Finding 526873 (2024-002)

FINDING 2024-002 Subject: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund - Reporting Federal Agency: Department of Education Federal Program: COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund Assistance Listings Number: 84.425D Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): S425D210013, FY23/24 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirement: Reporting Audit Finding: Material Weakness Condition and Context The School Corporation had not properly designed or implemented a system of internal controls that would likely be effective in preventing, or detecting and correcting, noncompliance. The School Corporation was required to submit annual data reports to the Indiana Department of Education via JotForm, a form/report builder. Data to be submitted included, but was not limited to, current period expenditures, prior period expenditures, and expenditures per activity. All four of the reports submitted by the School Corporation were supported by the School Corporation's records. However, there was no evidence of an internal control such as a review or approval process over the data submitted on JotForm. The lack of internal controls was pervasive in the audit period. INDIANA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTS 16 SOUTH MONTGOMERY COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORPORATION SCHEDULE OF FINDINGS AND QUESTIONED COSTS (Continued) Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity 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). . . ." Cause Management of the School Corporation stated that constant turnover in Administration and lack of finance staff left no knowledgeable individual to review the reports. Effect Without the proper implementation of an effectively designed system of internal controls, the internal control system cannot be capable of effectively preventing, or detecting and correcting, material noncompliance. As a result, reports for the COVID-19 - Education Stabilization Fund program were prepared, entered, and submitted by one individual with no internal control to prevent or detect errors. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that management of the School Corporation establish a proper system of internal controls and develop policies and procedures to ensure that all reports are properly reviewed before submission. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.