Finding 587259 (2023-002)

Federal Program, Assistance Listing Number and Year, Federal Agency, Passthrough Entity COVID-19 Education Stabilization Fund, Assistance Listing Number 84.425D, 84.425U, 2023, U.S. Department of Education, Louisiana Department of Education Criteria According to the Code of Federal Regulations Title 2 Grants and Agreements Part 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, Subpart F – Audit Requirements, it is the auditee’s responsibility to prepare appropriate financial statements, including the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards. The schedules should be complete and accurate. Conditions The revenue and receivables for the Education Stabilization Fund on the general ledger were overstated by about $689,000; about 35% of the SEFA amount. The SEFA was overstated by the same amount. The reimbursement requests for the Education Stabilization Fund were not submitted in a timely manner. Of the seven reimbursement requests, two were submitted six to eight months after the expenses were incurred. Cause The funding agency defined the Education Stabilization Fund as a continuing grant, not differentiating between grant years, resulting in the School recording reimbursements as revenue when received rather than year specific based upon expenditures. As a result, the current year included revenue from another fiscal year. There was no breakdown in the internal controls, rather confusion on the proper accounting since the funding agency does not differentiate between funding years. Effect The School is not in compliance with the auditee responsibilities per the Uniform Guidance.