Finding Text
2023-001: Controls for Monitoring Payroll Charged to the Grant
Compliance Requirement: Allowable Costs/Cost Principles
Type of Finding: Compliance and Internal Control Over Compliance – Other Matter
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 applicable cost principles.
Condition: Payroll expenditures charged to the Special Education Cluster grant are required to be supported with documentation (i.e., semi-annual certifications and personnel activity reports) substantiating that the employees are eligible to be charged to the grant and that the payroll charged relates to time spent accomplishing grant objectives. The District does not utilize semi-annual time and effort certification forms to document the eligibility of the employees paid out of the grant.
Context: The District did not maintain sufficient documentation to demonstrate compliance with federal and state time and effort reporting requirements in accordance with the provisions of Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 225 Cost Principals for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments.
Effect: The District has not complied with the federal and state time and effort reporting requirements.
Cause: Management has established written guidelines and procedures outlining the time and effort reporting and documentation requirements that department heads must adhere with to ensure compliance with federal and state time and effort reporting requirements. The written guidelines and procedures outlined by management are not being followed as designed.
Questioned Costs: Total payroll costs charged to the grant in 2023 totaled $703,789, which was paid on a bi-weekly basis throughout the year. Three of the pay periods were selected for testing, which totaled $117,345 for 61 employees paid out of the grant during those pay periods. From the pay periods selected for testing, the following known questioned costs were identified:
Recommendation: The District should follow their written policies and procedures outlining the time and effort reporting and documentation requirements that must be adhered with to ensure compliance with federal and state time and effort reporting requirements. Management should adopt and implement standardized forms that include all data required by federal and state guidelines and provide training to ensure that program personnel understand the time and effort reporting requirements.