Finding Text
Information on the federal program:
Subject: COVID-19 – Education Stabilization Fund – Reporting
Federal Agency: Department of Education
Federal Program: COVID-19 – Education Stabilization Fund
Assistance Listing Number: 84.425D, 84.425U
Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): S425D200013, S425D210013, S425U210013
Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education
Compliance Requirement: Reporting
Audit Finding: Material Weakness
Criteria: 2 CFR section 200.303 states in part:
"The non-Federal entity must:
(a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal awards 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). . . ."
2 CFR 200.302(b) states in part:
"The financial management system of each non-Federal entity must provide for the following:
(2) Accurate, current, and complete disclosure of the financial results of each Federal award or program in accordance with the reporting requirements set forth in §§ 200.328 Financial reporting . . . ."
34 CFR 76.722 states:
"A State may require a subgrantee to submit reports in a manner and format that assists the State in complying with the requirements under 34 CFR 76.720 and in carrying out other responsibilities under the program."
Condition: An effective internal control system was not in place at the School Corporation in order to ensure compliance with requirements related to the grant agreement and the Reporting compliance requirements.
Cause: The School District's management had not developed a system of internal controls to ensure compliance with the compliance requirements listed above.
Effect: The failure to establish an effective internal control system placed the School Corporation at risk of noncompliance with the grant agreement and the compliance requirements. Internal controls were not adequate to detect and prevent errors in annual data submitted to the Indiana Department of Education.
Questioned Costs: There were no questioned costs identified. Context: The School Corporation had not designed nor implemented a system of internal control to ensure that the annual Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) annual Data Collection reports (Reports) were complete and accurately submitted. The reports were prepared and submitted in JotForm, the online application used by the Indiana Department of Education to collect information, without an oversight or secondary review process in place to prevent or detect and correct errors.
During the testing of the annual data reports, variances were noted in the amounts expended reported on the Year 4 annual data report for the ESSER I and the Year 3 annual data reports for ESSER II and ESSER III grant awards when compared to underlying disbursement detail for the grant funds covering the period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. The amounts reported as expended in the annual data reports were underreported by $504,240 compared to underlying funds ledger detail.
Identification as a repeat finding, if applicable: No.
Recommendation: We recommend someone other than the preparer of the report perform a documented, secondary review of the report information prior to submission to validate the accuracy and completeness of the data submitted.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding and has prepared a corrective action plan.