Finding 2023-001 – ReportingInformation of the federal program:Federal Grantor: Department of Defense (DOD)Assistance Listing No.: 12.420, Military Medical Research and DevelopmentPass-Through Grantor: Johns Hopkins UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.172, Human Genome ResearchPass-Through Grantor: University of ChicagoFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.226, Research on Healthcare Costs, Quality and OutcomesPass-Through Grantor: The Regents of the University of MichiganFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.242, Mental Health Research GrantsPass-Through Grantor: Rutgers State UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.307, Minority Health and Health Disparities ResearchPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.310, Trans-NIH Research SupportPass-Through Grantor: University of ChicagoFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.350, National Center for Advancing Translational SciencesPass-Through Grantor: University of ChicagoFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.351, Research Infrastructure ProgramPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.361, Nursing ResearchPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.368, 21st Century Cures Act – Precision Medicine InitiativePass-Through Grantor: University of ChicagoFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.394, Cancer Detection and Diagnosis ResearchFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.395, Cancer Treatment ResearchFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.396, Cancer Biology ResearchPass-Through Grantor: Tulane University, Louisiana State UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.397, Cancer Centers Support GrantsPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.667, Social Services Block GrantPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.837, Cardiovascular Diseases ResearchPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.838, Lung Diseases ResearchPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.847, Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural ResearchPass-Through Grantors: Northwestern University, Duke University, University of Washington, The Regents of University of MichiganFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.853, Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological DisordersPass-Through Grantor: Rush University Medical CenterFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.855, Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation ResearchPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.859, Biomedical Research and Research TrainingPass-Through Grantor: University of Wisconsin – MadisonFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.865, Child Health and Human Development Extramural ResearchPass-Through Grantors: Northwestern University, University of Washington, The Regents of the University of CaliforniaFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.866, Aging ResearchFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.946, Cooperative Agreements to Support State-Based Safe Motherhood and Infant Health Initiative ProgramsPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern UniversityFederal Grantor: United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)Assistance Listing No.: 93.994, Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant to the StatesPass-Through Grantor: Northwestern Memorial HospitalCriteria or specific requirement (including statutory, regulatory, or other citation):Section 200.303 of the Uniform Guidance states the following regarding internal control: “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).”The Uniform Guidance 2 CFR section 200.510 states, “(b) Schedule of expenditures of Federal awards. The auditee must also prepare a schedule of expenditures of federal awards (SEFA) for the period covered by the auditee’s financial statements which must include the total Federal awards expended as determined in accordance with §200.502 Basis for determining Federal awards expended.”Condition:Certain grants related to the Research and Development Cluster were misstated by $233,405 on the preliminary schedule of expenditures of federal awards (the Schedule) provided by management due to the inappropriate classification of costs within the general ledger; the final Schedule was corrected.In addition, an award which was not a federal grant award with expenditures of $148,388 was included on the preliminary Schedule provided by management. The final Schedule was corrected.Cause:Endeavor’s internal controls in place over the preparation of the Schedule were not sufficient to properly accumulate and accurately report all expenditures of federal awards.Effect or Potential Effect:Inaccurate or improper reporting of expenditures results in a misstated Schedule and can also potentially result in insufficient testing of the major programs or improper identification of major programs for audit purposes.Questioned costs:None.Context:The table below reflects the preliminary and adjusted assistance listing balances on the Schedule (only assistance listing programs which changed are included below):Identification as a repeat finding, if applicable:The finding is not a repeat finding from the prior year.Recommendation:Management should implement internal controls to ensure amounts are appropriately accumulated and reported on the Schedule and all federal expenditures are appropriately identified and reported on the Schedule.Views of responsible officials:Award amounts were changed on the Schedule after management’s review was executed. Management acknowledges that implementing the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, in 2023 presented changes to the SEFA reporting. Management has identified and addressed the reporting issues within the new system to ensure that the grant totals are appropriately captured in the SEFA.Endeavor will enhance grant management award processes by revising its procedures and adding additional controls to monitor for accuracy of the core data. Management will reinforce the importance of timeliness and accuracy of the Schedule reporting totals to facilitate accurate reporting.