Finding Text
Condition: One pay period requested for reimbursement exceeded the payroll that was paid to the employee by $783 as the request was prepared based on the employee’s time sheet, not based on the payroll paid.
Criteria: Federal funds should be expended only for allowable activities and allowable costs.
Cause: Ineffective oversight over the preparation of requests for reimbursement.
Effect: Although not material, the grant was billed for a non-allowable activity and a non-allowable cost, which could be disallowed.
Recommendation: Closer attention should be paid when preparing the requests for reimbursement to ensure only allowable expenses are being included in the request. A secondary review of the request and supporting documentation should be performed by someone other than the preparer.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: We acknowledge the lack of oversight in preparing the reimbursement request, which resulted in an amount exceeding the payroll paid to the employee. This issue arose due to reliance on timesheet data without reconciling it with actual payroll disbursements. A detailed checklist will be introduced to ensure all requests for reimbursement match supporting payroll documentation. This checklist will include a reconciliation step for timesheet data and payroll disbursement records. Staff involved in grant management and reimbursement preparation will receive additional instruction on federal compliance requirements, with a focus on allowable costs and activities.