Finding 382635 (2023-003)

Material Weakness
Requirement
ABCEGL
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-03-20

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Weak internal controls and lack of segregation of duties led to misstatements and errors in financial reporting for the DOL H-1B program.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with activities allowed, allowable costs, cash management, eligibility, and reporting was compromised.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Enhance oversight and segregation of duties to strengthen internal controls and prevent future compliance issues.

Finding Text

#2023-003 FINDING: Compliance Controls Federal Program Affected: DOL H-1B, Assistance Listing #17.286. Compliance Requirement: Activities Allowed or Unallowed, Allowable Costs/Cost Principles, Cash Management, Eligibility, Earmarking, Reporting. Questioned Costs: None. Condition and Cause: During compliance testing, we noted there was an overall lack of segregation of duties and weaknesses in internal controls related to compliance. Criteria and Effect: The following internal control deficiencies resulted in misstatements to the financial statements and several classification errors were not prevented or detected by your Organization’s internal control system. 1. There is no formal approval of bank charges related to the DOL program. The Executive Director receives invoices and remits payment with no subsequent formal review. 2. We noted 23 federal expenditures out of 60 selected for testing did not have executive director coding or approval to indicate the expenditure was allowable. 3. The Executive Director prepares and submits the Payment Management System grant reimbursement requests with no additional review prior to submission. 4. The Executive Director prepares, uploads, and certifies the grant financial reports. One of six grant reports tested was filed one day late. 5. Federal grant expenditures were not charged consistently to general ledger accounts. The lack of consistency makes tracking expenditures difficult for federal grant budget categories and for financial statement natural classification. Adjustments were made to reclassify inconsistencies identified during the audit. 6. We noted expenditures for fiscal year 2022 were recorded in fiscal year 2023. We also noted fiscal year 2023 expenditures were not properly accrued at year-end. Adjustments were recorded to correct year-end cutoff of grant expenditures and grant revenue. 7. Proper supporting documentation for eligibility requirements was not maintained during the year. Repeat Finding from Prior Year: No. Recommendation: We recommend the Organization continue to develop additional oversight and segregation of duties related to internal controls over compliance. The Organization had a review with the Department of Labor for the DOL H-1B grant during 2023 resulting in findings for segregation of duties and eligibility, which were improved or corrected subsequent to the fiscal year-end. Response/Corrective Action Plan: See Organization’s Corrective Action Plan

Corrective Action Plan

Finding No. 2023-003: Compliance Controls Responsible Individuals: Stephanie Mayfield, Executive Director Corrective Action Plan: The Organization is continuing to evaluate its internal control systems to ensure proper segregation of duties surrounding various compliance with grant programs. After the Department of Labor review in fiscal year 2024, the Organization implemented new processes and internal controls to improve segregation of duties and address eligibility documentation issues. Anticipated Completion Date: Ongoing

Categories

Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Cash Management

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 382634 2023-001
    Material Weakness
  • 959076 2023-001
    Material Weakness
  • 959077 2023-003
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
17.268 H-1b Job Training Grants $771,773
93.107 Area Health Education Centers Point of Service Maintenance and Enhancement Awards $232,776