Finding Text
U.S. Department of Education
Passed-Through Entity: New York State Department of Education
Finding 2024-002 (Significant Deficiency)
COVID-19 – Education Stabilization Fund:
ARP Homeless II (Assistance Listing # 84.425U)
ARP Learning Loss (Assistance Listing # 84.425U)
ESSER II (Assistance Listing # 84.425D)
ARP Summer Enrichment (Assistance Listing # 84.425U)
ARP Comprehensive After School (Assistance Listing # 84.425U)
ARP ESSER III (Assistance Listing # 84.425U)
Compliance Requirements: Activities Allowed or Unallowed and Allowable Costs/Cost
Principles
Criteria – Expenditures must be used to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19. These
programs are authorized, as applicable, by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental
Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, 2021, Pub. L. No. 116-260 (December 27, 2020), and the American
Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, Pub. L. No. 117-2 (March 11, 2021). The regulations in 34 CRF
Part 76 (State Administration), 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost
Principles, and Audit Requirement for Federal Award and 31 CFR Part 205 (Cash Management
Improvement Act) apply to these programs. The School District must:
(a) 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 or the “Internal Control Integrated Framework”, issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
(b) Comply with the U.S. Constitution, Federal statues, regulations, and the terms and
conditions of the Federal awards.
(c) Evaluate and monitor the non-Federal entity’s compliance with statutes, regulations and
the terms and conditions of Federal awards.
(d) Take prompt action when instances of noncompliance are identified including
noncompliance identified in audit findings.
(e) Take reasonable measures to safeguard protected personally identifiable information
and other information the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity designates as
sensitive or the non-Federal entity considers sensitive consistent with applicable Federal,
State, local and tribal laws regarding privacy and responsibility over confidentiality.
Condition/Context – We haphazardly sampled five COVID-19 – Education Stabilization Fund (ESF)
expenditures. Our audit procedures found one disbursement where management overrode
documented internal control procedures. We viewed invoices, purchase orders, and payment
support and noted the disbursement was processed and paid without proper documentation to
support the payment made and the payment was processed without the internal claims auditor’s
review prior to payment.
Cause – Management override of established controls.
Effect – Revenues and expenditures for one of the ESF grants were overstated prior to adjustment.
Adjustment resulted in recording a receivable from the vendor and an offsetting liability to the passthrough
agency providing the grant funding.
Questioned Costs – None. The improper payment was subsequently adjusted out of expenditures.
Recommendation – We recommend that the School District ensures that only disbursements that
have been processed and approved by the internal claims auditor to be paid.
Management Response – School District management concurs with the finding and will take
corrective action.