Finding 508305 (2023-001)

Reference Number: 2023-001 - Grant Project Payroll Tracking Reports Federal Agency: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Federal Program: COVID-19 Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program Compliance Requirement: Allowable Cost/Activity Type of Finding: Significant Deficiency in Internal Control over Compliance Criteria: The Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program requires quarterly expenditures charged to the program to be properly supported. Payroll expenditures charged to the program should be supported by internal payroll reports which specify hours worked on ACAP related projects to ensure the correct number of hours are charged to the federal grant program. Statement of Condition: Per review of the District’s internal payroll tracking reports, it was noted that while employees keep a detailed list of time worked each day, no specific documentation is maintained within the tracking reports of which projects relate to the ACAP grant program to support the hours being charged to the program quarter. Statement of Cause: The Conservation District did not have proper internal control procedures in place to ensure review was completed as required. Possible Asserted Effect: Expenditures summarized for reporting may not contain the correct number of hours to charge to the ACAP grant program. Questioned Costs: None noted. Context: Reviewed monthly and quarterly time tracking spreadsheets maintained by Conservation District employees working on federal grant programs during the 2023 year. Repeat Finding: Not a repeat finding. Recommendation: The Conservation District should ensure internal control procedures are in place and procedures are being followed related to the preparation of employee time tracking spreadsheets used to support grant reimbursement requests.