Finding 22011 (2022-001)

Material Weakness
Requirement
B
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-02-22

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Salaries for 22 employees charged to the Title I Grant Fund lack necessary time and effort documentation, totaling $335,270 in questioned costs.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 2 CFR 200.430 and District Policy 6116 is essential for justifying compensation costs and ensuring accurate reporting.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a system to ensure all employees maintain proper documentation for time spent on federal grants, including timesheets or semi-annual certifications.

Finding Text

2 CFR ? 3474.1 gives regulatory effect to the Office of Management and Budget Guidance in 2 CFR part 200, adopted by the Department of Education. 2 CFR ? 200.430 states, in part, that costs of compensation are allowable to the extent that they satisfy the specific requirements of this part, and that the total compensation for individual employees is reasonable for the services rendered and conforms to the established written policy of the non-federal entity consistently applied to both Federal and non-Federal activities. In addition, charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed. These records must be supported by a system of internal control which provides reasonable assurance that the charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated; be incorporated into the official records of the non-Federal entity; and reasonably reflect the total activity for which the employee is compensated by the non-Federal entity. District Policy 6116 for Time and Effort Reporting indicates the reports should support the distribution of the employee?s salary or wages among specific activities or cost objectives if the employee works on more than one federal award, a Federal award and non-Federal award, an indirect and direct cost activity, two or more indirect activities which are allocated using different allocation bases, or an unallowable activity and a direct or indirect cost activity. The payroll office is responsible for the distribution, collection, and retention of all employee time and effort reports. The salaries for 22/22 employees tested were charged to the Title I Grant Fund without any time and effort documentation maintained to support the amount of time worked on the grant. Therefore, we consider the salaries and related benefits for these employees in the amount of $335,270 to be a questioned cost. Failure to maintain the appropriate time and effort documentation could lead to future questioned costs, reduced future federal funding, and the requirement to repay the Ohio Department of Education. The District should ensure all employees charging salaries and benefits to federal grants maintain the appropriate documentation supporting the time spent on the grant, in accordance with District Policy 6116 ? Time and Effort Reporting. Appropriate supporting documentation could include semi-annual certifications for employees working solely on a single cost objective or timesheets when an employee works on multiple activities.

Corrective Action Plan

The District will implement internal controls to monitor and ensure that the appropriate time and effort documentation of those employees paid in whole or in part with federal funds is on file to support the amount of time an employee works on a federal program. Compliance will be achieved by: 1)Develop a set of internal controls for time and effort documentation which provides reasonable assurance that charges are accurate, allowable, and allocable. (CFO/Treasurer) 2)Require time and effort documentation be filed in a timely manner with the CFO/Treasurer and maintained for records. (CFO/Treasurer ? Superintendent ? Direct Supervisor) 3)Require Direct Supervisor of employees to maintain time and effort documentation in accordance with District policies and procedures, as well as federal laws and guidelines. (Direct Supervisor) 4)Periodically monitor time and effort documentation in relationship to the percentage of time the employee spends on a federal program vs. non-federal. (CFO/Treasurer ? Superintendent - Direct Supervisor)

Categories

Questioned Costs Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 598453 2022-001
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $424,607
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $239,715
32.009 Emergency Connectivity Fund Program $232,024
10.553 School Breakfast Program $128,557
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $49,060
84.367 Improving Teacher Quality State Grants $34,316
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $24,765
10.555 National School Lunch Program $19,168
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $1,855
10.649 Pandemic Ebt Administrative Costs $614