REPORT DIGEST

ILLINOIS JOINING FORCES FOUNDATION

FINANCIAL AUDIT
FOR THE TWO YEARS ENDED June 30, 2024

Release Date:  October 23, 2025

FINDINGS THIS AUDIT: 2

CATEGORY:  NEW -- REPEAT – TOTAL
Category 1:  0 -- 2 -- 2
Category 2:  0 -- 0 -- 0
Category 3:  0 -- 0 -- 0
TOTAL:  0 -- 2 -- 2

FINDINGS LAST AUDIT: 4

State of Illinois, Office of the Auditor
General
FRANK J. MAUTINO, AUDITOR GENERAL

To obtain a copy of the Report contact:
Office of the Auditor General, 400 West
Monroe, Suite 306, Springfield, IL
62704-9849
(217) 782-6046 or TTY (888) 261-2887

This Report Digest and Full Report are also
available on the worldwide web at
www.auditor.illinois.gov

INTRODUCTION

This digest covers the financial statement
audit of the Illinois Joining Forces
Foundation (Foundation) for the two years
ended June 30, 2024. A digest covering the
Foundation’s Compliance Examination Report
for the two years ended June 30, 2024, will
be released under a separate cover.

SYNOPSIS

• (24-1) The Illinois Joining Forces
Foundation (Foundation) had weaknesses in
its financial statements and related note
disclosures for Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal
Year 2024.
• (24-2) The Foundation had weaknesses in
its internal control structure.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

WEAKNESSES IN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND
NOTES

The Illinois Joining Forces Foundation
(Foundation) had weaknesses in its
financial statements and related note
disclosures for Fiscal Year 2023 and Fiscal
Year 2024.

Some of the more significant issues we
noted during our testing are as follows:

• The Foundation did not disclose its
material related party transactions. In
Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024, we noted the
Foundation received donations of $307,500
and $360,000, respectively, from donor
companies that were affiliated with
Foundation Board members.

• The Foundation classified all of its
receivable amounts as current assets even
though some portions will not be collected
within the ordinary course of business
within a year. As a result, current assets
were overstated by $300,000 and noncurrent
assets were understated by $300,000.

• The Foundation classified a certificate
of deposit (CD), valued at $157,372 as of
June 30, 2024, as part of its cash and cash
equivalents on the statement of financial
position. However, the CD did not meet the
criteria to be considered a cash and cash
equivalent, and should have been classified
as an investment. (Finding 1, pages 19-23).
This finding has been reported since 2018.

We recommended the Foundation utilize
professional tools, such as checklists, to
improve the completeness and quality of its
financial statements and related note
disclosures.

Foundation management agreed with our
recommendations.

INTERNAL CONTROL STRUCTURE WEAKNESSES

The Foundation had weaknesses in its
internal control structure.  Some of the
more significant issues we noted during our
testing are as follows:

• For 4 of 25 (16%) receipts tested,
totaling $112,500, the Foundation was
unable to provide documentation to
demonstrate the dates when the Foundation
received the receipt checks. As such, we
were unable to determine whether the
receipts were deposited timely into the
Foundation’s checking account.

• We noted one individual who departed from
the Foundation prior to the examination
period was still listed as an authorized
signer on the Foundation’s bank account
from July 1, 2022 through June 16, 2023,
when the Foundation closed this bank
account.

• The Foundation’s bank account balances as
of June 30, 2024, exceeded the amount of
the federal deposit insurance coverage.
Although the Foundation obtained extended
coverage of up to $3.75 million for one of
its accounts, this additional coverage did
not extend to its other two bank accounts
which had a combined coverage of $250,000.
(Finding 2, pages 24-26). This finding has
been reported since 2016.

We recommended the Foundation strengthen
its controls over retention and maintenance
of supporting documentation related to
financial and fiscal operations.
Additionally, we recommended the Foundation
timely update its bank signature cards to
ensure the removal of individuals who no
longer require access. Finally, we
recommended the Foundation ensure that its
bank balances in excess of federal deposit
insurance coverage maximums are adequately
secured.

Foundation management agreed with our
recommendations.

AUDITOR’S OPINION

The auditors qualified their opinion on the
Foundation’s financial statements due to
the issues noted in Finding 2024-001.
Except for this matter, the auditors stated
the financial statements of the Foundation
as of and for the years ended June 30,
2024, and June 30, 2023, are fairly stated
in all material respects.
This financial audit was conducted by the
Office of the Auditor General’s staff.

COURTNEY DZIERWA
Division Director

This report is transmitted in accordance
with Section 3-14 of the Illinois State
Auditing Act.

FRANK J. MAUTINO
Auditor General

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