Walton County School DistrictLocal Government

Criteria: In accordance with the terms of the 21st Century Learning and 2 CFR 200, Cost Principles for States, Local Governments, and Indian Tribes, specific documentation must be maintained to support salaries and wages charged to the federal program. Where employees are expected to work solely on a single Federal award or cost objective, charges for their salaries and wages will be supported by periodic certifications that the employees worked solely on that program for the period covered by the certification. These certifications will be prepared at least semi-annually and will be signed by the employee or supervisory official having first-hand knowledge of the work performed by the employee. Where employees work on multiple activities or cost objectives, a distribution of their salaries or wages will be supported by personnel activity reports or equivalent documentation. Condition and Context: For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019, internal controls over compliance were not sufficient to ensure the District was properly charging payroll costs which were reimbursed by the 21st Century Learning grant. In our sample of forty (40) employees who were paid with Child Nutrition funds, we noted twelve of the selected employees did not have one or both of the required semi-annual certifications. Cause: A lack of oversight by personnel in the Office of Federal Grants and Program Compliance led to noncompliance with the requirements of the Uniform Guidance in relation to charging of personnel costs to a federal grant. Effects or possible effects: Personnel salaries unrelated to eligible 21st Century Learning activities could be charged to and reimbursed by the District?s federal grants. Questioned Costs: All amounts paid to those employees who did not have a semi-annual certification could be questioned. These amounted to $23,573. When comparing the known questioned costs to the sample total of $162,288, the error rate for the selected sample was 15%. The error rate projected onto the total population of payroll costs, $1,173,998, resulted in a likely questioned cost of $170,525.Recommendation: We recommend District personnel perform periodic reviews of the general ledger to ensure appropriate documentation is obtained for all payroll costs charged to the 21st Century Learning grant. Furthermore, in instances where changes are made to employee assignments (including termination) involving federal grants, we recommend the District review payroll costs for those employees in the periods immediately following the changes to ensure they are appropriately reflected in the accounting records and thus properly charged to the District?s federal grant programs. Auditee?s Response: Management agrees with the recommendation made for item 2019?001. Management will ensure payroll reports are reviewed after each payroll period and the semi-annual certifications are obtained and maintained.

GSA_MIGRATION