Finding Text
Criteria: Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 200.510(b) requires auditees to prepare a schedule of expenditures of federal awards which must report total federal awards expended during the audit period. At a minimum, the schedule must include: expenditures by individual program, program title and assistance listing number, programs required to be identified as part of a cluster, name of the pass-through entity and identifying number assigned by the pass-through entity for awards not received directly from the federal government, and the total amount provided to subrecipients from each federal program. Condition: The schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) reported by the County in the annual budget documents contained errors in amounts of federal expenditures reported. Additionally, the schedule did not include the identification of programs required to be part of a cluster, names of pass-through entities, identifying numbers assigned by the pass-through entities, or total amounts provided to subrecipients for the applicable programs. Discrepancies in amounts reported on the SEFA and amounts supported by underlying accounting records are summarized as follows: The County reported $34,436 in expenditures under assistance listing number 16.575 - Crime Victim Assistance. Expenditures of the County, as supported by the underlying accounting records for the reporting period, totaled $35,581. The pass-through grantor identified (Missouri Department of Public Safety) was incorrect, and the County omitted the identifying numbers assigned by the pass-through entity for the various grant agreements. The County was funded for this award through the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys under three separate grant agreements. The County reported $428,993 in expenditures under assistance listing number 20.205 - Highway Planning and Construction, however, underlying accounting records support expenditures of $343,194. Per the MODOT project agreement, “All costs incurred by County will be reimbursed at the pro-rata share established for each project phase.” Upon reviewing the disbursements and reimbursement requests, the federal pro rata share established for the costs incurred for this project was eighty percent. The County reported the amount that was federally expended as one hundred percent of the amounts reimbursed instead of the pro rata share of eighty percent. Twenty percent of the project reimbursements received were not remitted by MODOT but instead by another local entity. In addition, the County failed to identify the Highway Planning and Construction Cluster on the SEFA. Cause: The County has not implemented a proper system of internal control over SEFA preparation, such as a reconciliation to underlying accounting records or having a separate individual review the SEFA for clerical accuracy after it has been prepared. Reasons for discrepancies varied. Effect: The SEFA presented for the audit did not accurately reflect the County's actual expenditures of federal awards for the year ended December 31, 2022. Recommendation: We recommend that the County implement internal controls to ensure that the SEFA completely and accurately states the expenditures of federal awards of the County each year, such as performing a reconciliation between the SEFA and underlying accounting records. Federal reimbursement grants should be reported on the SEFA based on reimbursable expenditures made during the year. Management's Response: The County recognizes that the accounting system for federal grants is not an accurate recording of expenditures for the MoDOT BRO program. A tracking system will be implemented to ensure that the expended funds are properly recorded.