Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Federal Program Name: Student Financial Aid Cluster
Assistance Listing Number: 84.007, 84.033, 84.063, 84.268
Federal Award Identification Number and Year: P007A214563-2023, P033A214563-2023, P063P212632-2023, P268K222632-2023
Award Period: July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023
Type of Finding:
• Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance
• Other Matters
Criteria or specific requirement: Institutions must report student disbursement data to Common Organization and Disbursement (COD) system within 15 calendar days after the institution makes a disbursement or becomes aware of the need to make an adjustment to previously reported student disbursement data or expected student disbursement data (OMB N. 1845-0039).
Condition: During testing we noted 2 instances of student disbursements were reported to COD more than 15 days after the date of disbursement.
Questioned costs: None
Context: A statistically valid sample of 40 student disbursement was selected for testing to ensure disbursements were reported to COD within 15 days of the date of disbursement. 2 of the selected payments were reported more than 15 days after the disbursement.
Cause: Internal control process in effect at the time did not ensure that all disbursements were reported to COD with in the required 15-day time line.
Effect: Some instances of student disbursements were not reported within the required timeline to COD.
Repeat Finding: The finding is not a repeat finding.
Recommendation: We recommend the District design and implement controls to ensure all student disbursements are reported to COD with in required timelines.
Views of responsible officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding. WCTC has added additional internal controls specific to the disbursement process in response to the audit. Implementing these various measures ensures timely COD disbursement reporting, including multi-layered file reviews and monthly reconciliations. These controls specifically targeted our audit findings, ensuring thorough file scrutiny and prompt rectification of discrepancies.