Finding 504227 (2024-001)

Assistance Listing, Federal Agency, and Program Name - 10.553 and 10.555, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Child Nutrition Cluster Federal Award Identification Number and Year - 241960 and 241970 Pass-through Entity - Michigan Department of Education Finding Type - Significant deficiency Repeat Finding - No Criteria - The Academy must submit monthly claims for reimbursement for meals served to eligible students within 60 days following the last day of the month covered by the claim (7 CFR sections 210.8, 220.11, 215.10, and 225.15 (c)). Upon preparation of meal reimbursement claims, the Academy is required to have controls in place to ensure the accuracy of the request for reimbursement. Condition - The Academy does not currently have a control in place where a review of the meal counts entered into the Michigan Nutrition Data (MiND) system takes place, which could result in incorrect reporting of the number of free and reduced priced meals, which could result in the Academy being reimbursed an incorrect amount by the Michigan Department of Education. Questioned Costs - None Context - Monthly reimbursement claim requests do not have evidence of a second review. However, monthly claim requests are supported by underlying detail from the point of sale system. Cause and Effect - The absence of a secondary review comparing meal data from the Academy's meal tracking point of sale system to the inputs into the MiND system resulted in the Academy being reimbursed for inaccurate amounts. Recommendation - The Academy should implement a control where the monthly reimbursement request is reviewed and approval is documented to ensure the submission is mechanically accurate and that it agrees with the Academy’s internal meal claims data report. Views of Responsible Officials and Corrective Action Plan - The Academy agrees with the recommendation and intends to implement the related procedures.