Finding Text
Finding #2023-001 Type: Significant Deficiency Federal Agency: Department of Health and Human Services Program Name: Research and Development Cluster AL Number: 93.399 Grant Name: Cancer Research of Wisconsin and Northern Michigan (CROWN) Consortium Grant Identification Number: 5UG1CA239769-03 Federal Award Year: August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022 Compliance Requirement: Allowable Costs/Cost Principles Criteria In accordance with the documentation standards of 2 CFR section 200.430(i), costs of compensation for
personal services are allowable to the extent the total compensation for individual employees: a. Is reasonable for the services rendered and conforms to the established written policy of the non-federal entity consistently applied to both federal and non-federal activities; b. Follows an appointment made in accordance with a non-federal entity’s rules or written policies and meets the requirements of federal statute, where applicable; and c. Is determined and supported as provided in 2 CFR section 200.430(i), including that charges to federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed. Condition Found During testwork performed over the Research and Development Cluster, for 1 of 25 payroll items selected for testing we noted that a clerical error was made for an employee’s salary as 76% of their time was allocated to the grant, instead of the actual 0.76%. As such, $12,411 of the individual’s salary allocated to the grant was deemed unallowable. There are additional known questioned costs related to fringe and indirect costs, as the base upon which those calculations were applied was misstated for the above.
Cause and Possible Asserted Effect The control to reconcile the costs allocated to the grant to supporting records did not operate effectively, resulting in incorrect charges being applied to the grant. Questioned Costs Statistically Valid Sample The sample was not intended to be, and was not, a statistically valid sample. Repeat Finding from Prior Year No Recommendation We recommend a control reconciling all costs allocated to the grant to supporting records be performed on a monthly basis. Views of Responsible Officials See attached correction plan at the end of this report.