Finding 1201451 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
J
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-03-30
Audit: 395989
Organization: City of Somerville (MA)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The City’s financial management system is not accurately reflecting the loans from Federal award programs due to discrepancies between the subsidiary ledger and the general ledger.
  • Impacted Requirements: This violates 2 CFR section 200.302(b)(2), which mandates complete and accurate financial disclosures for Federal awards.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The City should fully reconcile the subsidiary loan ledger with the general ledger and consider using specialized software for loan management.

Finding Text

2025-001 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant Cluster Entitlement/Special Purpose Grants – ALN 14.218 HOME Investment Partnership Program – ALN 14.239 Significant Deficiency in Internal Controls Over Compliance Criteria: Per 2 CFR section 200.302(b)(2), the City’s financial management system must provide for the accurate, current and complete disclosure of the financial results of each Federal award or program. Condition: The subsidiary ledger for loans funded by the Federal award programs maintained by the Department did not agree to the City’s general ledger. Cause: The subsidiary loans receivable ledger has not been fully reconciled to the City’s general ledger, although substantial progress was made during the year to complete these reconciliations. Effect: The general ledger was potentially understated by $571,995 and $346,68 for Community Development Block Grant Cluster Entitlement/Special Purpose Grants loans and HOME Investment Partnership Program loans, respectively. Questioned Costs: None Repeat Finding from Prior Year: No. Recommendation: The City should fully reconcile its subsidiary loan ledger to the City’s general ledger. The City should also consider implementing software specifically designed for the maintenance of loans. Views of Responsible Official: Management agrees with the finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Condition: The subsidiary ledger for loans funded by the Federal award programs maintained by the Department did not agree to the City’s general ledger. Corrective Action Planned: The City is actively evaluating a Loan Servicing software package to replace the current offline subledger and anticipate on implementing it in fiscal year 2027. Going forward, Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development (OSPCD) Finance in conjunction with the Auditing Department will train the OSPCD program director and staff on the agreed standard methodology and criteria for recording and reporting new loans and payments in both the subledger and MUNIS. Loan activity will be reconciled to the general ledger to ensure compliance each fiscal year. The City will continue to research discrepancies for CDBG and HOME, make necessary adjustments and plans on resolving the remaining variances in these two program accounts. Anticipated Completion Date: September of 2026 Contact: Alan Inacio, OSPCD Director of Finance and Administration

Categories

Significant Deficiency Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1201450 2025-001
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
14.239 HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM $7.28M
14.218 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS/ENTITLEMENT GRANTS $2.03M
66.468 DRINKING WATER STATE REVOLVING FUND $455,418
10.553 SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAM $411,863
10.555 NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM $308,520
16.922 EQUITABLE SHARING PROGRAM $232,172
14.231 EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT PROGRAM $215,016
10.559 SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN $132,413
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $99,950
93.323 EPIDEMIOLOGY AND LABORATORY CAPACITY FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES (ELC) $72,214
20.600 STATE AND COMMUNITY HIGHWAY SAFETY $50,959
97.044 ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT $48,611
84.010 TITLE I GRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES $36,646
84.424 STUDENT SUPPORT AND ACADEMIC ENRICHMENT PROGRAM $23,042
84.027 SPECIAL EDUCATION GRANTS TO STATES $21,591
21.016 EQUITABLE SHARING $20,194
97.042 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE GRANTS $16,903
93.959 BLOCK GRANTS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE $14,957
97.067 HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM $14,256
84.365 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION STATE GRANTS $12,257
84.002 ADULT EDUCATION - BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $9,976
93.243 SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PROJECTS OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE $6,382
84.048 CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION -- BASIC GRANTS TO STATES $3,984
84.367 SUPPORTING EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTION STATE GRANTS (FORMERLY IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY STATE GRANTS) $3,800
10.561 STATE ADMINISTRATIVE MATCHING GRANTS FOR THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $3,607
84.173 SPECIAL EDUCATION PRESCHOOL GRANTS $1,974
93.044 SPECIAL PROGRAMS FOR THE AGING, TITLE III, PART B, GRANTS FOR SUPPORTIVE SERVICES AND SENIOR CENTERS $278
84.425 EDUCATION STABILIZATION FUND $242
84.371 COMPREHENSIVE LITERACY DEVELOPMENT $12