Madison Parish School BoardLocal Government

Controls Over Allowable Cost/Activities Allowed U.S. Department of Education Education Stabilization Fund ALN 84.425 Title I ALN 84.010 Criteria: Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200) requires that costs charged to federal awards be allowable, reasonable, and properly authorized, and that nonfederal entities establish effective internal controls over federal awards to provide reasonable assurance of compliance with federal requirements. Costs charged to Education Stabilization Fund (ESSER) and Title I grants should be supported by appropriate documentation and approved to ensure the activities performed are allowable under the respective grant programs. Condition: During our testing of internal controls over allowable costs and activities related to expenses charged to ESSER and Title I grants, we noted that controls over the approval were not operating effectively. Specifically, charges to these grant programs were not consistently supported by documented supervisory approval verifying that the employees’ activities and services performed or good provided were allowable and aligned with the objectives of the respective grants. Cause: This condition was caused by the lack of formalized approval procedures over grant-funded costs and insufficient documentation requirements to demonstrate management’s review of allowability and programmatic alignment. Effect: Without adequate approval controls over costs charged to ESSER and Title I grants, the School Board is exposed to an increased risk that unallowable or unsupported costs could be charged to federal programs. This may result in questioned costs, required repayment of grant funds, or increased oversight by federal or state granting agencies. Recommendation: We recommend that management implement formal approval and documentation procedures for all costs charged to ESSER and Title I grants. Such procedures should include documented supervisory review verifying that charges are allowable, reasonable, and directly related to approved grant activities prior to charging costs to the grant. Repeat Finding: No. View of Responsible Officials: Beginning with FY2026, a new Federal Programs Director and a new Special Education Director was hired by the Board, and a Fiscal Administrator was appointed on August 27, 2025. These new designees will ensure that all federal programs operate within their allowable costs, activities, and budgets.

Part III. Findings and questioned costs for Federal awards which include audit findings as defined in 2 CFR section 200 of the Uniform Guidance: 2021-001 Preparation of Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) Criteria: The Uniform Guidance Subpart F section 200.510 requires the preparation of the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA) to include an accurate reporting of federal awards expended based on the terms and conditions of the grants. Condition: The SEFA prepared by the School Board?s personnel contained incorrect Assistance Listing Numbers and did not include all federal expenditures of the School Board. Cause: Limited staffing and experience did not permit the School Board to accurately prepare the SEFA. Effect: The SEFA provided to us did not contain the correct Assistance Listing Numbers or amounts of federal awards, which is the basis used to determine the major federal programs to be audited in a fiscal year. Errors such as the ones identified on the SEFA could result in additional audit work to achieve the necessary audit coverage required by Uniform Guidance or incorrect information regarding federal grants to be reported. Recommendation: In order for the SEFA to be prepared accurately and properly report the amounts expended for federal awards a system of controls should be in existence that includes the review of the Assistance Listing Numbers and expenditure amounts reported on the SEFA. View of Responsible Officials: The SEFA will continue to be reviewed and updated as necessary. The issue of reflecting child nutrition lunches and breakfast not as traditionally reported as lunches and breakfast Federal revenues but as Summer Feeding during this pandemic era has been noted and will be reflected as such until the U. S. Department of Education switches the child nutrition lunches and breakfasts back to the traditional reporting.

GSA_MIGRATION