Finding 29173 (2022-001)

Material Weakness
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2023-03-15
Audit: 29737
Organization: Triton School Corporation (IN)
Auditor: Crowe LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The School Corporation lacks an effective internal control system for managing federal funds, risking noncompliance with grant agreements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 2 CFR section 200.303, which mandates effective internal controls over federal awards.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement a formal, documented review process for claims before submission to ensure accuracy and compliance.

Finding Text

FINDING 2022-001 Information on the federal program: Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster - Internal Controls Federal Agency: Department of Agriculture Federal Program: School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program Assistance Listing Number: 10.553, 10.555 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Reporting Audit Finding: Material Weakness Criteria: 2 CFR section 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal awards in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." Condition: An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the reporting compliance requirement. Cause: The School Corporation's management had not developed a system of internal controls to ensure compliance with the reporting requirements. Effect: The failure to establish an effective internal control system placed the School Corporation at risk of noncompliance with the grant agreement and the compliance requirements. A lack of segregation of duties within an internal control system could have also allowed noncompliance with the compliance requirements and allowed the misuse and mismanagement of federal funds and assets by not having proper oversight, reviews, and approvals over the activities of the programs. Questioned Costs: There were no questioned costs identified. Context: We noted that for four sponsor claim reimbursements in a sample of four claims, the Food Service Director prepared the sponsor claim reimbursement summary without a secondary, documented review before the submission of the claim to ensure the accuracy of the sponsor claim reimbursement summary. Identification as a repeat finding, if applicable: No. Recommendation: We recommended that the School Corporation implement a documented, formal review of the claims before they are submitted for reimbursement. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: For the views of the responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.

Corrective Action Plan

CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN OF CURRENT AUDIT FINDINGS June 30, 2022 Finding 2022-001 ? Child Nutrition Cluster ? Reporting Contact Person Responsible for Corrective Action: Thomas McFarland Contact Phone Number: 574-342-2255 Views of Responsible Official: We do not concur with the finding. Description of Corrective Action Plan: While the claim does not have a second signature indicating review before submission, the procedures that Triton follows, which include segregation of duties, justify that someone else reviewed the data, before submission. The data is compiled by the building secretary and submitted to the Business Manager. The Business Manager reviews the claim and logs into the online submission website with a secure user name and password to enter the data. While we believe that the secure user name and password is just as much proof as a signature that the data has been reviewed, we will begin having the document signed by a second person in order to satisfy this requirement Anticipated Completion Date: 3/15/23

Categories

School Nutrition Programs Internal Control / Segregation of Duties Cash Management Material Weakness Reporting Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 29174 2022-001
    Material Weakness
  • 29175 2022-001
    Material Weakness
  • 605615 2022-001
    Material Weakness
  • 605616 2022-001
    Material Weakness
  • 605617 2022-001
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
84.425 Covid-19 - Education Stabilization Fund $541,181
10.553 School Breakfast Program $204,725
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $127,370
10.555 National School Lunch Program $108,685
93.778 Medical Assistance Program $70,200
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $62,206
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $27,411
84.367 Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants $23,780
84.173 Special Education_preschool Grants $8,822
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $3,843
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $3,326
10.649 Covid-19 - Pandemic Ebt Administrative Costs $614