Finding 1224886 (2025-001)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
P
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-07-29
Audit: 408113
Organization: City of Lawrence, Kansas (KS)
Auditor: RSM US LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The City inaccurately reported federal expenditures on the 2025 SEFA, including costs from prior years, leading to a misrepresentation of $32,815.
  • Impacted Requirements: The SEFA must align with financial statements and report expenditures on an accrual basis, which was not followed.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement procedures for accurate cut-off reporting and conduct detailed reconciliations between the general ledger and reported expenditures.

Finding Text

2025-001: Significant Deficiency and Noncompliance: Cut-off Errors in Preparing the SEFA U.S. Department of Transportation Airport Improvement Program, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Programs, and COVID-19 Airports Programs Federal Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 20.106 Federal Award Years: 2023-2025 Criteria: The schedule of expenditures of federal awards (“SEFA”) is required to be prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements. Expenditures of federal awards are to be reported on the accrual basis of accounting and should be reported on the SEFA when incurred. Condition: The City reported expenditures on the fiscal year 2025 SEFA that were incurred in other fiscal years. For two grants that were closed out and finalized during fiscal year 2025, the City included certain expenditures incurred prior to January 1, 2025 on its 2025 SEFA, representing adjustments of amounts previously reported on the 2023 and 2024 SEFAs to account for the finalized grant numbers. The adjustment amounts on the 2025 SEFA for these two grants do not represent any actual expenditures incurred in 2025. Therefore, they were not reported on the SEFA in a manner consistent with the fiscal year in which they were recognized as expenditures in the financial statements. This resulted in a net effect of $32,815 of allowable costs reported on the fiscal year 2025 SEFA which were incurred in previous fiscal years. Cause: There was an inadequate review of the allocation of the invoices related to the grants to ensure that the proper amounts were disclosed in the 2023 and 2024 SEFAs, therefore requiring a correction on the 2025 SEFA. Effect or potential effect: Inaccurate reporting of expenses can result in actions taken by oversight agencies, which could impact future funding. Inaccurate reporting could also result in material misstatements of the SEFA, the improper identification of major programs for audit, or unallowable costs reported in error. Questioned costs: None. Context: The City reported an adjustment of $47,216 for the Airport Improvement Program - Reconstruct T-Hangar Taxilanes grant to recognize additional expenses that were not previously reported on the 2023 and 2024 SEFAs. The City reported a negative adjustment of $14,401 for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) to reduce the expenses previously reported on the 2023 and 2024 SEFAs for this grant. Identification as a repeat finding, if applicable: Not a repeat finding. Recommendation: We recommend the City implement procedures to ensure proper cut-off is achieved in reporting expenditures on the SEFA, and that a detailed reconciliation is performed between the general ledger and expenditures reported to the granting agency. Views of responsible officials: Management agrees with the finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Finding 2025-001: Significant Deficiency and Noncompliance: Cut-off Errors in Preparing the SEFA Finding: The City’s reported expenditures on the fiscal year 2025 SEFA that were incurred in other fiscal years. For two grants that were closed out and finalized during fiscal year 2025, the City included certain expenditures incurred prior to January 1, 2025, on its 2025 SEFA, representing adjustment of amounts previously reported on the 2023 and 2024 SEFA to account for the finalized grant numbers. The adjustment amounts on the 2025 SEFA for these two grants do represent any actual expenditures incurred in 2025. Therefore, they were not reported on the SEFA in a manner consistent with the fiscal year in which they were recognized as expenditures in the financial statements. This resulted in a net effect of $32,815 of allowable costs reported on the fiscal year 2025 SEFA which were incurred in previous fiscal years. Corrective Actions Taken or Planned: The City has reviewed the circumstances noted in Finding 2025‑001 regarding the reporting of expenditures on the fiscal year 2025 SEFA for two federal airport grants that had already been closed and finalized. These grants required no additional programmatic or financial activity in fiscal year 2025, and the amounts appearing on the 2025 SEFA represented adjustments of expenditures originally recognized and reported in prior fiscal years. Because the grants are fully closed, no further corrective actions are required related to these specific awards beyond the correction already noted in the audit finding. To strengthen controls and ensure accurate reporting periods for all future federal airport grants, the City will implement a dual review process for annual grant expenditure reporting. Both the Airport Manager, MSO Management Analyst and the Finance Grant Accountant will independently review and validate the recording period for all federally funded airport grant expenditures prior to SEFA preparation. This additional verification step will help ensure proper cut off, alignment with the period of recognition in the financial statements, and continued compliance with federal reporting requirements. Contact Person: Shaun Cookson, Rachelle Mathews Anticipated Completion Date: To be completed by December 31st, 2026

Categories

Reporting Allowable Costs / Cost Principles

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1224887 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1224888 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
20.507 FEDERAL TRANSIT FORMULA GRANTS $4.54M
14.218 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS/ENTITLEMENT GRANTS $1.40M
20.106 AIRPORT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND JOBS ACT PROGRAMS, AND COVID-19 AIRPORTS PROGRAMS $988,467
14.239 HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM $393,368
20.507 COVID-19 FEDERAL TRANSIT FORMULA GRANTS $212,322
14.218 COVID-19 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS/ENTITLEMENT GRANTS $127,903
20.939 SAFE STREETS AND ROADS FOR ALL $59,219
97.044 ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANT $58,050
16.710 PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERSHIP AND COMMUNITY POLICING GRANTS $53,296
20.505 METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING AND STATE AND NON-METROPOLITAN PLANNING AND RESEARCH $49,600
21.027 COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $38,425
20.526 BUSES AND BUS FACILITIES FORMULA, COMPETITIVE, AND LOW OR NO EMISSIONS PROGRAMS $30,837
16.738 EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM $30,543
20.205 HIGHWAY PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION $23,218
14.231 EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT PROGRAM $17,037
14.401 FAIR HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM $11,908
20.616 NATIONAL PRIORITY SAFETY PROGRAMS $11,042
20.600 STATE AND COMMUNITY HIGHWAY SAFETY $5,768
20.531 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT $1,000