Finding Text
2025-001. Internal Control APPLICABLE MAJOR FEDERAL PROGRAM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PASSED THROUGH ARKANSAS DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION CHILD NUTRITION CLUSTER - AL NUMBERS 10.553 and 10.555 PASS-THROUGH NUMBER 2305 AUDIT PERIOD - YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2025 The internal control deficiencies identified in Finding 2025-001 noted in Section II Financial Statement Findings apply to this major federal program. Financial statement finding 2025-001 detail below: Criteria: Internal control is a process consisting of five interrelated components - control environment, risk assessment, information and communication, control activities, and monitoring. Management is responsible for adopting sound accounting policies and for establishing and maintaining internal control that will, among other things, initiate, authorize, record, process, and report transactions (as well as events and conditions) consistent with management's assertions embodied in the financial statements. Condition and Context: Deficiencies in the internal control component of control activities adversely affected by the District's ability to initiate, authorize, record, process, and report financial data in accordance with the regulatory basis of accounting such that there was a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the District's financial statements would not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. The financial accounting duties were not adequately segregated among employees. Specifically, certain key weaknesses included the following: payroll was processed, prepared, and reconciled to reports by the same employee, without compensating controls. Repeat of finding 2024-001. Cause: District management, due to cost/benefit implications, which hindered the District's ability to adequately segregate financial accounting duties among employees, did not effectively address the deficiencies in internal control. Effect or potential effect: The District's ability to initiate, authorize, record, process, and report transactions consistent with management's assertions embodied in the financial statements, as well as the ability to safeguard District assets, was adversely affected by the identified weakness in the above internal control component. Recommendation: District management should adopt sound accounting policies and establish and maintain internal control that will initiate, authorize, record, process, and report transactions consistent with management's assertions embodied in the financial statements and that will safeguard District assets. Views of responsible officials: We concur with the recommendation and will implement corrective procedures to the extent possible.