Finding 399212 (2023-002)

Finding 2023-002 – Significant Deficiency: Cash Management – Control Finding ALN 84.215K – Innovative Approaches to Literacy; Full-Service Community Schools; and Promise Neighborhood Federal Grant Award: S215K220184 (09/12/2022 – 9/30/2023) Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Entity: None Federal Award Identification Number: N/A Fiscal Year: For the year ended August 31, 2023 Criteria Or Specific Requirement: Uniform Guidance requires that controls over compliance be properly designed, in place and operating effectively to ensure compliance with the requirements of the federal programs. Condition: Based on the testing completed over the cash management compliance requirement, the St. Louis Symphony did not retain documentation of a review of the cash drawdown to verify that the correct amount of funds are requested. Cause: Internal controls over compliance put in place by management were not operating effectively to ensure that proof of such reviews was documented and retained. Effect: Instances of noncompliance could go undetected by management. Questioned Costs: Not applicable Context: During testing performed for cash management, for the 3 cash drawdowns that occurred, appropriate documentation was not retained supporting the amount and timing of the cash drawdowns nor was there any documented review of the cash drawdown request prior to initiation. No instances were noted were cash was drawn in advance of the incurrence of eligible grant expenditures. Identification As A Repeat Finding: Not applicable Recommendation: We recommend that management put a control in place for a second review of the cash drawdown requests. The second review should be properly documented with the reviewer’s signature and the date the review was performed. The second review should be performed by someone other than the preparer and who has knowledge of the grant’s requirements. Views Of Responsible Officials: Internally, senior leadership and the grant manager communicated regarding the timing and amounts of drawdown requests. Management acknowledges that sufficient documentation of this review and approval process was not maintained, as the amounts would correspond to the St. Louis Symphony’s periodic grant expenditures.