STANFORD YOUTH SOLUTIONS

Findings and Questioned Costs - Major Federal Awards Programs Audit U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Promoting Safe & Stable Families Listing No. 93.556 Passed through Nevada County, California Identifying 19-304 Grant Period Year Ended June 30, 2024 Significant deficiency: All timecards are required to be signed by a supervisor each pay period. However, not all timecards had the required approval signatures. Because of the failure to obtain and document supervisory approval, employees may post incorrect allocations of their time to programs, including federal programs, without the approval or knowledge of management. Procedures should be implemented to confirm that supervisors approve timecards for each pay period, and internal control processes for timecard approval should be reinforced with supervisors. No questioned costs related to this control deficiency were identified during the audit.

The Payroll Internal Control issue was procedural and did not impact the financials or cost allocation. The Organization will address and resolve this procedural issue through a review and retraining of procedures, an audit of records, and ongoing monitoring. 1. Update Procedures, Documentation, and Retrain All Payroll staff to Protocols: The Payroll 2024/2025 Internal Controls memo and Payroll Desk Manual will be revised to clearly detail the step-by-step procedures that Payroll personnel must follow for staff timecard submissions. The documentation includes the approval process by managers or their delegates, handling of missing approvals, and the review process conducted by Finance management. The documentation will also emphasize the procedural component and collaboration with human resources regarding the corrective actions required for managers who are not compliant with the procedures. These updates will ensure a smooth completion of the bi-monthly payroll cycle and facilitate monthly reviews. All payroll staff and the controller will undergo retraining in this process. New payroll staff will receive training in accordance with these expectations. Planned date of completion: 1/31/2025 2. Timecard Audit: Payroll will audit timecards for the period from July 1, 2024, to November 30, 2024. The audit aims to identify timecards that require approval from both employees and management. Any timecards that need approval will be addressed using the backup documentation required by the agency's internal control procedures. Planned date of completion: 1/31/2025 3. Ongoing Monitoring Plan: After each pay period, an audit report will be generated that includes the details of timecards, specifically identifying those paid through UKG that are missing approvals. The analyst will ensure that documentation is obtained from the employee's manager, confirming approval of staff time for each identified missing approval. These reports will be reviewed during the Payroll month-end cycle. Planned date of completion: bi-monthly payroll closes on the 10th and 25th of each month, respectively.