aga east tn chapter fall training uniform guidance ron maples [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
Outline
1. What is Uniform Guidance2. Administrative, Clerical, and Programmatic Salary Costs3. Computing Devices4. Participant Support Costs5. Visa Costs6. Unused Supplies7. Cost Sharing8. Procurement9. Subawards and Subrecipient Monitoring10. Sponsor Project Closeout11. Prior Written Approval12. New or Updated Fiscal Policies13. Uncertain Items
What is Uniform Guidance?
• OMB issued Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, known as Uniform Guidance.
• This new uniform guidance are the rules concerning how we administer, account for and audit federal grant and contract funds (sponsored projects).
• http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-12-26/pdf/2013-304
65.pdf Federal Register Vol. 78 No, 248 Thursday December 26, 2013
• 2 CFR Part 200
Reasons for Uniform Guidance
• Strengthen oversight of federal funds to reduce the risk of fraud, waste and abuse.• Streamlining guidance on Administrative Requirements,
Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal awards to ease federal burden. • More effectively focus federal resources on improving
performance and outcomes while ensuring financial integrity. • Deliver on the promise of more efficient, effective and
transparent government.
What Circular Does Change?• OMB Circular A-110 (Administrative Requirements for Higher Ed, Hospitals and
Non-Profits) **
• OMB Circular A-21 (University cost principles) **
• OMB Circular A-133 (Audits) **
• OMB Circular A-87 (State, Local and Indian Tribal Gov. cost principles)
• OMB Circular A-122 (Not for profit cost principles)
• OMB Circular A-89 (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance CFDA)
• OMB Circular A-102 (Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Government)
• OMB CircularA-50 (Audit follow up)
** Circulars that UT(Universities) followed
Federal Timeline• December 26, 2013 – OMB issued the final rule of the Uniform
Guidance.
• June 26, 2014 – Due date for federal agencies to submit proposed implementation plans to OMB to allow for review and public comment.
• November 20, 2014 - NSF releases their Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide which incorporates Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principals and Audit Requirements.
• December 26, 2014 –Uniform Guidance goes into effect. It will apply to new awards or additional funding to existing awards made after this date. For existing federal awards received prior to December 26, 2014, UT will adhere to the stated terms and conditions of the award.
Uniform Guidance Implementationat UT • The university convened a UT-wide group to address changes
to fiscal policies,• Planning began March 2014,• 17 groups with over 40 volunteers,• System wide meetings have occurred: Weekly, biweekly and monthly,• Ten fiscal policies have been revised or written to meet the Uniform
Guidance requirements.• Various speaking engagements to faculty, administrators, and
staff to inform of pending changes to come (immediate and ongoing),
• UTK Website created (November 2014) http://research.utk.edu/osp/ug/
• Information sessions to be conducted (current).
What are some of the big changes?• Some previously unallowed direct charging is now allowed• Administrative and clerical salaries • Computers
• Subrecipient monitoring – more monitoring is required, including a documented risk assessment.
• The single audit threshold is increased from $500,000.00 to $750,000.00.
• Significant focus on internal controls – recipients are required to have controls in compliance with guidance in “ Standards for the Internal Control in the Federal Government” issued by COSO.
• F & A – 10% de minimis rate for entities that do not have a rate and a one time extension of negotiated rates for up to four years.
What are some of the big changes? cont. • Required certifications – Reports contain extremely strong
language and change who is authorized to sign invoices and final reports.
• Required data elements in subawards for FATTA compliance.• Purchasing rules – Procurement claw. New concept of micro
purchases of $3.000.00 or less without competition. • The Purchasing requirement was delayed for one year. The
Purchasing requirement has been delayed for one additional year.
Charging Administrative, Clerical and Programmatic Salary Costs
UG 200.413(c) • Examples governing “major project or activity” exceptions
have been removed and replaced by the following criteria, ALL of which must be met: • Administrative or clerical services are integral to a project or activity; • Individuals involved can be specifically identified with the project or activity; • Such costs are explicitly included in the budget or have the prior written approval of the
Federal awarding agency; and
• The costs are not also recovered as F & A (indirect) costs.
• If all requirements are met, add a new justification statement to proposals to facilitate the required agency approval.
• NOTE: Generally, overtime pay should not be charged to a Federal award.
Charging Administrative, Clerical and Programmatic Salary Costs• Integral
• “Integral/Essential is defined as being absolutely necessary for the completion of the statement of work. Administrative or Clerical personnel are integral/essential to a project if they are directly supporting the projects statement of work. How the Administrative or Clerical personnel are directly supporting the project must be detailed in the proposal budget and budget justification.”
As defined in UT fiscal policy FI0206
Charging Administrative, Clerical and Programmatic Salary Costs• Integral
Further, the Guidance clarifies that direct charged administrative or clerical services must be integral to a project or activity - as opposed to necessary to the overall operation of the institution and assignable in part to sponsored projects.
For example, the clarification in the Uniform Guidance highlights that salary for an administrative assistant completing financial reconciliations should not be divided and charged directly to all sponsored awards under a PI or department. Although financial reconciliations are necessary to the overall execution of the project, this is true of all sponsored and non-sponsored activities and these types of services cannot be considered “integral” to the project’s goals and objectives.
As defined in UT fiscal policy FI0206
Charging Administrative, Clerical and Programmatic Salary Costs (cont.)• Justification Statement example:
• “High volume and the tight timeline of the project mandate more extensive monitoring than the services routinely provided by the department. The program assistant is needed to oversee the subrecipients’ activities, including working with appropriate university parties to perform risk assessment and subrecipient monitoring, ensuring timely delivery and review of invoices, acquiring progress reports and ensuring their review, resolving mid-project issues, monitoring compliance approvals, ensuring timely payments, and handling subaward modifications. We are therefore requesting agency approval for a [List position title here] as an administrative cost allowed under 2 CFR 200.413.”
Computing Devices (Under $5,000 Unit Cost)
UG 200.453
• Computing devices under $5,000/unit may be direct charged under the following circumstances: • The machines are essential and allocable to the project, • They are necessary to acquire, store, analyze, process, and publish data and other
information electronically,• including accessories (or “peripherals”) for printing, transmitting and
receiving, or storing electronic information• The project does not have reasonable access to other devices or equipment that
can achieve the same purpose,• devices may not be purchased for reasons of convenience or preference.
• Items costing more than $5,000 per unit are considered equipment and follow federal equipment rules.
Participant Support CostsUG 200.68, 200.75, 200.456
• Participant support costs are not routinely allowed on research projects but can be charged with agency approval and the project includes:
• An education or outreach component and the agency approves such costs.
• Participant support costs may include: • Stipends or subsistence allowances,• Travel allowances,• Registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with conferences
or training projects.
• These costs should be explicitly listed in the approved proposal budget OR prior approval must be obtained from
the funding agency before expenditures are made,
• These costs must be excluded when calculating the project’s overall F & A (MTDC) costs.
Visa Costs• UG 200.463(d)
• Since short-term visas are issued for a specific period of time and purpose, they can be direct charged to a Federal award if:
• They can be clearly identified as directly connected to work performed on a Federal award,
• They are critical and necessary to the project and are allowable by the agency.
• These visas allow employees and students to engage in field research or attend meetings in foreign locations, or allow foreign visitors to visit the University in support of the project.
• Long-term visa costs, such as those that enable employment at the University (for example “J” and “H1B” visas) are not allowable as direct charges. NOTE: this includes any “premium” processing fees.
Unused Supplies
UG 200.314
• Supplies Title to supplies will vest in the non-Federal entity upon acquisition. If there is a residual inventory of unused supplies exceeding $5,000 in total aggregate value upon termination or completion of the project or program and the supplies are not needed for any other Federal award, the non-Federal entity must retain the supplies for use on other activities or sell them, but must, in either case, compensate the Federal government for its share. The amount of compensation must be computed in the same manner as for equipment.
Cost Sharing
UG 200.204 & 200.306
• Voluntary committed cost sharing may not be used as a factor during the merit review of applications or proposals, and should not be included.
• Mandatory cost share must be specified in the notice of funding opportunity,
• Voluntary committed cost sharing is NOT expected, sponsor policies and guidelines should be carefully considered when submitting a proposal containing “voluntary committed cost share”.
Procurement
UG 200.317 - 200.326
• Standard thresholds will trigger additional purchase documentation and requirements (MORE to come)***,
• Grace period for complying with the Uniform Guidance Procurement Standards is December 26, 2016,
• Single Audit Compliance Supplement will instruct auditors to review procurement policies and procedures based on the documented standard.
***Currently, the Federal purchasing thresholds do not meet UT’s for ensuring a competitive bidding process so there are anticipated changes in this arena.
Subrecipient Monitoring and ManagementUG 200.330 - 200.332
• Section 200.330 explains the roles of subrecipients and contractors so that the non-Federal entity can determine the relationship and the applicable requirements,
• A non-Federal entity provides a subaward to a subrecipient for the purpose of carrying out a portion of a Federal award and creates a Federal assistance relationship between the non-Federal entity and the subrecipient,
• A non-Federal entity provides a contract to a contractor for the purpose of obtaining goods and services for the non-Federal entity’s own use and creates a procurement relationship between the non- Federal entity and the contractor,
• What the document is called does not matter; the relationship is the basis for determining which requirements are applicable.
Subrecipient Monitoring and Management (cont’d)200.331, Requirements for pass-through entities, includes audit responsibilities that were in A-133.
The pass-through entity must:
• Put specific information in the subaward, including F & A cost rate,
• Do a risk assessment to determine appropriate subrecipient monitoring AND must monitor subrecipients,
• Consider if specific subaward conditions are needed,
• Verify subrecipients have audits in accordance with Subpart F,
• Make any necessary adjustment to the pass-through entity’s records based on reviews and audits of subrecipients,
• Consider actions to address subrecipient noncompliance.
Subrecipient Monitoring and Management (cont’d)
Following information must be identified to subrecipient at time of award and put in the subaward (and when changes are made to the subaward) (200.331(a)):
• Federal award identification, e.g., DUNS number,
• F & A cost rate for the Federal Award (sponsor guidelines),
• Subrecipient without a negotiated rate may include the de minimus rate of 10% MTDC (200.414),
• F & A costs Requirements imposed by the pass-through entity,
• Requirement to provide access to records for audit.
Required Subrecipients MonitoringProcedures
When monitoring of subrecipients, the pass-through entity must (UG 200.331(d)):
• Review all reports required by the pass-through entity,
• Follow-up to ensure subrecipient takes appropriate action on all deficiencies pertaining to the subaward from the pass-through entity identified through audits, on-site reviews, and other means,
• When needed, issue a management decision for audit findings pertaining to subawards made by the pass-through entity.
Subrecipients Invoicing Procedures and Requirements(cont.)
• Invoices must be reviewed for accuracy:• Ensure compliance with project objectives, terms and conditions as well as
federal statutes and regulations.
• If any amount is determined to be unallowable, notify the subrecipients immediately,
• Document and deduct disallowed amount from the invoice before forwarding the invoice to the Treasurer's Office for payment.
• First $25,000 paid to each subrecipient, use GL Code 481100; remaining amount charge to GL 482100,
• Ensure final subaward invoice is received per contractual terms in order to be paid timely and reimburse by federal award.
Sponsor Project CloseoutUG 200.343• UG sets FIRM deadline of 90 days to final report and bill
(or draw funds) at the end of the stated period(NOA) for federal agencies,
• If UT is the subrecipient of federal funds, the reporting/billing deadline may be shorter – e.g. 60, 45, 30 days (check your award agreement for determination),
• Accuracy is a necessity on “Schedule of Final Charges” form,
• Expenditures not reported timely, will become the departments responsibility,
• Be prompt in requesting a No Cost Time Extension, if needed.
Prior Written Sponsor ApprovalUG 200.407• “Under any given Federal award, the reasonableness and allocability of certain
items of costs may be difficult to determine. In order to avoid subsequent disallowance or dispute based on unreasonableness or nonallocability, the non-Federal entity may seek the prior written approval of the cognizant agency for indirect costs or the Federal awarding agency in advance of the incurrence of special or unusual costs. Prior written approval should include the timeframe or scope of the agreement.”
• After the award has been issued, UT must seek agency approval for the “new costs”. • Therefore, no new or additional costs can be initiated until after agency approval is
received.• Please complete the award action form which can be found at:
http://research.utk.edu/osp/forms-osp/
• If sponsor approved, OSP will process the revised budget through TERA/PAMS to SPA for account revision.
Prior Written Sponsor Approval
• Is required for:
• Administrative, Clerical and Programmatic salaries (§200.411 (c))• Cost sharing or matching(§ 200.306),
• Revision of budget and program plans(§ 200.308),
• Fixed amount subawards (§ 200.332),
• Equipment and other capital expenditures (§ 200.439),
Prior Written Sponsor Approval (cont.)• Is required for(cont.):
• Memberships, subscriptions and professional activities costs (§ 200.306),
• Participant support costs (§ 200.456),
• Pre-award costs (§ 200.458),
• Travel costs (§ 200.306).
New or Updated Fiscal Policy
Final:• FI0205 Sponsored Grants and Contracts (updated)• FI0206 Sponsored Projects - Distinguishing Direct vs Indirect Costs (new)• FI0207 Sponsored Projects - Salary (new)• FI0208 Sponsored Projects – Federal Salary Rate Limitation (new)• FI0210 Sponsored Projects - Cost Sharing (updated)• FI0215 Sponsored Projects - Effort Certification (updated)• FI0225 Sponsored Projects - Code of Business Ethics (updated )• FI0230 Sponsored Projects - Subaward Origination and Subrecipient Monitoring
(updated)• FI0235 Sponsored Projects - Program Income(updated)
Draft:• FI0220 Sponsored Projects - Cost Transfers (updated)
All fiscal policies can be found at: http://policy.tennessee.edu/fiscal_policy/
References and Support Documents• Uniform Guidance: http://
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-12-26/pdf/2013-30465.pdf
• UT Fiscal Policies: ttp://policy.tennessee.edu/fiscal_policy/
• UT-Knoxville Uniform Guidance Website: http://research.utk.edu/osp/ug/
• Documents found in Fiscal Policy FI0206:• UT PI Quick Guide• Examples of Direct vs F & A Cost• Unallowable costs for Federal and Federal flow through.• UT Justification Statement Examples
Uncertain items• Conflict of interest• Requirements for pass through entities• Procurement standards• Closeout• DS-2 requirement• Compensation – fringe benefits• Utility cost adjustment
