Finding Text
Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Passthrough Entity: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Assistance Listing Number and Federal Program: 84.425U American Rescue Plan Elementary and
Secondary School Emergency Relief
Compliance Requirement: B. Allowable Costs
Criteria:
The District is responsible for the efficient and effective administration of federal awards though the application of
sound management practices. 2 CFR Section 200.302 discusses the importance of a financial management system
and records that identify adequately the source and applications of funds for federally funded activities. There
should be effective control over, and accountability for all funds.
Statement of Condition:
During our testing of ESSER III grants, it was noted that the District requested more for purchased services than
was shown as expended in the District’s accounting records.
Statement of Cause:
The District does not have the appropriate internal controls in place to review expenditures claimed under each
grant within the program. As a result, the District was required to reclassify certain purchased service expenditures
from one project code to another to meet a state requirement. However, these expenditures had already been
reported on the ESSER III expenditure report. Therefore, due to the reclassification, the District had requested an
excess amount of purchased service expenditures than what is shown on the District’s underlying accounting
records.
Statement of Effect:
The grant project code for purchased services had more reimbursement requested for it in the current year than
expenditures coded to the project code in the District’s accounting records. The District requested a surplus of
reimbursements for related expenditures. This could result in the District being required by the granting agency to
return their reimbursements and/or other adverse conditions with the granting agency.Questioned Costs:
The District reported $9,430 more in purchased service expenditures than the underlying accounting records
support. No other questioned costs noted.
Perspective Information:
Since there was a one-time adjustment to move purchased services from ESSER III to meet the requirements of
another program this appears to be an isolated occurrence.
Identification of Repeat Findings:
Not a repeat finding.
Recommendation:
We recommend that the District implement a process for tracking expenditures related to the grants in a clear and
concise manner that is comprehensible to others to ensure expenditures used for reimbursement requests exist
and are supported by proper supporting documentation. Proper supporting documentation should be maintained
and easily accessible for evidence of the expenditures. We also recommend that another party review all grant
reporting and reconciliations before submission to ensure accuracy.
Views of Responsible Officials:
Each month when reporting our financials, all federal grant accounts will be separated and will be reviewed for
accuracy and to ensure proper project codes are correct. Also, expenditures for 1% professional development will
be reviewed for accuracy. All payment requests for federal fund grants will be approved prior to submission by the
Superintendent. See Corrective Action Plan.