Finding 479723 (2023-002)

Federal Agency: Department of Energy Federal Program Title: Weatherization Assistance for Low-income Persons Assistance Listing Number: 81.042 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: DEEE0007908-2017 2019 Pass-Through Agency: Colorado Energy Office Pass-Through Number: GAE 20-2019 Award Period: July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2024 Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance and Other Matter Criteria or Specific Requirement: 2 CFR Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Award requires charges to federal awards for salaries and wages be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed. These records must be supported by a system of internal controls which provides reasonable assurance that the charges are accurate, allowable, and properly allocated. Condition: One hourly employee’s wages were overpaid and charged to the grant when compared to the hours per the approved timesheet. Questioned Costs: $46 Context: For one employee, and one pay period tested, the hourly employee’s gross wages overpaid and overcharged to the grant by $46 based on two hours that were improperly included in the final payroll run. Cause: Entering payroll into QuickBooks using the approved timesheet for hourly employees was a manual process. For this individual, the timesheet reported a total of 92 hours of regular pay. However, when the time sheet hours were summed, it was noted there were only 90 hours reported on the time sheet, thus 2 hours were improperly included on the payroll run as hour totals were not verified. Effect: For the February 15, 2023, pay period, the employee was overpaid, and the grant was overcharged a total of $46. Repeat Finding: The finding is a repeat of a finding in the 2021 fiscal. Prior year finding number was 2021-002. Recommendation: We recommend the Council review its payroll procedures over hourly employees to ensure all hours are properly accounted for by pay code in the final payroll. Views of Responsible Officials: There is no disagreement with the audit finding.