Finding 1177760 (2023-003)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
BCL
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2026-03-10

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: 28% of quarterly expenditure reports were submitted late, impacting compliance with Illinois State Board of Education requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Timeliness of report submissions and adherence to cash basis accounting for expenditures.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a tracking system to ensure timely submissions and review expenditure claims to align with actual payments.

Finding Text

During the course of the audit, auditors noted that 8 of the 29 (28%) quarterly expenditure reports required by the Illinois State Board of Education were not submitted timely. Five of the quarterly expenditure reports were submitted 1-30 days late, one expenditure report was submitted 30 to 60 days late, and two expenditure reports were submitted 60 to 90 days late. For the federal programs, auditors noted that 3 out of the 9 (33%) quarterly expenditure reports required by the Illinois State Board of Education for the federal programs were not submitted timely. For the federal programs, two of the quarterly expenditure reports were submitted 1 to 30 days late and one quarterly expenditure report was submitted 60 to 90 days late. In addition, auditors noted that supplies and materials expenditures exceeded budgeted amounts by $6,851 for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund 2022 grant. Auditors also noted that the 6/30/23 expenditure report for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund 2022 grant claimed $54,708 of expenditures prior to the expenditures actually being paid by the ROE. The Illinois State Board of Education requires that expenditure reports be prepared on the cash basis of accounting. Therefore, an expenditure should not be submitted for reimbursement prior to the ROE paying for the expenditure.

Corrective Action Plan

ROE 40 will put into place a system to ensure timely expenditure reporting for both federal and state programs. Regular review will ensure that expenditures are placed into line items properly, thus making sure expenditures do not exceed budgeted amounts. Procedures will be put in place to ensure an expenditure is not submitted for reimbursement prior to the ROE paying for the expenditure.

Categories

Cash Management

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1177757 2023-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1177758 2023-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1177759 2023-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1177761 2023-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1177762 2023-005
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.425 EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND $14,900