Finding Text
2023-004: Internal Controls and Timeliness of Reporting
CCDF Cluster:
93.575 - Child Care and Development Block Grant
93.596 - Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development
Fund
Passthrough Agency: Louisiana Department of Education
Questioned Costs: Not applicable.
Criteria: A non-federal entity is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of internal controls over a Federal award to provide reasonable assurance that an entity is managing an award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations and the terms and conditions of the award. Periodic expense reports are due to the Louisiana Department of Education within 15 days of the closing of each quarter.
Universe/Population: A total of 28 reports were required to be filed during the period under audit. These consisted of 21 quarterly reports and 7 final reports.
Condition: Out of the 28 reports filed, we selected a sample of 9. This was a non-statistical sample. While reports were all filed, 4 out of the 9 were not filed within the 15-day deadline. The number of
days late after the reporting deadline ranged between 18 and 125 days.
Cause: Responsibility of filing the quarterly reports historically rested with the grant accountant. Turnover in this position during the fiscal year did not allow for a smooth transition of job duties and
adherence to established procedures.
Effect: The School Board was not in compliance with established timelines for periodic expense reports.
Recommendations: The School Board should remind personnel of the need to comply with established procedures and additional internal controls may be necessary to ensure reports are to be filed timely in accordance with federal guidelines.
View of Responsible Official: Management concurs with this finding, see corrective action plan
dated March 27, 2024.