Finding 485125 (2023-002)

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Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
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Year
2023
Accepted
2024-08-27
Audit: 317918
Organization: Town of Billerica (MA)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The Town's quarterly report to the U.S. Treasury was inaccurate, underreporting expenditures by about $572,000.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with federal reporting requirements was not met, as the report did not reconcile with actual expenditures.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: The Town should establish procedures to ensure all expenditures are accurately reported and correct the omissions in the next submission.

Finding Text

2023-002: Reporting to Federal Government Compliance Requirement: Reporting Type of Finding: Compliance and Internal Control over Compliance – Other Matter Criteria or Specific Requirement: Grantees must comply with reporting requirements established by the U.S. Treasury. The Town is required to submit “Project and Expenditure” reports to the U.S. Treasury quarterly, which include, among other data, total expenditures incurred through the reporting period. Condition: The quarterly report submitted by the Town for the period April to June 2023 did not reconcile with actual expenditures charged to the general ledger. Questioned Costs: None reported. Context: The Town filed the quarterly report timely, but did not report all expenditures that had been incurred through the end of the reporting period. Effect: The expenditures reported were understated by approximately $572,000. Cause: The Town generated an expenditure report from the general ledger system to assist in preparing the reporting submission; however, the report was not generated with the proper parameters to include all expenditures. Recommendation: The Town should implement procedures to ensure that all expenditures incurred in a given reporting period are included on the applicable project and expenditure report. The Town should also ensure that the omitted expenditures are included in the next reporting submission. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management was aware of the reporting inaccuracy, which was the result of a clerical error in generating reports. The error will be corrected on the subsequent report submitted in fiscal 2024.

Corrective Action Plan

CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN Oversight Agency for Audit: U.S. Department of Treasury The Town of Billerica, Massachusetts respectfully submits the following corrective action plan for the year ended June 30, 2023. Audit period: July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023 The finding from the June 30, 2023, schedule of findings and questioned costs is discussed below. The finding is numbered consistently with the number assigned in the schedule. FINDINGS – FEDERAL AWARD PROGRAMS AUDITS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY COVID-19 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Federal Assistance Listing Number 21.027 2023-002: Reporting to Federal Government Compliance Requirement: Reporting Type of Finding: Compliance and Internal Control over Compliance – Other Matter Criteria or Specific Requirement: Grantees must comply with reporting requirements established by the U.S. Treasury. The Town is required to submit “Project and Expenditure” reports to the U.S. Treasury quarterly, which include, among other data, total expenditures incurred through the reporting period. Condition: The quarterly report submitted by the Town for the period April to June 2023 did not reconcile with actual expenditures charged to the general ledger. Questioned Costs: None reported. Context: The Town filed the quarterly report timely, but did not report all expenditures that had been incurred through the end of the reporting period. Effect: The expenditures reported were understated by approximately $572,000. Cause: The Town generated an expenditure report from the general ledger system to assist in preparing the reporting submission; however, the report was not generated with the proper parameters to include all expenditures. Recommendation: The Town should implement procedures to ensure that all expenditures incurred in a given reporting period are included on the applicable project and expenditure report. The Town should also ensure that the omitted expenditures are included in the next reporting submission. Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management was aware of the reporting inaccuracy, which was the result of a clerical error in generating reports. The error will be corrected on the subsequent report submitted in fiscal 2024. If the Oversight Agency has requests regarding this plan, please call Paul Watson, Town Accountant, at 978-671-0923. Sincerely yours, Paul Watson Town Accountant

Categories

Reporting Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 Covid-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $4.24M
10.555 National School Lunch Program $1.30M
66.458 Capitalization Grants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds $505,477
84.425U Covid-19 - Education Stabilization Fund $455,544
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $245,020
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $204,674
10.553 School Breakfast Program $117,557
93.354 Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response $77,743
84.425D Covid-19 - Education Stabilization Fund $68,081
20.616 National Priority Safety Programs $25,662
84.027 Covid-19 - Special Education_grants to States $20,044
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $13,090
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $7,325
84.367 Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants $7,210
97.042 Emergency Management Performance Grants $5,998
84.173 Special Education_preschool Grants $2,829
20.600 State and Community Highway Safety $1,141