Finding 496988 (2023-002)

Significant Deficiency Repeat Finding
Requirement
P
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-09-17

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: The year-end closing process failed to identify necessary adjustments, leading to inaccuracies in financial statements.
  • Impacted Requirements: Compliance with 2 CFR 200.303 and internal control standards was not maintained, risking undetected misstatements.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Enhance the closing process by ensuring all accounts are reconciled before audits and implement review procedures to catch errors early.

Finding Text

Finding 2023-002 Year-End Closing Process Information on the Federal Programs: All Criteria: In accordance with 2 CFR 200.303, the Organization must establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in ‘‘Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government’’ issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and the ‘‘Internal Control Integrated Framework’’, issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Condition: We had several current year audit adjustments including an adjustment to tie out opening net assets, adjustments to update the year-end balance of investments, and additional audit adjustments were provided late during the audit process that impacted the numbers on the Schedule of Federal Expenditures. We will continue our prior year recommendation. Cause: The monthly and year-end closing process did not detect these corrections. Effect: If all accounts are not properly reconciled as of year-end, the Organization's consolidated financial statements may contain undetected misstatements. Questioned Costs: None noted. Context: Our audit included testwork over significant asset and liability balances. Identification as a Repeat Finding: See Finding 2022-001 Recommendation: We recommend that the Organization pay additional attention to the closing process to ensure that all accounts are reconciled in advance of the audit. Review and approval procedures should be in place to ensure that errors are detected.

Categories

Questioned Costs Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 496986 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 496987 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1073428 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1073429 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat
  • 1073430 2023-002
    Significant Deficiency Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
93.103 Food and Drug Administration_research $793,585
10.328 National Food Safety Training, Education, Extension, Outreach, and Technical Assistance Competitive Grants Program $34,229