Finding 2373 (2020-012)

Material Weakness
Requirement
N
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2021
Accepted
2023-11-26
Audit: 4064
Organization: Concordia College (NY)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The FISAP report was submitted late and contained inaccuracies, with no review conducted before submission.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with reporting deadlines and accuracy standards for federal financial aid programs.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Ensure timely submissions and implement a review process for all reports to verify accuracy before submission.

Finding Text

2020-012 Special Reporting FALN Number: 84.007 Program or Cluster Name: Federal Work-Study Program / Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (Student Financial Assistance Cluster) Agency: U.S. Department of Education Condition: The FISAP report for the 2019-2020 award year and the application for the 2021-2022 award year was submitted online by November 2, 2020, however the signature was not submitted until February 25, 2021. In addition, we noted multiple inaccuracies in the data reported on the initial FISAP report. Per inquiry of the Director of Financial Aid, corrections were made, however the corrected FISAP report was not provided, therefore we were unable to determine if the corrected FISAP was completed accurately. In addition, per inquiry of the Director of Financial Aid, there was no subsequent review of the FISAP report prior to the initial or revised submission. Status: During and leading up to the closure of the College there was a significant amount of transactions being recorded while the finance function was being transitioned to outside consultants. This led to review processes regarding financial compliance and reporting not functioning. In addition, with the closure of the College, management lost access to various software and reporting systems. Maintenance of proper records in paper form were not kept by management nor was the data downloaded from the software prior to access being disabled. As such, the correction of the finding could not be verified. See current year finding 2021-002.

Corrective Action Plan

Management’s Response: Concordia College ceased academic operations in August 2021 and is in the process of winding down its operations and completing its remaining compliance requirements. Subsequent to the announcement of the closure of the College and following the ceasing of academic operations, virtually all employees left their employ with the College. The significant turnover in personnel, transition to outside consultants, and preparing proper teach out and transition plans for remaining students was a much larger focus than compliance requirements, which led to additional time lapsing between the prior year when findings were discovered to the current report being sent out. Additionally, due to the shutdown of Banner and the time taken to complete the audit, it is difficult for the College to obtain historical student and financial information pertaining to the period under audit.

Categories

Student Financial Aid Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 2362 2021-002
    Material Weakness
  • 2363 2020-002
    Material Weakness
  • 2364 2020-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 2365 2020-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 2366 2020-005
    Material Weakness
  • 2367 2020-006
    Significant Deficiency
  • 2368 2020-007
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 2369 2020-008
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 2370 2020-009
    Significant Deficiency
  • 2371 2020-010
    Material Weakness
  • 2372 2020-011
    Material Weakness
  • 2374 2020-013
    Material Weakness
  • 578804 2021-002
    Material Weakness
  • 578805 2020-002
    Material Weakness
  • 578806 2020-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 578807 2020-004
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 578808 2020-005
    Material Weakness
  • 578809 2020-006
    Significant Deficiency
  • 578810 2020-007
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 578811 2020-008
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 578812 2020-009
    Significant Deficiency
  • 578813 2020-010
    Material Weakness
  • 578814 2020-011
    Material Weakness
  • 578815 2020-012
    Material Weakness
  • 578816 2020-013
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.268 Federal Direct Student Loans $7.06M
84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program $1.52M
84.007 Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants $40,768
84.379 Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grants (teach Grants) $33,031