Finding Text
TRIO Cluster U.S. Department of Education ALNs 84.042 TRIO Student Support Services - Award Year 2025 Criteria or Specific Requirement – Reporting Requirements SF-270, Requests for Advance or Reimbursement are required to be submitted to request reimbursement payments under non-construction programs and should be supported by the underlying accounting records. Condition – The University submitted requests for reimbursement under the student support services program using estimates rather than actual expenditures in the drawdown requests. Estimated payroll and operating costs were used to expedite reimbursement under the program. Cause – Oversight by management. Effect – The estimated amounts were not fully supported by underlying accounting records at the time of submission requiring reconciliation between what was submitted for reimbursement and actual costs incurred. Questioned Costs – None noted. Context – Out of a population of 13 requests, 2 were tested to ensure the proper reporting requirements. Out of these 2 selected for testing, both had instances in which the requests for reimbursement included estimates. The sample was not, and was not intended to be, a statistically valid sample. Identification as a Repeat Finding – No. Recommendation – The University should implement policies and procedures to ensure that only actual incurred costs are included on any request for reimbursement to ensure compliance with federal reporting guidelines. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions – Management will update practices and implement procedures to ensure that only actual incurred costs will be included on the request for reimbursement forms on a go-forward basis.