Finding Text
2022-001 U.S. Department of Education ? Education Stabilization Fund COVID-19 Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds - 84.425E & 84.425F Criteria or specific requirement ? Management is responsible for the timely submission of quarterly public reporting for (a)(1) Institutional Portion, (a)(2), and (a)(3) funds and (a)(1) Student Aid Portion, (a)(2), and (a)(3) funds as required for the Education Stabilization Fund. Condition ? One quarterly report for the Institutional Portion and one quarterly report for the Student Aid Portion were identified by the auditor as being submitted later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Questioned costs ? There were no questioned costs identified on the submitted quarterly reports for the Institutional Portion or Student Aid Portion. Context ? Of the eight cumulative quarterly reports submitted during the fiscal year (four for the Institutional Portion funds and four for the Student Aid Portion funds), FORVIS selected four for testing (two Institutional Portion funds and two for the Student Aid Portion funds). There were two reports, one Institutional Portion report and one Student Aid Portion report, that were submitted after the required reporting deadline of 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Subsequently, FORVIS then reviewed the submission dates for all eight quarterly reports submitted during the year, noting no other instances of late submissions. Effect ? The required quarterly reports were not available to the public for review of the funds spent related to the Education Stabilization Fund within the required reporting deadline of 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Cause ? The controls ensuring reports are submitted timely were not adhered to for the respective quarter. Recommendation ? Management should ensure that proper controls are in place and adhered to ensure timely reporting submissions for quarterly public reporting for (a)(1) Institutional Portion, (a)(2), and (a)(3) funds and (a)(1) Student Aid Portion, (a)(2), and (a)(3) funds as required for the Education Stabilization Fund. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions ? The December 31, 2021 quarterly reports were 18-23 days late, due to the implementation of the revenue recognition of the HEERF Funding in the general ledger. December 31, 2021 was the first quarter for recognizing the Institutional HEERF Funds as a percentage of the total awarded HEERF Student Aid. The general ledger was not closed until January 28, 2022. At that time, the website was updated with the final HEERF institutional and student numbers. Going forward, the information is submitted before closing to make sure that the report is posted within the guidelines outlined in the Public Quarterly Reporting Requirements by the U.S. Department of Education.