Finding Text
FA 2025-003 Strengthen Controls over Cash Management Compliance Requirement: Cash Management Internal Control Impact: Material Weakness Compliance Impact: Material Noncompliance Federal Awarding Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Entity: Georgia Department of Education AL Number and Title: COVID-19 – 84.425U – American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Federal Award Numbers: S425U210012 (Year: 2024) Questioned Costs: $52,211 Description: The School District made cash drawdowns in excess of the immediate cash needs of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund program. Background Information: The School District may request Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program funds from the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) once per month. GaDOE requires the School District to submit DE- 0147 – Requests for Reimbursement of Monthly Cash Disbursements through the Grants Accounting Online Reporting System to receive program funds. When a DE-0147 request is submitted and approved, the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program funds are typically disbursed to the School District through an electronic payment process the next week. Criteria: As a recipient of federal awards, the School District is required to establish, document, and maintain effective internal control over federal awards that provides reasonable assurance of managing the federal awards in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the federal awards pursuant to Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), Section 200.303 – Internal Controls. Additionally, provisions included in the Uniform Guidance Section 200.305(b) state, “For recipients and subrecipients other than States, payment methods must minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of funds from the Federal agency or the pass-through entity and the disbursement by the recipient or subrecipient…” In addition, the Uniform Guidance Section 200.302(b)(6) requires that the entity develop written cash management procedures. Condition: A review of all cash drawdowns and disbursements related to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program was performed to determine if any excessive cash balances were maintained during the fiscal year under review. Excessive cash balances at fiscal year-end totaled $52,211. Questioned Costs: Questioned costs of $52,211 were identified for cash drawdowns in excess of reimbursable expenditures. Cause: Excess cash drawdowns resulted from failure to follow established procedures and claiming expenditures on completion reports that were not based on actual general ledger expenditures. Effect: The School District was not in compliance with the Uniform Guidance and GaDOE guidance. In addition, the School District could potentially accrue an interest liability that would be owed back to the federal government. Furthermore, when the School District cannot meet the requirement to minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of funds and disbursement of those funds, provisions included in the Uniform Guidance allow GaDOE to change the method by which the School District is transferred funds and delay the School District’s receipt of these funds. This may include requirement by GaDOE to submit invoices prior to being reimbursed for program expenditures. Recommendation: The School District should follow established procedures to accurately forecast the cash needs of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief program and minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of funds from GaDOE and the disbursement of such funds by the School District. In addition, these procedures should be documented in writing in accordance with the Uniform Guidance. Furthermore, management should develop and implement a monitoring process to ensure that these procedures are followed. Views of Responsible Officials: We concur with this finding.