Finding Text
Finley School District No. 53
September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024
2024-001 The District did not have adequate internal controls to ensure compliance with procurement requirements related to piggybacking.
Assistance Listing Number and Title: Child Nutrition Cluster – ALN 10.553/555 – School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program
Federal Grantor Name: Department of Agriculture
Federal Award/Contract Number: N/A
Pass-through Entity Name: Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
Pass-through Award/Contract Number: 237WAWA3N11
237WAWA3N8903
Known Questioned Cost Amount: $0
Prior Year Audit Finding: N/A
Background
The District participates in the Child Nutrition Cluster program, which includes the School Breakfast and National School Lunch programs. These programs provide free or reduced-price meals to students from low-income families. The District received $632,822 to administer the programs during the 2023-2024 school year.
Federal regulations require recipients to establish and maintain internal controls that ensure compliance with program requirements. These controls include understanding program requirements and monitoring the effectiveness of established controls.
Federal regulations require recipients to follow their own documented procurement procedures, which must conform to the Uniform Guidance procurement standards found in 2 CFR § 200.318-327. These procedures must reflect the most restrictive of applicable federal, state or local laws, either obtaining quotes or following a competitive procurement process, depending on the estimated cost of the procurement activity.
Competitive bidding may be waived through a process commonly referred to as “piggybacking.” This process allows entities to purchase goods and services using contracts awarded by another government or group of governments via an interlocal agreement before purchasing through another entity’s contract. If the District uses such an agreement, federal regulations require it to confirm the awarding entity followed all procurement laws and regulations applicable to the entity when selecting the contractor. In addition, the District must ensure it purchases the same goods or services as detailed in the awarding entity’s specifications and at the same specified price.
Description of Condition
The District’s internal controls were ineffective for ensuring compliance with federal procurement standards. The District piggybacked onto a purchasing cooperative’s contract for dairy products; however, because it was an adjustable price contract with monthly pricing changes, it did not have a process to ensure it purchased the same goods and at the same price as detailed in the purchasing cooperatives contract.
We consider this deficiency in internal controls to be a significant deficiency.
Cause of Condition
The District experienced turnover in the position responsible for reviewing and approving purchases. The District did not provide adequate training the new staff, so they did not know they needed to verify the goods and prices matched the current contract pricing schedule.
Effect of Condition
The District spent $59,526 of program funds for dairy products. Without effective internal controls that ensure it follows procurement or piggybacking procedures, the District cannot demonstrate it complied with applicable federal procurement requirements and received the current contract price for the food products.
Recommendation
We recommend the District strengthen its internal controls to ensure it complies with applicable procurement requirements for purchases of goods and services, including ensuring it received the current contract price. We also recommend the District provide adequate training to employees responsible for the procurement process.
District’s Response
The Finley School District has put in place internal controls to ensure compliance with procurement requirements related to piggybacking:
The Food Service Director will compare invoices to the monthly price list to ensure contract pricing is used and initial invoices once reviewed. If there are discrepancies, the Food Service Director will contact the vendor for corrections. Quarterly, the Business Manager will select a sample of invoices to review for compliance.
Auditor’s Remarks
We appreciate the District’s commitment to resolve the issue. We will review the corrective action taken during our next regular audit.
Applicable Laws and Regulations
Title 2 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), section 516, Audit findings, establishes reporting requirements for audit findings.
Title 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Guidance, section 303, Internal controls, describes the requirements for auditees to maintain internal controls over federal programs and comply with federal program requirements.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants defines significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in its Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards, section 935, Compliance Audits, paragraph 11.
Title 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Guidance, section 320, Methods of procurement to be followed, establishes requirements for procuring with Federal funds by nonfederal entities.