Finding 960949 (2023-001)

FINDING 2023-001 Subject: Child Nutrition Cluster - Internal Controls Federal Agency: Department of Agriculture Federal Programs: School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program for Children Assistance Listings Numbers: 10.553, 10.555, 10.559 Federal Award Numbers and Years (or Other Identifying Numbers): FY 21-22, FY 22-23 Pass-Through Entity: Indiana Department of Education Compliance Requirements: Eligibility, Reporting Audit Finding: Material Weakness Condition and Context The School Corporation had not properly designed or implemented a system of internal controls, which would include appropriate segregation of duties, that would likely be effective in preventing, or detecting and correcting, noncompliance. Eligibility Any child enrolled in a participating school who meets the applicable program's definition of "child," may receive meals under the applicable program. In the case of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, children belonging to households meeting nationwide income eligibility requirements may receive meals at no charge or at reduced price. As a general rule, a child's eligibility for free or reduced-price meals under a Child Nutrition Cluster program may be established by the submission of an annual application or statement which furnishes such information as family income and family size. Additionally, a child may be direct certified. For a direct certification, annual eligibility determinations are based on the child's household receiving benefits under SNAP, FDPIR, the Head Start Program (ALN 93.600), or, under most circumstances, the TANF program (ALN 93.558). A household may furnish documentation of its participation in one of these programs; or the school may obtain the information directly from the state or local agency that administers these programs. Direct certified households do not need to complete an application. The Food Service Assistant Director downloaded the direct certification import files from the Indiana Department of Education's CNP website and imported them directly into the School Corporation's POS system that tracks student eligibility statuses for free and reduced-price meals. The direct certification import files were then saved on a drive where the Food Service Director could access them; however, there was no review or approval process over the direct certification import process to ensure data was properly imported. Reporting The School Corporation must submit monthly sponsor claims for reimbursement (claims) for meals and snacks served to eligible students within 60 days following the last day of the month covered by the claim. Claims were submitted to the Indiana Department of Education as required; however, the claims were prepared by one employee without a review or approval process in place to prevent, or detect and correct, errors. The lack of internal controls was a systemic issue throughout the audit period. Criteria 2 CFR 200.303 states in part: "The non-Federal entity must: (a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in 'Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government' issued by the Comptroller General of the United States or the 'Internal Control Integrated Framework', issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). . . ." Cause A proper system of internal controls was not designed by management of the School Corporation, which would include appropriate segregation of duties. Embedded within a properly designed and implemented internal control system should be internal controls consisting of policies and procedures. Policies reflect the School Corporation's management statements of what should be done to effect internal controls, and procedures should consist of actions that would implement these policies. Effect Without the proper design or implementation of the components of a system of internal controls, including policies and procedures that provide segregation of duties and additional oversight as needed, the internal control system cannot be capable of effectively preventing, or detecting and correcting, material noncompliance. Questioned Costs There were no questioned costs identified. Recommendation We recommended that management of the School Corporation design and implement a proper system of internal controls, including policies and procedures that would provide segregation of duties to ensure appropriate reviews, approvals, and oversight are taking place. Views of Responsible Officials For the views of responsible officials, refer to the Corrective Action Plan that is part of this report.