Finding Text
Criteria or specific requirement (including statutory, regulatory, or other citation): The grant agreement requires quarterly cumulative expenditure reports and a final completion report, consistent with the financial reporting provisions of the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR section 200.328). Condition: Quarterly cumulative expenditure reports and the final completion report, which are typically due within 30 days of the period end, were materially accurate but were filed late, or not at all, as noted below: 1.The quarterly expenditure report for 7/1/21-9/30/21, for $557,513, was submitted on 6/21/22. 2. The quarterly expenditure report for 10/1/21-12/31/21, for $137,492, was submitted on 6/25/22. 3. The quarterly expenditure report for 1/1/22-3/31/22, for $70,291, was submitted on 6/30/22. 4. The quarterly expenditure report for 4/1/22-6/30/22 was not submitted. Questioned Costs: None noted. Context: Late quarterly expenditure report submissions were also noted on several other federal grant programs, including Title I grants, in which reports were filed up to 9 months past the respective due dates. The quarterly expenditure report for 4/1/22-6/30/22 was later submitted under the ESSER II project year 2023 grant. Effect As this grant operates on a reimbursement basis, except for an overpayment in fiscal year 2021 resulting in advance funding of $286,522 at June 30, 2021, the District taxpayers had to carry the costs of the program expenditures for far longer than necessary. The District was unable to reconcile grant expenditures recorded in the general ledger with those that were to be claimed under the ESSER II grant during the year, putting the District at risk of submitting claims for duplicated expenditures or of not claiming eligible expenditures. As a result of late filing, the quarterly expenditure report for 4/1/22-6/30/22 was unable to be submitted for reimbursement under the project year 2021 grant, as the project year had been closed by ISBE in September 2022 in preparation for the rollover to project year 2023. Cause: The District did not have internal controls in place or allocate adequate resources to ensure timely grant reporting could be achieved. Recommendation: The District should implement internal controls over grant expenditure reporting and allocate adequate resources to ensure that all eligible grant expenditures are appropriately submitted for reimbursement in a timely manner. Management's response: See Corrective Action Plan.