Finding 1216487 (2025-003)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
B
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-06-03

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: HSI lacks essential timekeeping documentation, specifically electronic or manual time sheets, which affects compliance with federal grant requirements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Failure to maintain proper documentation undermines internal controls over allowable costs and could lead to disallowed costs.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: HSI should implement a system for maintaining time records and conduct budget-to-actual reconciliations to ensure compliance and validate salary allocations.

Finding Text

Section III - Findings and Questioned Costs Relating to Compliance Over Federal Awards Internal Controls Finding 2025-003 Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Allowable Costs/ Cost Principles Assistance Listing Numbers 93.959 Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Federal Agency U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration Passthrough Agency Illinois Department of Human Services Award Number/Year NA/2025 Criteria HSI is responsible for keeping adequate supporting documentation of salaries and wage expense charged to federally funded grants. Required documentation includes personnel activity reports, electronic or manual time sheets, pay records integrated with grant codes, certification statements, budget-to-actual reconciliations, and activity descriptions and reports. Condition For AL No. 93.959, Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse, a sample of twenty-one (21) payroll transactions were tested for Activities Allowed or Unallowed and Allowable Costs/Cost Principles. During the testing of payroll transactions, we noted that while HSI does maintain nearly all of the required documentation such as personnel activity reports, pay records integrated with grant codes, activity descriptions and reports; it does not maintain electronic or manual time sheets or time records which precludes it from performing budget-to-actual reconciliations of time records to adjust its allocations of salaries and wages expense charged to grants from those based on budgeted expenses to those based on actual expenses. Repeat Finding: Yes, see finding 2024-003 in the summary schedule of prior audit findings.Finding 2025-003 Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Allowable Costs/ Cost Principles (continued) Cause HSI financial personnel relied on their prior auditor’s determination that it was in compliance with documentation requirements for salaries and wages expense used for determining and validating its allocations of salaries and wages expense to grants. However, it appears that the advice upon which management relied was incorrect, thus they did not know that they were not in compliance with the requirement for maintaining timesheets or time records and performing budget-to-actual reconciliations of salaries and wages for the purpose of adjusting its allocations from those based on budgeted salaries and wages expense to actual salaries and wage expense. Effect The effect is that internal controls over compliance with time and effort documentation requirements were weakened which could result in disallowed costs if supporting documentation cannot be provided. Questioned Costs We were not able to determine questioned costs since time and effort reports were not available for us to compare salaries and wages expense allocated to grants based on budgeted amounts to salaries and wages expense allocated to grants based on actual amounts. Finding 2025-004 Noncompliance with Federal and State Financial Reporting Requirements Criteria Uniform Guidance stipulates that entities required to complete a single audit must submit a Data Collection Form, schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) and single audit reports to the Federal Audit Clearinghouse within the earlier of thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of the auditor’s report or nine (9) months after the end of the audit period. Additionally, the Illinois Grant Accountability and Transparency Act (GATA) stipulates that entities required to complete a single audit who received a grant from a State of Illinois agency must submit financial statements audited in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, SEFA, Consolidated Year-End Financial Report (CYEFR), and certain other required documents to the State of Illinois GATA portal. This submission is also due within the earlier of thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of the auditor’s report or nine (9) months after the end of the audit period.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding 2025-003 Material Weakness in Internal Control Over Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Criteria HSI is responsible for keeping adequate supporting documentation of salaries and wage expense charged to federally funded grants. Required documentation includes personnel activity reports, electronic or manual time sheets, pay records integrated with grant codes, certification statements, budget-to-actual reconciliations, and activity descriptions and reports. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions Management agrees with the auditor’s finding and will implement the auditor’s recommendation. Person responsible: Jason House Anticipated date of implementation: June 2026

Categories

Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1216473 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216474 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216475 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216476 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216477 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216478 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216479 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216480 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216481 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216482 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216483 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216484 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216485 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216486 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1216488 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
93.958 BLOCK GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES $424,272
93.982 MENTAL HEALTH DISASTER ASSISTANCE AND EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH $277,059
93.958 BLOCK GRANTS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE $193,072
93.959 BLOCK GRANTS FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE $181,487