Finding 570471 (2024-001)

Type: Material weakness over preparation of schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA). Condition/Context There were errors in the schedule of federal expenditures (SEFA) that was provided for the audit. Certain expenditures were not included which resulted in a material error in the amount reported. Cause Amounts billed did not agree to the SEFA. No review of the SEFA was performed. Questioned Costs None. Recommendation The Organization should implement additional procedures and controls to accurately capture all activity under federal awards in preparing the SEFA. The SEFA should be reviewed by a senior member of management and reconciled to the accounting records. Management’s Response We agree with the recommendation and acknowledge that the initial SEFA included errors. During the initial SEFA preparation, our finance team was short-staffed due to the recent departure of a staff person familiar with SEFA preparation and review. Thus, the initial report was prepared and submitted only by our Controller without the review of another individual. As the team is staffed-up in 2025, we will ensure we hire and/or train additional individuals to have the skills, knowledge, and expertise to identify errors in the SEFA.