Finding 577806 (2023-004)

This finding is: New Federal Program Name and Year: Education Stabilization Fund - ARP ESSER 2022 Project Number: 2022-4998 ALN No: 84.425U Passed through: Illinois State Board of Education Federal Agency: United States Department of Education Criteria: The District is responsible for coding expenses to the correct functions and subsequently claiming them in the correct functions on the expenditure reports filed with ISBE. Condition: The District misallocated capital outlay expenses to a purchased service account, previously authorized improperly by the Illinois State Board of Education. Questioned Costs: This section is not applicable to this specific finding. The capital outlay purchased with federal funds were allowable costs. This finding relates to the administrative details of compliance. Context: The District incorrectly coded and claimed capital outlay expenditures as purchased services, which was approved by ISBE. Effect: The District reported the expenditures in the incorrect function on the filed expenditure report. The reporting has received prior approval from ISBE, but subsequent discussions between ISBE and the auditors revealed its inaccuracy. Cause: The District claimed expenditures as purchased services when they were truly capital outlay expenditures that should be subject to the Equipment Real Property Management compliance requirements. Recommendation: We recommend the District ensure that they are correctly coding expenditures. Management's response: The District will ensure expenditures are coded correctly.