FAC Explorer

Finding 546975 (2024-002)

Material Weakness
Requirement
L
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2024
Accepted
2025-03-31
Audit: 351352
Organization: City of Newton, Massachusetts (MA)
Auditor: Cliftonlarsonallen LLP (cla)

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Six out of twenty-eight reimbursement claims had meal counts that did not match the submitted data, leading to unsupported claims.
  • Impacted Requirements: Monthly claims must be submitted within 60 days and supported by accurate data, as per federal regulations.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Strengthen the review process for claims to catch discrepancies early and ensure compliance with federal requirements.

Finding Text

2024-002 Child Nutrition Cluster, ALN’s 10.553 & 10.555 Federal Award Identification Number (FAIN) and Year: 2024; FAIN not available. Pass-through Agency: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Pass-through Identifying Number: 09-207 Award Period: July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024 Compliance Requirement: Reporting Criteria or Specific Requirement: School food authorities and sponsors must submit monthly claims for reimbursement of meals served to eligible students within sixty (60) days following the last day of the month covered by the claim in accordance with CFR Title 7, sections 210.8, 220.11, 215.10, and 225.15(c). Each month’s claim for reimbursement and all data used in the claims review process must be maintained on file, and failure to maintain such records may be grounds for denial of reimbursement for meals served during the period covered by the records in question. Condition and Context: For six (6) of twenty-eight (28) claims for reimbursement selected in our statistically valid audit sample, the meal counts within the data used in the claims review process did not agree with the corresponding meal counts identified within the monthly claims for reimbursement submitted to the State. Upon further review, it was determined that the September 2023 claim for reimbursement submitted to the State was inaccurately prepared for all 23 schools for which meals were claimed for reimbursement. Questioned Costs: $284,295; which represents the difference in reimbursements claimed versus eligible reimbursements supported by the claims data. Cause: Internal controls implemented over the review and submission of monthly claims for reimbursement were not operating effectively. Effect: Noncompliance with the federal program occurred as the City claimed reimbursements for unsupported meal counts. Repeat Finding: No. Recommendation: We recommend the review and approval process over monthly claims for reimbursement be strengthened to ensure discrepancies between the claim for reimbursement and underlying data are detected and corrected timely. Views of Responsible Officials: Management agrees with the finding.

Corrective Action Plan

Action taken in response to finding: The September 2023 claiming error was caused in part by the Food Service Management Company manually entering the claims in the DESE Portal incorrectly. Newton took responsibility for entering the claims for the balance of FY24. For FY25, Newton now uploads the meal count data from Mosaic, the point-of-sale software, directly into the DESE portal. That upload is done by the Business Operations Analyst and then approved by the Director of Business Operations, which removes substantial exposure for human error during data entry and creates two levels of review prior to approval and submission. The other five discrepancies between the source counts and what was submitted for the DESE claim was to address identified human error in advance to ensure that the monthly claim was accurate. For the September 2023 error, Newton has submitted a Claim Adjustment Form to DESE to provide guidance for the necessary action steps. Name(s) of the contact person(s) responsible for corrective action: Amy Mistrot, NPS Director of Business Operations. Planned completion date for corrective action plan: The internal controls to reduce data entry errors have been implemented and are consistently being used. DESE will provide guidance for the Claim Adjustment Request to address the September 2023 error, which Newton will then implement.

Categories

Questioned Costs Cash Management Reporting School Nutrition Programs Internal Control / Segregation of Duties

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 546974 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 546976 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 546977 2024-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 546978 2024-005
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1123416 2024-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1123417 2024-002
    Material Weakness
  • 1123418 2024-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1123419 2024-004
    Significant Deficiency
  • 1123420 2024-005
    Significant Deficiency

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $11.30M
14.239 Home Investment Partnerships Program $1.51M
93.778 Medical Assistance Program $794,084
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $531,950
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $464,965
84.027 Special Education Grants to States $341,179
10.555 National School Lunch Program $328,529
97.044 Assistance to Firefighters Grant $264,047
84.367 Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (formerly Improving Teacher Quality State Grants) $185,560
10.553 School Breakfast Program $183,355
14.231 Emergency Solutions Grant Program $140,764
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $135,767
16.590 Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders Program $120,733
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $98,615
16.580 Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Discretionary Grants Program $50,000
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $46,977
84.173 Sped Early Childhood Allocation $39,425
16.U00 Dea Asset Forefeitures $36,398
16.U00 Dea Support Overtime Reimbursements $33,812
97.036 Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (presidentially Declared Disasters) $25,273
16.607 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program $17,362
93.103 Food and Drug Administration Research $13,658
10.579 Child Nutrition Discretionary Grants Limited Availability $12,159
84.U00 Influence 100 Grant $2,000
84.027A Reducing Time-Out Rooms $540
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $257