Finding Text
Reference # and title: 2023-002 Internal Control and Compliance over Financial Reporting
Federal program and specific federal award identification: AL Number Award Year
FEDERAL GRANTER/
PASS THROUGH GRANTOR/PROGRAM NAME
United States Department of Agriculture; passed through Louisiana Department of Education
Child Nutrition Cluster:
School Breakfast Program AL #10.553 2023
National School Lunch Program AL #10.555 2023
Criteria or specific requirement: Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) requires the School Board to
complete monthly claims for reimbursement for meals and snacks served to eligible students within 60 days of the
following the last day of the month covered by the claim. Required internal controls over these claims for
reimbursement required that all data for the claim be maintained and complete and accurate. Additionally, internal
controls require that reports be reviewed by someone other than the person completing the claim.
Condition found: In testing a sample of two months, it was noted that the School Board did not have a review
process of the claim by a second person before the claim was submitted. It was also noted that the School Board did
not include all students that received meals in requesting for reimbursement as well as the School Board used the
wrong CEP percentage in the request for reimbursement. In reviewing the full year’s claims to determine the
amount over/under requested, it was noted that these errors caused the School Board to under request for
reimbursement in the amount of $20,044.
Context: This finding appears to be systemic.
Possible asserted effect (cause effect):
Cause: The auditor was unable to determine the cause.
Effect: The School Board did not meet all compliance requirements related to financial reporting.
Recommendations to prevent future occurrences: The School Board should establish monitoring procedures over
the reports being submitted to the Louisiana Department of Education to ensure reports are complete and accurate.
Additionally, there should be a review process for reports being submitted.
Origination date and prior year reference (if applicable): This finding originated fiscal year ended June 30,
2023.
View of responsible official: It was determined that the work of the Child Nutrition Program (CNP) bookkeeper
was not being adequately supervised or reviewed by the CNP Supervisor related to collecting, reporting, and
submitting accurate data for CEP reimbursement claims. The CNP Bookkeeper resigned in October 2023 and the
Supervisor retired in December 2023. The Lincoln Parish School Board hired a new CNP Supervisor in November
2023, and a new CNP secretary/bookkeeper in December 2023