Finding Text
Finding 2022-010 ? Material Weakness: Reporting ? Compliance and Control Finding ALN 84.425E ? Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Students Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Pass-Through Entity: None Criteria Or Specific Requirement: Per Uniform Guidance, the University is required to complete Quarterly Public Reporting for (a)(1) Student Aid funds. The quarterly report is to be posted to the University?s website for each calendar quarter reporting period no later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Condition: The University did not report any HEERF Student Aid costs for fiscal year 2022. Cause: Controls over compliance were not put in place by management as it relates to these compliance requirements. Effect: The University did not communicate to the public sufficient information regarding the spending of HEERF Student Aid that would allow the public to understand the proper amount and nature of its use of HEERF Student Aid funds. If the Department of Education identifies an institution as having an elevated risk or are suspected of improperly administering their HEERF grant funds, the Department has a range of possible enforcement actions which could include heightened or more frequent reporting, monitoring, or auditing of an institution and placing the HEERF grants on ?Route Payment Status?, which requires prior authorization from the Department to draw down any remaining funds. As of the audit report date, the University has not received any notifications of any enforcement actions taken against the University related to the HEERF program. Questioned Costs: Not applicable. Context: The University did not report any HEERF Student Aid costs for fiscal year 2022. The University was not aware of the requirements to report the student portion costs. Identification As A Repeat Finding: Some portions of this finding are a repeat of 2021-014 and 2020-011. Recommendation: We recommend that management implement controls and processes to ensure that all data elements for reporting are reported accurately and that all instructions to the reporting are followed. Views Of Responsible Officials: The University Finance Compliance Officer will create and publish an operational calendar listing name of report, department responsible for reporting, reporting deadlines, and governing agency. The Finance Compliance Officer will work with the respective departments to ensure accurate and timely completion of all reports.