Finding 19868 (2022-003)

Significant Deficiency
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-09-28

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Incomplete records for USDA-donated foods were found, with missing order sheets and signatures for several distributions.
  • Impacted Requirements: Agencies must keep accurate records of receipt and distribution as per 7 CFR section 250.3.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The Food Bank should enhance training for new staff on documentation policies and procedures to ensure compliance.

Finding Text

2022-003) Accountability for USDA-Donated Foods Assistance Listing Numbers Name of Federal Program or Cluster 10.568 and 10.569 Food Distribution Cluster: Emergency Food Assistance Program Questioned Costs: N/A Criteria: As noted in the compliance supplement, Distributing and subdistributing agencies (as defined at 7 CFR section 250.3) must maintain accurate and complete records with respect to the receipt, distribution, and inventory of USDA-donated foods including end products processed from donated foods. Universe/ Population Size: USDA-donated foods receipts and disbursements inventory system reports for the period January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022 Sample size: A sample of 20 receipts and 20 distributions were haphazardly selected for testing. This sample is not a statistically valid sample. Condition: As part of our testing of controls and compliance over the accountability for USDA-donated foods we noted the following: ? The order sheet utilized to record items distributed was not maintained by the Food Bank or the receiving agency evidencing the agencies acknowledgement of receipt of goods for two of the distributions selected. ? The order sheet utilized to record items distributed was not signed by the receiving agency evidencing the agencies acknowledgement of receipt of goods for three of the distributions selected for testing. Cause: The Food Bank experienced staffing turnover in the inventory warehouse which resulted in policies and procedures for order sheets not being consistently followed.Effect: Evidence of supporting documentation for the receipts and distribution of USDA-donated foods, including end products processed from donated food, was not available Recommendation: The Food Bank should continue to train new employees on the policies, procedures, and related controls over maintaining supporting documentation for receipts and distributions of USDA-donated foods. Management response: Management agrees with the finding

Corrective Action Plan

September 26, 2023 Postlethwaite and Netterville Findings and Questioned Costs -2022-001 - Accounting and Financial Reporting View of Responsible Official: CFO Corrective action plan: The accounting team will take the necessary actions and implement policies to address the deficiencies presented. Account reconciliations will be the responsibility of the Sr. Accountant and review/approval by the CFO. There will also be an inventory roll forward review each month in collaboration with the Operations team. The objectives of the Finance Department are two-fold: 1. To prepare accurate financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and distribute them in a timely and cost-effective manner. 2. To provide adequate financial information to aid management in decision-making. A monthly set of financial statements shall be prepared, usually by the 15th business day of the subsequent month. Findings and Questioned Costs -2022-002 Non-Compliance with State Audit Law View of Responsible Official: CFO Corrective action plan: The accounting team will establish hard deadlines for completion of items for audits going forward. The CFO shall document, in detail, any obstacles that may occur to account for any delays. This tracking will allow for an ample amount of time to address any issues. ? Planning ? The CFO is responsible for delegating the assignments and responsibilities to accounting staff in preparation for the audit. Assignments shall be based on the historical list of requested schedules and information maintained by the finance department. ? Involvement ? Finance department staff will do as much work as possible to assist the auditors. ? Interim Procedures ? By performing significant portions of audit work as of an interim date, the work required after year-end is reduced. The finance department staff will provide requested schedules and documents and otherwise assist the auditors during any interim audit fieldwork that is performed. ? Streamlined Processes ? The organization implemented a new warehouse management system in Q4 2022 in order to streamline reporting that required manual calculations that routinely pushed the organization?s timelines behind schedule. Example: No longer will the CFO have to manually value each item in inventory by hand via spreadsheets. Throughout the audit process, it shall be the policy of the Organization to make every effort to provide schedules, documents and information requested by the auditors in a timely manner. FEDERAL PROGRAM: Findings and Questioned Costs -2023-003 ? Accountability for USDA-Donated Foods View of Responsible Official: COO/CFO Corrective action plan: The organization implemented a new warehouse management system fully integrated with financials in Q4 2022 to resolve these known weaknesses. These new procedures will account for all documentation issues as the new system allows for ease of storage via electronic logs and filing. Retraining will be held annually to ensure all are fully trained in the expectations of best practices regarding documentation. It will be the responsibility of the logistics team to collect and file all pertinent documentation regarding distributions and receipts, this will be monitored and reported on monthly by the Sr. Logistics Manager and any discrepancies reported, documented, and corrected by the COO.

Categories

HUD Housing Programs Equipment & Real Property Management

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 19869 2022-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 596310 2022-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 596311 2022-003
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.569 Emergency Food Assistance Program (food Commodities) $6.02M
10.568 Emergency Food Assistance Program (administrative Costs) $871,561
97.024 Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program $115,823
10.561 State Administrative Matching Grants for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program $11,013