FAC Explorer

Finding 7547 (2022-003)

Material Weakness Repeat Finding
Requirement
ABFL
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2022
Accepted
2024-01-05
Audit: 9858
Organization: Columbus Community School District (IA)
Auditor: Nolte Cornman & Johnson PC

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: One employee has too much control over critical financial areas, risking incompatible duties.
  • Impacted Requirements: This affects compliance with internal control standards for major federal programs.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement proper segregation of duties to enhance internal controls and reduce risk.

Finding Text

One important aspect of the internal control structure is the segregation of duties among employees to prevent an individual employee from handling duties which are incompatible. We noted one individual has control over portions of one or more of the following areas for the District relating to major federal programs; cash, investments, inventories, receipts, disbursements, payroll, wire transfers, financial reporting, computer systems, school lunch program and journal entries. See finding 2022-001.

Corrective Action Plan

The district continues to find solutions to help segregate duties with our minimally staffed central office (business manager, HR director & nutrition direct). This year we modified duties of our building secretaries due to being short staffed. This eliminated an additional check & balance measure added a few years ago of the secretary entering receipts into WebLink. The building secretaries continue to write deposit slips & post payment to our student information system. The district’s business manager & HR director will work with board members on the finance & negotiations committee to develop a plan to add more checks & balances to our current operation. We will use the segregation of duties handbook to help with this process.

Categories

Internal Control / Segregation of Duties Reporting

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 7548 2022-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 583989 2022-003
    Material Weakness Repeat
  • 583990 2022-003
    Material Weakness Repeat

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.555 National School Lunch Program $487,461
84.010 Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies $251,503
84.425 Education Stabilization Fund $224,210
10.553 School Breakfast Program $112,983
84.367 Improving Teacher Quality State Grants $21,968
10.582 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program $16,356
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $14,452
10.559 Summer Food Service Program for Children $13,223
84.011 Migrant Education_state Grant Program $6,537
84.027 Special Education_grants to States $5,771
84.334 Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs $4,016
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $3,978