The Chemawa Indian School Did Not Account for Its Financial Resources, and the Bureau of Indian Education Did Not Provide Financial Oversight

Submitting OIG:

Report Description:

Chemawa Indian School did not accurately account for or use financial resources in accordance with laws and regulations during FYs 2019 through 2021.

Date Issued:

Friday, July 14, 2023

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

Department of the Interior

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

2022-CR-012

Component, if applicable:

Other

Location(s):

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Audit

Questioned Costs:

$593,367

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

Report updated under NDAA 5274:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
Final-Audit-ReportChemawa-Indian-School.pdf	5.29 MB

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
2022-CR-012-01	Open	Yes
We recommend that BIE develop and provide training to Chemawa Indian School personnel on Bureau of Indian Affairs Manual Part 62 Chapter 8 to ensure proper Student Enterprise fund accounting, daily account balancing, and monthly reconciliations of the bank statements to the Student Enterprise accounting records that the Principal has approved.
2022-CR-012-05	Open	No
We recommend that BIE develop and provide training to Chemawa Indian School personnel on Indian Affairs Manual Part 30 Chapter 8 to ensure the school reports any donated funds to the BIE Collections Officer.
2022-CR-012-06	Open	Yes
We recommend that BIE ensure that Chemawa Indian School enters into fundraising agreements with any non-Federal entities that solicit donations on behalf of the school.
2022-CR-012-07	Open	Yes
We recommend that BIE ensure that Chemawa Indian School obtains the appropriate approvals for expenditure of donated funds.
2022-CR-012-08	Open	Yes
We recommend that BIE Develop and provide training to Chemawa Indian School personnel on Federal regulations to ensure the school provides any donations received to the BIE for deposit into a designated Treasury account and submits an annual report of donations received, including how the donations were used, to the BIE Director.
2022-CR-012-09	Open	Yes
We recommend that the BIE resolve the $593,367 in questioned costs related to the inappropriate purchases.
2022-CR-012-11	Open	Yes
We recommend that the BIE develop and implement Budget and Finance policies and procedures that set forth requirements and approval processes for establishing new academic or extracurricular programs.
2022-CR-012-12	Open	Yes
We recommend that the BIE develop and implement Budget and Finance policies and procedures that provide guidance regarding purchases that can be made with the different funding sources provided to the schools, including Title I funds.
2022-CR-012-13	Open	Yes
We recommend that the BIE develop and implement Budget and Finance policies and procedures for approving purchase requests, including ensuring the appropriate officials certify that purchases are allowable and reasonable.
2022-CR-012-14	Open	No
We recommend that the BIE develop and provide training to Chemawa Indian School on the newly established Budget and Finance policies and procedures for establishing new academic or extracurricular programs, defining types of purchases that can be made with the different funding sources, and approving purchase requests.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

2022-CR-012-01

Open

Yes

We recommend that BIE develop and provide training to Chemawa Indian School personnel on Bureau of Indian Affairs Manual Part 62 Chapter 8 to ensure proper Student Enterprise fund accounting, daily account balancing, and monthly reconciliations of the bank statements to the Student Enterprise accounting records that the Principal has approved.

2022-CR-012-05

Open

We recommend that BIE develop and provide training to Chemawa Indian School personnel on Indian Affairs Manual Part 30 Chapter 8 to ensure the school reports any donated funds to the BIE Collections Officer.

2022-CR-012-06