Lower Platte South Natural Resources District

Criteria: SAS 115 requires the communication, in writing, to management and those charged with governance, of material weaknesses identified in an audit. Condition: The District does not have an internal control system designed to provide for the preparation of the financial statements and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards being audited. Cause: Accounting personnel of the District do not have the expertise to prepare financial statements, including note disclosures and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). Effect or protentional effect: The control deficiency is a material weakness that results in a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the financial statements and schedule of expenditures of federal awards will not be prevented, or detected and corrected, on a timely basis. Recommendation: The District should continue to rely on the board of director’s review functions to mitigate risks of potential misstatements. Views of responsible officials: The District will continue to rely on its system of oversight provided by the board of directors in reviewing the financial statements, including note disclosures and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, of the District. Repeat Finding 2023-001

The District does not have an internal control system designed to provide for the preparation of the financial statements and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards being audited.

2021-002 - Preparation of the Financial Statements Identification data: U.S. Department of Agriculture ? Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Watershed Rehabilitation Program, Assistance Listing No. 10.916, Agreement Identifying No. 65-6526-5-892 and 69-6526-4-871. Criteria: SAS 115 and the Uniform Guidance requires the communication, in writing, to management and those charged with governance, of material weaknesses identified in an audit. Condition: The District does not have an internal control system designed to provide for the preparation of the financial statements and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards being audited. Cause: Accounting personnel of the District do not have the expertise to prepare financial statements, including note disclosures and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP). Additionally, accrual-based adjustments related to federally funded project activities were not identified properly by the accounting personnel. Effect or potential effect: The control deficiency is a material weakness that results in a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the financial statements and schedule of expenditures of federal awards will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. Identification of a repeat finding: This is a repeat finding from the immediate previous audit, 2020-001. Recommendation: The District should continue to rely on the board of director?s review functions to mitigate risks of potential misstatements. The District may also consider additional training for the accounting personnel to ensure federally-funded project related activities are properly tracking and accounted for. Views of Responsible Officials: The District will continue to rely on its system of oversight provided by the board of directors in reviewing the financial statements, including note disclosures and the schedule of expenditures of federal awards, of the District. The District will also evaluate training needs for the accounting personnel.

2021-003 - Noncompliance and Internal Controls over Compliance for Reporting Identification data: U.S. Department of Agriculture ? Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Watershed Rehabilitation Program, Assistance Listing No. 10.916, Agreement Identifying No. 65-6526-5-892 and 69-6526-4-871. Criteria: The District?s agreements with the U.S. Department of Agriculture ? Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) require the District to submit quarterly SF-425 Federal Financial Reports and semi-annual progress reports throughout the life of the agreements. Additionally, the SF-425 Federal Financial Reports are due at the end of the month following the quarter. Condition: The District failed to submit SF-425 Federal Financial Reports for the quarters ended September 30, 2020, December 31, 2020, and March 31, 2021 for each of its agreements. For the SF-425 Federal Financial Reports submitted by the District for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, the District did not file such reports timely. Additionally, the District failed to submit the semi-annual progress reports for the agreements for the period ended December 31, 2020. Cause: A breakdown in the District?s internal controls over reporting did not allow the District to meet the reporting requirements under the award agreements. Effect or potential effect: The control deficiency is a significant deficiency that prevented the District from complying with the reporting requirements of the award agreements. Recommendation: The District should review its system of internal control over reporting to determine improvements that can be made to ensure the District actively tracks and adheres to reporting requirements outlined in its award agreements. Views of Responsible Officials: The District will evaluate its system of internal control over reporting to determine how the District can better monitor and comply with reporting requirements of its award agreements.

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