Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Agriculture Federal Program Name: Child Nutrition Cluster (School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, and Summer Food Service Program for Children) Assistance Listing Number: 10.553, 10.555, and 10.559 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: N/A Pass-Through Agency: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Pass-Through Number(s): 2025-105726-DPI-SB-SEVERE-546, 2025-105726-DPI-SK_NSLAE-566, 2025-105726-DPI-NSL-547, 2025-105726-DPI-SFSP-586 Award Period: July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance and Other Matter Criteria or specific requirement: Each request for reimbursement should be based on accurate and precise data. Review of the reimbursement request and supporting documentation by someone other than the preparer prior to submitting the request for reimbursement is an internal control intended to prevent or decrease the occurrence of errors. Condition: During testing of the September Breakfast claim, it was noted that the total meal count was correct; however, the categories under which the meals were claimed were incorrect. Specifically, the claim report showed variances between the reported and actual counts for free, reduced, and paid meals, resulting in an overclaim. There was no documented review and approval of the claim by someone other than the preparer. Accordingly, this does not allow for a proper segregation of duties for internal control purposes. Questioned costs: $467 Context: One of the six claims in our sample included overcharges due to claiming charged meals or mistyping a number into the report for reimbursement. Cause: There was turnover in the Food Service Director position and the absence of a designated person to prepare the claim at the time of submission. The lack of formalized procedures for claim review and record retention contributed to the error. Effect: The District was overpaid for meals due to overclaiming number of meals served. Repeat Finding: No Recommendation: We recommend that the District review its internal controls and implement a procedure to ensure all reports required under the grant have a designated reviewer that is different from the individual responsible for preparing, even when there are gaps of coverage in preparer and reviewer positions, and that the review and approval happens prior to submitting the reports to the granting agency. Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.