Finding 1173483 (2024-002)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2026-02-13
Audit: 387243
Organization: Town of Needham (MA)
Auditor: CBIZ CPAS PC

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Town missed the deadline for submitting the annual performance report for federal funding, which is a significant compliance deficiency.
  • Impacted Requirements: Timely reporting is mandated by the Uniform Guidance for federal awards, specifically for the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement procedures to track and monitor all federal reporting deadlines to ensure timely submissions in the future.

Finding Text

2024-002 Improve Internal Controls over Reporting Federal Program Information Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Award Name: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Assistance Listing Number(s): 21.027 Award Year: 2024 Compliance Requirement: Reporting Type of Finding Compliance Internal Control over Compliance – Significant Deficiency Criteria or Specific Requirement According to the Uniform Guidance 2 CFR Part 200, recipients of federal awards are required to adhere to all reporting requirements outlined in the terms and conditions of the award. Timely submission of performance and evaluation reports is essential to demonstrate compliance with program objectives and to provide transparency and accountability for the use of federal funds. Metropolitan cities and counties with a population below 250,000 residents that are allocated less than $10 million in SLFRF funding and NEUs that are allocated less than $10 million in SLFRF funding must submit annual Project and Expenditure Reports. The report covers April 1 through March 31 of the following year, and must be submitted to the Treasury by April 30th, one month after the end of the period being reported on. Condition and Context During the audit of the Town's compliance with the requirements of the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program, it was noted that the Town did not submit its required annual performance and evaluation report by the designated deadline. The report was due by April 30th, 2024 but was not submitted until May 2nd, 2024. Cause The delay in report submission was due to the Town engaging in a Town-wide system conversion coupled with personnel turnover within the Finance Department. As a result, the report was not submitted by the designated deadline. Effect or Potential Effect Failure to submit the annual performance and evaluation report timely results in non-compliance with federal award requirements specific to the program. No questioned costs are reported as a result of this finding as it is administrative in nature. Recommendation To address this deficiency, we recommend the Town implement procedures to track and monitor compliance deadlines for all federal reporting requirements. Views of Responsible Official Management’s corrective action plan is included at the end of this report after the Schedule of Prior Year Findings.

Corrective Action Plan

Audit Finding Reference: 2024-002 Improve Internal Controls over Reporting Planned Corrective Action: The Town of Needham accounting department has developed a spreadsheet with all the due dates for all the federal grants with stringent report filing deadlines. Currently this includes all JAG, Opioid, and both state and county ARPA grants. This sheet is constantly reviewed by the grant's coordinator as well as the town accountant. The grant's coordinator also has a reminder in her outlook a few weeks before the deadline date so reports can be printed and reviewed for accuracy before the filing is done. Planned Implementation Date of Corrective Action: This corrective action was put in place after the 2023 SEFA audit was completed when we noticed that we had slipped and missed a few deadlines. Unfortunately, the 2024 report was already filed with a date of 2 days past the deadline date. Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Michelle Vaillancourt, Town Accountant

Categories

Reporting Significant Deficiency Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $1.19M
93.354 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY RESPONSE: COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE: PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS RESPONSE $532,614
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $307,900
93.071 MEDICARE ENROLLMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $291,388
93.959 BLOCK GRANTS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE $249,219
84.425 EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND $212,937
84.010 TITLE I GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $146,757
10.553 SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM $102,627
93.243 SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PROJECTS OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE $54,121
84.367 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STATE GRANTS (FORMERLY IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS) $47,533
84.173 SPECIAL EDUCATION PRESCHOOL GRANTS $38,015
84.027 SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANTS TO STATES $37,758
84.365 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION STATE GRANTS $35,224
93.323 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND LABORATORY CAPACITY FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES (ELC) $31,114
97.042 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANTS $8,500
20.600 STATE AND COMMUNITY HIGHWAY SAFETY $7,598
84.424 STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM $7,163
93.103 FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH $4,570
16.607 BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM $4,028
93.734 EMPOWERING OLDER ADULTS AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH CHRONIC DISEASE SELF-MANAGEMENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS – FINANCED BY PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH FUNDS (PPHF) $2,330
93.008 MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS SMALL GRANT PROGRAM $1,234