Finding Text
Finding Number: 2024-010 Assistance Listing Number and Title: AL # 84.425 Education Stabilization Fund Federal Award Identification Number / Year: 2024 Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Reporting Pass-Through Entity: Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Repeat Finding from Prior Audit? Yes Prior Audit Finding Number: 2023-010 Noncompliance and Material Weakness- Final Expenditure Reporting 2 CFR § 3474.1 gives regulatory effect to the Department of Education for 2 CFR § 200.328 which provides the Federal awarding agency may solicit only the standard, OMB-approved government wide data elements for collection of financial information. This information must be collected with the frequency required by the terms and conditions of the Federal award, but no less frequently than annually nor more frequently than quarterly except in unusual circumstances, for example where more frequent reporting is necessary for the effective monitoring of the Federal award or could significantly affect program outcomes, and preferably in coordination with performance reporting. The Ohio Department of Education Grants Manual requires, at the end of the grant period, that entities submit a final expenditure report (FER). A FER must be submitted to show how grant funds were expended during the grant period. The amounts by object code submitted by the District in the Final Expenditure Report for the American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER, AL # 84.425U), grant year 2024, varied from the underlying system data. Expenditures on the Final Expenditure report, object code 500 were under-reported $9,080, and object code 600 were under-reported $29,346. This variance was due to improper monitoring. The failure to properly report expenditures to the grantor can result in corrective action taken by the grantor and obfuscates the true nature of the grant’s use. The Treasurer should review the annual Final Expenditure Reports and verify the correct information is provided to the grantor. This information should be reconciled to the underlying system reports. Material Weakness and Noncompliance documented in Federal Finding 2024-008 in Section 3 above pertaining to ESSER funding contributed to the reporting error.