ST. MARTIN PARISH SHERIFFLocal Government

2021-002 ? Inadequate Controls over Allowable Costs; U. S. Department of Treasury; Assistance Listing #21.019 ? Coronavirus Relief Fund; Passed through the State of Louisiana Department of Treasury; Year Initially Occurred ? 2021 Condition: In testing internal controls with respect to allowable costs, 40 payroll transactions were selected in order to determine whether the controls in place were operating effectively to ensure that the payroll costs submitted as allowable under the grant agreed to the documentation on file. The sample was a statistically valid sample. Based on this test, two instances were noted where the hours reported as allowable did not agree to the hours documented on the timesheet. Neither exception resulted in questioned costs. Criteria: Internal controls are required to be in place to ensure that amounts reported as allowable agree to the documentation on file. Cause: Established controls and procedures did not include a review component to ensure that hours reported as allowable agreed to the timesheet. Effect: Without proper internal controls over allowable costs, costs may be claimed that are not allowable. Recommendation: The Sheriff?s Office should establish procedures to ensure that review procedures are included as part of their controls for allowable costs determinations. Management?s Corrective Action Plan: Effective 12/1/2021, Accounting Director Donna Lasseigne will assign Accounting Specialist Joan Lasseigne and/or Danielle Guidry to review all supporting documentation to ensure that costs reported as allowable agree to documentation on file. All supporting documentation will be reviewed by one or both of these individuals prior to being forwarded to Support Services Administrative Assistant Stacey Blanchard for input in the State/Federal software portal for reimbursement. After input into the portal and prior to submission, data entry reports will also be reviewed by Joan Lasseigne and/or Danielle Guidry for accuracy. Accounting Director Donna Lasseigne will oversee this process and have final responsibility and accountability for accuracy of the submission.