivery.

Finding Text

Criteria 2 CFR section 200.403, Factors affecting allowability of costs. Except where otherwise authorized by statute, costs must meet the following criteria to be allowable under Federal awards: (a) Be necessary and reasonable for the performance of the Federal award and be allocable thereto under these principles. (b) Conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth in these principles or in the Federal award as to types or amount of cost items. (c) Be consistent with policies and procedures that apply uniformly to both federally financed and other activities of the recipient or subrecipient. (d) Be accorded consistent treatment. For example, a cost must not be assigned to a Federal award as a direct cost if any other cost incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances has been allocated to the Federal award as an indirect cost. (e) Be determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), except, for State and local governments and Indian Tribes only, as otherwise provided for in this part. (f) Not be included as a cost or used to meet cost sharing requirements of any other federally-financed program in either the current or a prior period. See § 200.306(b). (g) Be adequately documented. See §§ 200.300 through 200.309. (h) Administrative closeout costs may be incurred until the due date of the final report(s). If incurred, these costs must be liquidated prior to the due date of the final report(s) and charged to the final budget period of the award unless otherwise specified by the Federal agency. All other costs must be incurred during the approved budget period. At its discretion, the Federal agency is authorized to waive prior written approvals to carry forward unobligated balances to subsequent budget periods. See § 200.308(g)(3). 10th Edition Procurement Manual issued by the District in September 2023, Chapter 8 – What to Do When Item or Services Are Received A. Online Goods Receipts Prior to entering an online Goods Receipt (GR), schools and offices must have a copy of the vendor invoice and Purchase Order (PO). They are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the order and entering the “online receiver” into SAP immediately after delivery of materials. Partial receiving is acceptable to account only for materials actually received. Payments are processed based on materials that have been received online. F.1. Payment for Materials Accounts Payable will process payment when the following three items are matched in SAP: (1) Purchase Order, (2) Goods Receipt, and (3) vendor invoice. F.2.c. Contracted Professional Services Accounts Payable will process payments for contracted professional services when the following four items are matched: executed contract/amendment, Purchase Order, vendor invoice, and approved authorization for payment. F.3. Contract Close-Out Upon contract expiration or termination, the District must ensure all deliverables have been received, final invoices paid, indirect costs settled, and any unspent funds unencumbered and transferred to the appropriate District account. Condition As part of our review of cash disbursement expenditures, we selected a statistically valid sample of forty (40) cash disbursement transactions from each of the following programs: Title I, Title IV, and Perkins. We reviewed the supporting documentation for these transactions to determine whether the expenditures were allowable under program regulations, accurately charged to the programs, and appropriately supported in accordance with 2 CFR Section 200.403 and the District Procurement Manual. Title I: From the $3,265,728 sample tested (out of $48,286,535 total disbursements), we identified one (1) purchase order with a variance between the Goods Receipt (GR) and vendor invoice (IR) amounts. This discrepancy resulted in an overstatement of reported expenditures by $21,394. The District subsequently corrected this by reversing the amount to the expenditure accounts in FY 2026. Title IV: From the $560,572 sample tested (out of $9,999,536 total disbursements), we identified one (1) purchase order with a variance between the GR and IR amounts, resulting in an overstatement of reported expenditures by $94,500. The District subsequently corrected this by reversing the amount to the expenditure accounts in FY 2026. Perkins: Additionally, from a $329,432 sample (out of $5,738,606 total disbursements), we identified seven (7) disbursements totaling $868 that lacked adequate proof of delivery of materials. Supporting documentation, such as signed delivery receipts or equivalent evidence of goods received, was not available for these transactions. Cause and Effect These conditions occurred because adjustments were not made to the GR amounts to reflect changes in goods or services received after the initial recording. The unadjusted GR balances led to variances between the GR and IR amounts, resulting in overstatements of reported expenditures for the affected programs. In addition, the lack of adequate proof of delivery of materials occurred because GR were entered without supporting documentation to substantiate that the materials were received. This increased the risk of payment for goods not received, misstatement of expenditures, and noncompliance with federal cost documentation requirements under 2 CFR section 200.403(g). Questioned Costs • Title I (AL No. 84.010): $21,394 overstated due to GR-IR variance. • Title IV (AL No. 84.424A): $94,500 overstated due to GR-IR variance. • Perkins (AL No. 84.048): $868 lacked sufficient supporting documentation that the goods were received. Recommendation We recommend that the District: 1. Strengthen review and reconciliation procedures to ensure that adjustments to the Goods Receipt (GR) are made promptly to reflect actual goods or services received. 2. Enforce documentation controls to require that all Goods Receipts are supported by adequate proof of delivery (e.g., signed delivery receipts, receiving reports, or equivalent evidence) before processing payments. 3. Provide staff training on documentation and reconciliation requirements to ensure compliance with federal cost principles and the District Procurement Manual.

Corrective Action Plan

The purpose of the Goods Receipt (GR) is to record receipt of goods or services as soon as they are delivered and verified to be in acceptable condition. A Goods receipt must be posted in SAP for all items actually received. Vendors submit invoice(s) referencing the purchase order (PO) directly to Accounts Payable after delivery, indicating that the goods or services have been provided and requesting payment. Accounts Payable then reviews the vendor invoice, purchase order, and goods receipt in SAP to perform the required three-way match (PO, GR, and vendor invoice) before processing payment. 1. The Accounts Payable team will collaborate with the Procurement Services Division to establish and implement a process that ensures the timely review and reconciliation of Goods Receipt (GR) entries. This will include the development of clear guidance / training materials for schools and offices to periodically review their GR balances. Training will be conducted via Virtual Office Hours on a quarterly basis for sites to make necessary adjustments when the goods or services received differ from the original Purchase Order (PO) or the corresponding invoice. 2. The Accounts Payable team will collaborate with the Procurement Services Division to develop supplemental documentation and guidance regarding proof of delivery for goods and services received. 3. Accounts Payable staff will receive ongoing training throughout the year on documentation and reconciliation requirements, particularly when new internal controls, procedures, and processes are created. Training will be incorporated into regular team meetings, procedural updates, and onboarding for new team members to maintain alignment and accuracy across the department. The implementation target date for the above corrective action plan is June 30, 2026. Name: Rocio Saucedo Title: Director of Accounts Payable Contact Information: Rocio.Saucedo@lausd.net

Categories

Procurement, Suspension & Debarment Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Student Financial Aid Subrecipient Monitoring

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1170548 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170549 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170550 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170551 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170552 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170553 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170554 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170555 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1170556 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.553 SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM $120.33M
84.367 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STATE GRANTS (FORMERLY IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS) $35.24M
84.424 STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM $27.05M
93.575 CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT $10.77M
84.010 TITLE I GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $7.25M
10.559 SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN $5.98M
97.036 DISASTER GRANTS - PUBLIC ASSISTANCE (PRESIDENTIALLY DECLARED DISASTERS) $4.06M
84.334 GAINING EARLY AWARENESS AND READINESS FOR UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS $3.93M
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $2.87M
10.558 CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM $2.79M
84.126 REHABILITATION SERVICES VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION GRANTS TO STATES $2.65M
84.002 ADULT EDUCATION - BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $2.43M
84.184 SCHOOL SAFELY NATIONAL ACTIVITIES $1.97M
93.596 CHILD CARE MANDATORY AND MATCHING FUNDS OF THE CHILD CARE AND DEVELOPMENT FUND $1.87M
12.U01 RESERVE OFFICER TRAINING CORPS VITALIZATION ACT $1.70M
17.259 WIOA YOUTH ACTIVITIES $1.45M
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $1.25M
84.181 SPECIAL EDUCATION-GRANTS FOR INFANTS AND FAMILIES $1.18M
93.870 MATERNAL, INFANT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD HOME VISITING GRANT $832,667
84.173 SPECIAL EDUCATION PRESCHOOL GRANTS $770,145
93.566 REFUGEE AND ENTRANT ASSISTANCE STATE/REPLACEMENT DESIGNEE ADMINISTERED PROGRAMS $716,348
93.079 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO PROMOTE ADOLESCENT HEALTH THROUGH SCHOOL-BASED HIV/STD PREVENTION AND SCHOOL-BASED SURVEILLANCE $440,085
84.287 TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS $287,299
17.258 WIOA ADULT PROGRAM $263,680
93.600 HEAD START $256,983
84.196 EDUCATION FOR HOMELESS CHILDREN AND YOUTH $254,052
97.039 HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT $160,805
84.060 INDIAN EDUCATION GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $121,157
84.365 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION STATE GRANTS $115,683
93.778 MEDICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $82,840
17.245 TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE $60,329
84.011 MIGRANT EDUCATION STATE GRANT PROGRAM $51,759
93.354 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE: PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS RESPONSE $22,620
10.665 SCHOOLS AND ROADS - GRANTS TO STATES $21,766
84.425 EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND $11,741
84.027 SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANTS TO STATES $6,501
10.574 TEAM NUTRITION GRANTS $5,226
84.422 AMERICAN HISTORY AND CIVICS EDUCATION $3,765