FAC Explorer

Finding 977034 (2023-002)

Material Weakness
Requirement
AB
Questioned Costs
$1
Year
2023
Accepted
2024-06-12
Audit: 308638
Organization: City of Portsmouth (OH)
Auditor: Cliftonlarsonallen LLP

AI Summary

  • Core Issue: Portsmouth Public Schools failed to provide necessary documentation for employee salaries charged to the Special Education Cluster grant, specifically lacking time and effort certifications.
  • Impacted Requirements: This finding indicates a material weakness in internal controls and non-compliance with federal cost principles, risking the allowance of $30,763 in questioned costs.
  • Recommended Follow-Up: PPS should improve its internal controls and procedures to ensure proper documentation of time and effort for all federal grants to support compliance and audit readiness.

Finding Text

Reference Number: 2023-002 Prior Year Finding: No Federal Agency: U.S. Department of Education Department: Portsmouth Public Schools (PPS) Federal Program: Special Education Cluster (IDEA) Assistance Listing: 84.027, 84.173 Federal Award Identification Number and Year: None, 2021, 2022, 2023 Pass-Through Entity: Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Education Pass-Through Award Number and Period: H027A200107 (7/1/20-9/30/22) H027A210107 (7/1/21-9/30/23) H027X210107 (7/1/21-9/30/23) H027A220107 (4/17/23-9/30/23) H173A200107 (7/1/20-9/30/22) H173A210107 (7/1/21-9/30/23) H173X210107 (7/1/21-9/30/23) Compliance Requirement: Allowable Costs/Cost Principles (Time and Effort Certifications) Type of Finding: Material Weakness in Internal Control over Compliance, Maternal Non-Compliance Criteria or specific requirement: Compliance – Per 2 CFR section 403, except where otherwise authorized by statute, costs must meet the following general criteria in order to be allowable under Federal awards: (a) Be necessary and reasonable for the performance of the Federal award and be allocable thereto under these principles. (b) Conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth in these principles or in the Federal award as to types or amount of cost items. (c) Be consistent with policies and procedures that apply uniformly to both federally financed and other activities of the non-Federal entity. (d) Be accorded consistent treatment. A cost may not be assigned to a federal award as a direct cost if any other cost incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances has been allocated to the Federal award as an indirect cost. (e) Be determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), except, for state and local governments and Indian tribes only, as otherwise provided for in this part. (f) Not be included as a cost or used to meet cost sharing or matching requirements of any other federally financed program in either the current or a prior period. See also § 200.306(b). (f) Be adequately documented. See also § 200.300 through 200.309 of this part. (h) Cost must be incurred during the approved budget period. The Federal awarding agency is authorized, at its discretion, to waive prior written approvals to carry forward unobligated balances to subsequent budget periods pursuant to § 200.308(e)(3). Control – Per 2 CFR section 200.303(a), a non-federal entity must: 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 comply with the 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). Condition: PPS was unable to provide documentation supporting time and effort for employee’s salary charged to the grant. We were unable to support the allowable salary reported on the grant due to lack of time and effort certification. Context For 13 out of 40 employee’s salary selected for testing were not supported by time and effort certification. Questioned costs: $30,763, represents the employee’s salary charged to the federal program and not supported by time and effort certification. Cause: PPS did not maintain documentation supporting time and effort for employee pay charged to the grant. Effect: Failure to adhere to allowable cost requirements may result in PPS charging expenditures to the program that are not allowable. Recommendation: We recommend that PPS enhance its procedures and internal controls to ensure that it retains documentation supporting time and effort on federal grants and that this documentation is available for audit purposes. Views of responsible officials: Management agrees with the finding.

Categories

Questioned Costs Allowable Costs / Cost Principles Matching / Level of Effort / Earmarking

Other Findings in this Audit

  • 400586 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 400587 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 400588 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 400589 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 400590 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 400591 2023-002
    Material Weakness
  • 400592 2023-002
    Material Weakness
  • 400593 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 400594 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 400595 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 400596 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 400597 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 400598 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 400599 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 977028 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 977029 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 977030 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 977031 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 977032 2023-001
    Significant Deficiency
  • 977033 2023-002
    Material Weakness
  • 977035 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 977036 2023-003
    Significant Deficiency
  • 977037 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 977038 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 977039 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 977040 2023-004
    Material Weakness
  • 977041 2023-004
    Material Weakness

Programs in Audit

ALN Program Name Expenditures
10.555 National School Lunch Program $9.50M
84.010 Title 1 Grants to Local Educational Agencies $7.11M
21.027 Covid-19 - Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds $4.82M
84.027 Special Education Grants to States $3.89M
10.561 State Administrative Matching Grants for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program $2.40M
93.558 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families $1.39M
93.778 Medical Assistance Program $1.27M
93.667 Social Services Block Grant $1.13M
93.659 Adoption Assistance $995,193
14.218 Community Development Block Grants/entitlement Grants $981,316
84.367 Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants (formerly Improving Teacher Quality State Grants) $810,216
93.658 Foster Care Title IV-E $691,732
84.048 Career and Technical Education -- Basic Grants to States $546,969
16.575 Crime Victim Assistance $514,142
84.424 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Program $508,497
14.267 Continuum of Care Program $385,158
93.596 Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development Fund $330,328
84.041 Impact Aid $294,804
93.568 Low-Income Home Energy Assistance $285,529
12.999 Rotc $285,359
14.239 Home Investment Partnerships Program $283,339
84.047 Trio Upward Bound $282,370
84.002 Adult Education - Basic Grants to States $229,621
10.559 Summer Food Service Program for Children $207,400
93.958 Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services $191,368
84.173 Special Education Preschool Grants $191,262
93.959 Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse $160,581
84.287 Twenty-First Century Community Learning Centers $153,222
97.042 Emergency Management Performance Grants $126,944
84.013 Title I State Agency Program for Neglected and Delinquent Children and Youth $121,458
93.556 Marylee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program $80,313
93.150 Projects for Assistance in Transition From Homelessness (path) $60,431
10.558 Child and Adult Care Food Program $56,235
97.067 Homeland Security Grant Program $45,456
93.788 Opioid Str $40,000
84.425 Covid-19 - Education Stabilization Fund $39,682
84.377 School Improvement Grants $39,649
93.472 Title IV-E Prevention Program $20,510
84.184 School Safely National Activities $17,910
93.674 John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood $17,771
93.354 Public Health Emergency Response: Cooperative Agreement for Emergency Response: Public Health Crisis Response $17,065
16.607 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program $16,901
84.365 English Language Acquisition State Grants $16,868
84.196 Education for Homeless Children and Youth $16,214
93.767 Children's Health Insurance Program $11,140
93.747 Covid-19 - Elder Abuse Prevention Interventions Program $9,438
20.600 State and Community Highway Safety $7,866
93.566 Refugee and Entrant Assistance State/replacement Designee Administered Programs $6,285
10.649 Covid-19 - Pandemic Ebt Administrative Costs $5,950
93.603 Adoption and Legal Guardianship Incentive Payments $4,469
20.607 Alcohol Open Container Requirements $2,975
20.205 Highway Planning and Construction $2,553
93.645 Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Services Program $2,503
93.575 Child Care and Development Block Grant $1,497
93.599 Chafee Education and Training Vouchers Program (etv) $599
21.019 Coronavirus Relief Fund $571
93.090 Guardianship Assistance $543
16.738 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program $348