Like all aspects of Uniform Guidance, OMB attempted to ease the administrative burden and place greater emphasis on sound internal controls concerning time and effort reporting. This leaves considerable ambiguity about exactly how Federal award recipients and subrecipients should document their personnel costs. What is the best way to handle accuracy and documentation so that your time records don’t result in disallowed costs? This session helps you understand the cost principle behind time and effort reporting, generating quality supporting documentation, and what’s expected under Uniform Guidance. You’ll get expert guidance on how to respond to the flexibility and ambiguity with high-performance procedures that help keep personnel costs from being questioned and disallowed. You’ll learn about what audit procedures you are likely to face and how organizations that have received findings could have avoided trouble. .

In a continuously evolving industry, it is crucial that recipients of Federal financial assistance are prepared for those changes that can directly impact their programs and sources of Federal funding. Future proof your team with award compliance strategies and tactics that can aid your organization with adapting to change. In this session, our experts will discuss the latest regulatory updates, compliance trends, Federal agency announcements, and proposed rule changes impacting our industries.   Learning Objectives: Review the latest regulatory updates and proposed rule changes; Discuss current compliance trends and how they may potentially impact your programs in the future; and Discuss best strategies for minimizing potential impacts to your organization.

OMB continues to shine a spotlight on the adequacy of the Federal award recipient’s system of internal controls with the inclusion of a section dedicated to adequate internal controls within its annually issued Compliance Supplement. OMB expects all award recipients and subrecipients to have a documented system of controls that provides reasonable assurance that Federal awards are being managed in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. The proper deployment of these controls is crucial for preventing fraud, waste, and abuse from occurring or detecting these issues once they have occurred. In this session, we will discuss the basic principles of internal controls, the key requirements in 2 CFR 200, differences between preventative vs detective controls, proper segregation of duties, and examples of common control activities. Learning Objectives: Review the guiding principles of Internal Controls; Discuss key requirements in 2 CFR 200; Define preventative vs detective controls; Review how to achieve proper segregation of duties; and Review common control activities related to high-risk areas.

What kind of information are Federal award recipients expected to include in their reporting? Reporting requirements typically fall into one of three categories: financial, compliance, and performance. Poor or improper reporting can create a significant burden for award recipients while straining their relationship with Federal agencies. These issues can be prevented through the early adoption of sound work instructions and checklists that can create a standardized approach to this common administrative hurdle. During this session, we will provide participants with an overview of the forms and reports required during performance, while addressing what information should be included, and what best practices are available to strengthen the reporting process.   Learning Objectives: Review the different types of reporting that are required under Federal financial assistance awards and their purpose; Discuss the information that should be included in each report; and Discuss how to complete each report accurately and thoroughly