Finding Text
Legal Services Corporation
FFAL #09-742018 Legal Services Corporation – Basic Field – Basic
FFAL #09-742018 Legal Services Corporation – Basic Field – Native American
Eligibility
Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance and Noncompliance
Criteria: 45 CFR 1644.4 establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides assurance that the entity is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and conditions of the federal award. For each case filed in court by the auditee’s attorneys on behalf of a client, case disclosure information is required to be reported to Legal Services Corporation.
Condition: Two instances identified in which the U.S. Citizen Attestation was not obtained.
Cause: There was a lapse in oversight of the internal control process ensuring case files include the required documentation to ensure cases are in compliance with the applicable federal standards.
Effect: Lack of compliance with designed internal controls over case files could result in DPLS using funds for cases that are not eligible for reimbursement.
Questioned Costs: None reported.
Context/Sampling: A nonstatistical sample of 60 cases out of more than 250 cases opened during 2023 were selected for eligibility testing.
Repeat Finding from Prior Year: Yes. 2022-005 reported a similar finding over eligibility.
Recommendation: We recommend management review the internal control process to ensure U.S. Citizen Attestation forms are signed and retained in the file when required.
Views of Responsible Officials: Management is in agreement.