Finding 9228 (2023-002)

Material Weakness
Requirement
AB
Questioned Costs
-
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-01-19

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Insufficient documentation and review of employee payroll expenses related to the grant.
  • Impacted Requirements: Non-compliance with internal control standards as per federal guidelines (2 CFR Section 200.303).
  • Recommended Follow-Up: Implement timely reviews of personnel hours worked before submitting charges for reimbursement.

Finding Text

Funding Years(s): 7/1/2022 – 6/31/2023 Financial Assistance Listing Number: Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (CFDA 21.027) Contract Number: 21-417039 Pass-Through Agency: The State of Illinois, Department of Human Services Federal Agency: U.S. Department of the Treasury Type of Finding: Internal Control (Material Weakness) Repeat Finding: No Criteria: In accordance with Part 6 of the 2023 Compliance Supplement and as stipulated by the 2 CFR Section 200.303, recipients of Federal Awards are required to establish and maintain an internal control environment that complies with either the guidance in “Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government” (the “Green Book”) issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the “Internal Control Integrated Framework” (revised in 2013), issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) for the federal funding streams it administers. Condition: We selected a non-statistical sample of nineteen (19) employee payroll expenses to test compliance for Activities Allowed and Unallowed and Allowable Costs for the grant and found that for the passthrough award received for Job Training & Economic Development (JTED), the Lighthouse did not maintain sufficient and timely documentation regarding the review and approval of time spent by personnel working on the program that was charged to the grant. Cause: Lighthouse has a process in place to review and ensure expenditures charged to the grant do not exceed budget. We were not able to obtain evidence that these payroll expenditures were reviewed by someone knowledgeable about the grant and its compliance requirements, such as the Assistant Director for Grants and Contracts. Effect: The lack of timely application of the review of the data on the hours worked used in the determination of payroll expense charged to the grant could result to the entity charging cost to the grant that have not yet been incurred. Questions Costs: None Recommendation: We recommend that management establish a control to timely review the actual time worked by each personnel assigned to the program prior to charges being submitted to the grantor for reimbursement. Views of Responsible Official: Management notes the details of this finding and will implement procedures to mitigate the outlined issues as described in our Corrective Action Plan.

Corrective Action Plan

The Chicago Lighthouse will implement processes to address material weakness for internal controls in relation to reviewing and approving time spent by personnel working on government funded programs. Staff dedicating time and effort to activities that are multi-grant funded will prepare Personnel Activity Reports (PAR) monthly and submit them to the Accounting Department once approved by the manager over the program. Charges to awards for salaries, wages, and benefits will be based on documented PAR approved by a responsible official(s) of the organization. PAR submissions will contain the breakdown of time dedicated by staff to activities and awards across all programs they support. In the event a staff member is dedicated to only one program or cost objective, the recurrence of the PAR will be at least twice a year. Each Program Director must ensure that all grant-funded employees are familiar with time documentation guidelines and are complying with these requirements. The Director of Grants and Contracts will review the time and effort report (PAR) and confirm appropriate verification. As part of the recurring vouchering process, the Director of Grants and Contracts will reconcile actual hours worked and percentage of hours worked per program as reported on the time reporting forms to actual charges within the accounting system. The Director of Grants and Contracts will work with the Program Director/Administrator to resolve any discrepancies. The Program Director/Administrator must initial any corrections that are made to the forms. Name of the contact person responsible for corrective action: Rosa Carrillo, CFO Anticipated completion date for corrective action: 07/01/2023

Categories

Internal Control / Segregation of Duties Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Cash Management Material Weakness

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 585670 2023-002
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
93.667 Social Services Block Grant $157,608
84.177 Rehabilitation Services_independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who Are Blind $130,059
84.126 Rehabilitation Services_vocational Rehabilitation Grants to States $109,872
93.569 Community Services Block Grant $66,034
21.027 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $17,491
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $4,228