Finding 398423 (2023-001)

2023-001 Improve Time and Effort Documentation Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Cluster/Program: Special Education Cluster Award Name: Special Education Grants to States AL Number(s): 84.027/84.173 Award Year: 2023 Compliance Requirement: Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Type of Finding Compliance Internal Control over Compliance – Significant Deficiency Criteria or Specific Requirement Grantees must provide reasonable assurance that Federal awards are expended only for allowable activities and that the costs of goods and services charged to Federal awards are allowable and in accordance with the applicable cost principles. An employee whose salary is paid in part from federal grant funds and in part from other revenue sources must maintain time and effort distribution records, such as activity reports or timesheets, that document the portion of time spent working on tasks related to the federal grant program and time spent on programs supported by the other revenue sources. Management is also responsible for establishing and maintaining effective internal control over compliance with federal requirements that have a direct and material effect on a federal program. A deficiency in internal control over compliance exists when the design or operation of a control over compliance does not allow management or employees, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent, or detect and correct, noncompliance with a type of compliance requirement of a federal program on a timely basis. Condition and Context As a result of our testing, we determined that time and effort semiannual certifications for salaried individuals paid from federal grant funds and in part from other revenue sources for the period under audit were not properly approved. There were also some employees whose time and effort documentation were not maintained. Cause Weaknesses in the design and operation of controls. Effect or Potential Effect Time and effort documentation did not meet federal requirements. There is a risk that amounts charged to federal awards may not be allowable or in accordance with applicable cost principles. Questioned Costs Due to the condition noted, we were unable to determine if payroll costs charged to the applicable grants are allowable. AL Questioned Number(s) Name of Federal Program or Cluster Costs 84.027/84.173 Special Education Cluster Unknown Recommendation The School Department should address the weaknesses in internal controls noted above in order to provide reasonable assurance that federal awards are expended only for allowable activities, and that the costs services charged to federal awards are allowable and in accordance with the applicable cost principles. Views of Responsible Official and Planned Corrective Action Management’s views and corrective action plan is included at the end of this report.