CHILDREN'S THEATRE COMPANY

2022-001 Small Business Administration, 59.075, SBAHQ21SV002734.2, 2021 Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Allowable Activities and Costs and Period of Performance Significant Deficiency in Internal Controls over Compliance Criteria: 2 CFR 200.303(a) establishes that the auditee must establish and maintain effective internal control over the federal award that provides assurance that the entity is managing the federal award in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, and conditions of the federal award. Condition: For 16 items tested, there was no formal documentation of the review of the expense prior to payment. Cause: The Children's Theatre Company has designed internal controls over these areas; however, the controls were not formally documented. Effect: The condition may affect The Children's Theatre Company`s ability to support compliance with allowable activities and costs requirements and period of performance. Questioned Costs: None reported. Context/Sampling: A non-statistical sample of 60 transactions out of 3,665 total transactions were selected for testing, which accounted for $1,316,561 of $4,549,989 of federal program expenditures. Repeat Finding from Prior Year(s): No Recommendation: We recommend the procedures related to review of expenses be formally documented to ensure the control process is properly supported and the documentation is retained. Views of Responsible Officials: Management is in agreement with this finding.

Corrective Action Plan: The coronavirus pandemic and the Minnesota Governor?s resulting emergency closure of large, in person gatherings through May 28, 2021, impacted the theatre ability to produce live, in-person theatre events. The Theatre continued to operate but with minimum staffing levels to decrease expenses. Due to the lower staffing levels, segregated duties were not always possible. Several of the items tested were from this decreased staffing timeframe. The Theatre will re-evaluate internal controls to mitigate the risk of non-compliance. To assist in this process, the theatre will add a Chief Operating Officer position. This position will assist in evaluating controls and procedures. They will also contribute an additional level of oversight on expense.