Finding Text
Information on the federal program:
Subject: Education Stabilization Fund (ESSER) – Internal Controls
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): 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 Corporation's management implemented a review control over the annual data reports,
however, it was not sufficient enough to detect and prevent errors in annual data reports submitted to the
Indiana Department of Education.
Effect: Annual data reports submitted during the audit period to the Indiana Department of Education
contained material errors compared to underlying transaction detail for the period reported.
Questioned Costs: There were no questioned costs identified.
Context: The School Corporation was required to submit Annual Data Reports to the Indiana Department
of Education (IDOE) during the audit period to meet federal reporting requirements for ESSER grant
awards. We noted that the ESSER II and ESSER III amounts reported on the Year 3 report ($288,565 and
$115,716, respectively) did not agree to the underlying expenditure records ($139,081 and $88,437,
respectively) for the period of July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.
Additionally, the School Corporation was not able to provide any support for the 86 full-time equivalent
(FTE) positions on September 30, 2022, reported on the Year 3 CrossAct report or the 110 full-time
equivalent (FTE) positions on September 30, 2023, reported on the Year 4 CrossAct report.
Identification as a repeat finding: No.
Recommendation: We recommend management review internal controls over the review of annual data
reports to ensure the data to be submitted agrees to underlying transaction detail or other supporting
documentation prior to the submission of the annual data report.
Views of Responsible Officials and Planned Corrective Actions: Management agrees with the finding
and has prepared a corrective action plan.