Finding 1228301 (2025-005)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
C
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2025
Accepted
2026-08-28

AI Summary

  • Issue: The College kept interest earnings over $500 in their federal bank account, violating 34 CFR 668.163 (c)(3).
  • Impact: This is a repeat finding from the previous year, indicating ongoing noncompliance with Cash Management requirements.
  • Follow-up: The College should return $265 to the Department and implement a review process to prevent future occurrences.

Finding Text

Criteria: 34 CFR 668.163 (c)(3) notes, “An Institution may keep the initial $500 in interest it earns during the award year on the other title IV, HEA program funds it maintains in accordance with paragraph (c)(1) of this section. No later than 30 days after the end of that award year, the institution must remit to the Department of Health and Human Services, Payment Management System, Rockville, MD 20852, any interest over $500.” Condition: The College retained interest earnings in excess of $500 in their federal bank account during fiscal year 2025. We consider this condition to be an instance of noncompliance relating to the Cash Management compliance requirement. This finding is repeated from the prior year at 2024-009. Questioned Costs: $265 Cause and Effect: Without proper review of their federal bank account interest greater than $500 may be retained. Recommendation: We recommend the College return $265 to the Department. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this Single Audit Finding and response is included in the Corrective Action Plan. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with this Single Audit Finding and response is included in the Corrective Action Plan.

Corrective Action Plan

Condition: The College retained interest earnings in excess of $500 in its federal bank account during fiscal year 2025. This represents noncompliance with Cash Management requirements and is a repeat finding (2024-009). Corrective Action Plan The institution has strengthened internal controls, monitoring, and procedures to ensure compliance with federal cash management requirements and to prevent recurrence in future audit periods. The institution has revised its cash management procedures to ensure timely identification and return of excess interest earnings. • To prevent recurrence, the institution will maintain a lower balance in the federal funds account to minimize interest accrual. • Any interest exceeding $500 at fiscal year-end will be returned promptly in accordance with federal requirements. • Processes now include calculating interest earned on a routine basis and confirming compliance with the $500 threshold prior to fiscal year-end. Staff Training Staff responsible for federal funds management have been retrained on cash management requirements under 34 CFR 668.163, including thresholds for retained interest and required timelines for returning excess funds. System and Manual Checks The Business Office has implemented manual tracking of interest earned on federal funds accounts. A year-end reconciliation process has been enhanced to verify that any interest exceeding $500 is identified and returned within required timeframes. Monitoring and Compliance Ongoing monitoring includes: • Periodic review of bank account balances and interest accrual • Record of interest calculation for FY2025 • Bank statements supporting interest earned • Internal reconciliation and review documentation Responsible Person for Correction Action Plan: Deana Rogers, Vice President of Administration & Finance Implementation Date for Corrective Action Plan: Immediate and ongoing

Categories

Student Financial Aid Cash Management

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 1228282 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228283 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228284 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228285 2025-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228286 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228287 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228288 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228289 2025-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228290 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228291 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228292 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228293 2025-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228294 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228295 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228296 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228297 2025-005
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228298 2025-002
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228299 2025-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 1228300 2025-004
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 FEDERAL DIRECT STUDENT LOANS $2.46M
84.063 FEDERAL PELL GRANT PROGRAM $1.46M
84.033 FEDERAL WORK-STUDY PROGRAM $901,487
84.007 FEDERAL SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS $28,762
84.379 TEACHER EDUCATION ASSISTANCE FOR COLLEGE AND HIGHER EDUCATION GRANTS (TEACH GRANTS) $16,000