Finding 1225546 (2024-004)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
P
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2024
Accepted
2026-08-03
Audit: 408441
Organization: The Simple Foundation (NE)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) was inaccurately prepared, leading to incomplete reporting of federal expenditures.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 2 CFR §200.510 was compromised, risking noncompliance and misinformed decisions based on the SEFA.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Strengthen internal controls for SEFA preparation, including reconciliation procedures and training for accounting staff on accurate reporting.

Finding Text

Criteria: Under 2 CFR §200.510 — Audit requirements for non-Federal entities, entities are required to prepare a SEFA that accurately reflects federal expenditures for the year. Accurate SEFA reporting is critical for compliance testing, federal monitoring, and the Single Audit process. Condition: During audit procedures, it was identified that the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) originally prepared by the entity did not accurately reflect total federal program expenditures. The misstatement was discovered when auditors reconciled the entity’s deferred revenue balances to restricted cash balances, which indicated that reported expenditures were incomplete. The SEFA was subsequently revised by management to reflect the proper total federal expenditures. Cause: The entity did not have adequate internal controls over accounting records and SEFA preparation, resulting in incomplete and inaccurate reporting of federal expenditures. Effect: The original SEFA submitted with the audit was materially misstated, which could have led to noncompliance reporting and misinformed decisionmaking by users of the SEFA. The misstatement required audit intervention and SEFA revision to ensure accurate federal reporting. Recommendation: The entity should strengthen internal controls over SEFA preparation to ensure that all federal program expenditures are accurately recorded and reported. This includes implementing procedures to reconcile expenditures from the general ledger, deferred revenue, and supporting documentation before SEFA submission, as well as providing training to accounting personnel on SEFA preparation requirements and proper identification of federal awards and expenditures. Foundation Response: Management agrees with the finding.

Corrective Action Plan

The following corrective action plan is the same plan implemented in response to Finding 2024-002, as both findings arise from the same underlying SEFA completeness issue: 1. Beginning with the fiscal year 2025 SEFA, the Foundation will compile the SEFA, and provide supporting documentation to the auditors, directly from experts of its grant financial reporting system (Airtable, mirroring DED's Euna/Amplifund system) reflecting all submitted grant-marked expenditures, approved and pending, rather than from Aplos records marked as DED-approved with an adjusted fund source. Target: September 30, 2026. 2. Develop and document a formal SEFA preparation checklist that reconciles federal expenditures from the general ledger, the grant reporting system (Amplifund/Euna) export, the deferred revenue schedule, and cash receipts prior to submission to auditors. Target: September 30, 2026. 3. Designate the Finance Director as the primary reviewer of the SEFA, with a mandatory pre-submission reconcilitation sign-off process. Target: September 30, 2026. 4. Provide targeted training to finance staff on Single Audit requirements, ARPA SLFRF cost-reimbursement grant accounting under 2 CFR Part 200, and SEFA prepataion using the grant reporting system of record. Target: August 31, 2026. 5. Engage the Foundation's auditors for a pre-audit SEFA review consultation in advance of the fiscal year 2025 audit to validate the revised approach.

Categories

Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1225547 2024-005
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 CORONAVIRUS STATE AND LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS $1.97M