Finding 1201215 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
I
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-03-30
Audit: 395867
Organization: City of Waltham, Massachusetts (MA)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The City of Waltham lacks adequate internal controls to ensure compliance with federal procurement standards for expenses transferred to federal grants.
  • Impacted Requirements: Noncompliance with 2 CFR Part 200, which outlines necessary procurement, suspension, and debarment procedures.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Management should establish procedures to verify that all expenses transferred to federal grants meet federal procurement standards.

Finding Text

Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Federal Program Name: Special Education Cluster Assistance Listing Number: 84.027, 84.173 Pass-Through Agency: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Pass-Through Number(s): 240-000558-2024-0308, 240-000558-2025-0308, 262-000559-2024-0308, 262-000559-2025-0308, 274-000662-2024-0308, and 274-000662-2025-0308 Award Period: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025 Type of Finding: - Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance - Other Matters Criteria or specific requirement: 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Award requires compliance with the provisions of procurement, suspension, and debarment. The City of Waltham, Massachusetts should have internal controls designed to ensure compliance with those provisions. Condition: Internal controls were not in place to ensure proper federal procurement standards were being followed for transactions that were transferred to the federal grant. Questioned costs: $26,648 Context: For 1 of 5 contracts tested, we identified that expenses were transferred to a federal grant and the underlying contracts were not in compliance with federal procurement requirements. Cause: Procedures are not in place to ensure proper federal procurement standards were being met prior to transferring expenses to a federal grant. Effect: Noncompliance with federal procurement compliance requirements. Repeat Finding: The finding is a repeat of a finding in the immediately prior year. Prior year finding number was 2024-003. Recommendation: We recommend management implement procedures to ensure expenses transferred to a federal grant are meeting federal procurement standards. Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Special Education Cluster – Assistance Listing No. 84.IDEA Recommendation: We recommend management implement procedures to ensure expenses transferred to a federal grant are meeting federal procurement standards. Explanation of disagreement with audit finding: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. Action taken in response to finding: The Fiscal Coordinator, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations, Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and Pupil Services and Grants Manager have all been briefed on the procurement standards. The Grants Manager has developed a grants management manual to share with all educators and administrators who are implementing grants and will meet individually with the lead person on each grant to make sure all standards and procedures are clear. The Business Office will update the Grants Requisition Form to include a field to indicate whether procurement standards have been met. Both the Grants Manager and Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations are required to sign off on all Grant Requisition Forms. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Chad Mazza, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, Lisa Kingsley, Assistant Superintendent for Special Education and Pupil Services Kathleen Dowcett, Grants Manager; Lisa Butler, Fiscal Coordinator Planned completion date for corrective action plan: The Grants Manager has already established the process of meeting regularly with the lead person on each grant to share policies and procedures and monitor spending and implementation.

Categories

No categories assigned yet.

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1201210 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1201211 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1201212 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1201213 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1201214 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $3.47M
14.218 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS/ENTITLEMENT GRANTS $1.37M
10.553 SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM $760,286
16.922 EQUITABLE SHARING PROGRAM $423,778
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $407,725
84.425 EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND $303,761
66.468 DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING FUND $244,809
14.248 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS SECTION 108 LOAN GUARANTEES $177,147
16.710 PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERSHIP AND COMMUNITY POLICING GRANTS $137,027
97.044 ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT $106,404
10.582 FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAM $99,197
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $83,684
20.600 STATE AND COMMUNITY HIGHWAY SAFETY $64,419
84.367 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STATE GRANTS (FORMERLY IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS) $51,965
84.010 TITLE I GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $49,646
84.173 SPECIAL EDUCATION PRESCHOOL GRANTS $41,511
97.137 STATE AND LOCAL CYBERSECURITY GRANT PROGRAM TRIBAL CYBERSECURITY GRANT PROGRAM $40,000
97.042 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANTS $25,600
14.239 HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM $14,285
84.424 STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM $6,843
84.371 COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY DEVELOPMENT $6,315
84.027 SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANTS TO STATES $2,478
84.365 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION STATE GRANTS $315