Finding 2025-004 – Various Federal Programs: Cash Management – Excess Federal Cash, Untimely Reconciliations (Material Weakness): Information on the federal program – Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), (Title III), FAL No. 84.031B, June 30, 2025; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) (FUTURE ACT), FAL No. 84.031E, June 30, 2025; Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program (MSEIP), FAL No. 84.120A, June 30, 2025; Science Consortium of Minority Schools, FAL No. 84.120A, June 30, 2025; Empowerment of Undergraduate STEM Majors through Scholarships and Strengthening STEM Identity, FAL No. 47.076, June 30, 2025; Tennessee Louis Stokes (TSLAMP), FAL No. 47.076, June 30, 2025. Criteria – 2 CFR §200.303 requires non-Federal entities to establish and maintain effective internal control over federal awards. 2 CFR §200.305(b) requires that payments be limited to the minimum amounts needed and timed to be in accordance with the actual, immediate cash requirements of the non-Federal entity. 2 CFR §200.308 requires that expenditures remain within approved budget limits unless prior approvals are obtained. Condition – At June 30, 2025, the College maintained excess federal cash balances across multiple federal programs, indicating that cash drawdowns and/or payable balances were not aligned with immediate cash needs for allowable program expenditures. These balances represented federal funds drawn or recorded as payable to federal agencies that were not supported by actual and immediate allowable program expenditures at year-end. The following table summarizes excess federal cash balances identified by program as of June 30, 2025: "Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program" 120,031 "Science Consortium of Minority Schools" 169,907 "NSF - Empowerment of Undergraduate STEM Majors" 94,801 "NSF - Tennessee Louis Stokes TSLAMP" 54,834 "Title 111" 455,679 "FUTURE" 188,215 "Total Identified Excess Cash" "$ 1,083,467" Condition – (Continued) The College did not adequately reconcile federal cash activity to underlying grant expenditures on a timely basis and did not ensure that drawdowns were limited to amounts necessary to meet immediate cash needs. In addition, the College lacked effective monitoring controls to identify and resolve excess cash positions across federal programs in a timely manner. Federal bank reconciliations were untimely and error-prone. Corrections occurred only after auditor inquiry. Federal accounts also earned excess interest. Cause – The College lacked sufficient policies, procedures, and supervisory review controls to ensure that federal cash drawdowns were based on actual expenditures, that federal cash and grant reconciliations were prepared timely and accurately. Additionally, monitoring controls over cash balances, interest tracking and remittance were not effectively designed or implemented across federal programs. Effect – The lack of effective controls over federal cash management resulted in excess cash being maintained beyond immediate program needs. These conditions increase the risk of noncompliance with federal requirements, including potential return of excess cash or disallowed costs, and increase the risk of material misstatement of federal expenditures and cash balances. Questioned Costs – $1,083,467 Repeat Finding – No Auditor’s Perspective – From a compliance perspective, maintaining excess federal cash balances indicates that the College’s internal control over compliance did not operate effectively during the audit period. The condition demonstrates that drawdowns were not consistently based on actual incurred costs and that monitoring over federal cash was not functioning as designed. Given the pervasiveness of these conditions across multiple programs, this represents a systemic control deficiency. In accordance with 2 CFR §200.303 and auditing standards, this condition constitutes a material weakness in internal control over compliance. Auditor’s Recommendation – We recommend that the College strengthen controls over federal cash management and budget monitoring by implementing procedures to ensure that drawdowns are based on actual allowable expenditures and limited to immediate cash needs. Management should establish and enforce timely grant and federal bank reconciliation processes, monitor interest earnings and federal cash balances, and implement supervisory review controls to ensure compliance with federal requirements across all programs. Views of Responsible Officials – The College requests drawdowns for Title III and FUTURE programs on a reimbursable basis, including review and approval procedures. Of the total amount identified for the Title III program, a $181,433 receivable related to FY2025. The balance related to prior year(s) activity. The College will review its Federal program cost allocation procedures to ensure all eligible costs are properly identified and supported. The College has engaged two accounting firms to assist with staff training and bring all reconciliations current. In addition, standard month-end and year-end closing procedures will be implemented to address timely, accurate Federal program reconciliations and audit readiness going forward. The College experienced significant staff turnover within the business office. In addition, the College is undergoing conversion to a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which affected its ability to complete some functions within a timely manner.