2010 Financial and Grants Management Institute
Submitted by lauran
2010
MBI
Overall Information
Workshop Sessions
Avoiding Common Issues and Pitfalls
This session will provide an overview of the common issues and pitfalls that have been found in CNCS-funded programs during Office of Inspector General (OIG) audits, CNCS monitoring and site visits, and other reviews. This session will review and explore various issues, including to some extent issues identified and discussed in greater depth in other sessions. Participants will learn from other’s mistakes and how to take steps and establish systems or protocols to avoid or help prevent these types of issues within their organization.
Developing and Managing your Budget
This session will be most helpful for those responsible for preparing, managing, or operating a national service program. A well-developed program budget provides the road-map and resources that a program needs to achieve its programmatic and financial objectives. This session will provide participants with the techniques, tools, and tips that will assist them in developing a good program budget. The session will include: a) things to consider during the planning stages for your grant, e.g., ensuring you budget includes only allowable costs and maximizing your administrative cost recovery; and b) strategies for reviewing and managing your budget during the program year.
Federal Financial Reports and Program Income
This session will be helpful for both grantees and subgrantees. Participants will review the Federal Financial Report (FFR) and the implementation of the FFR in the Payment Management System for disbursements. The session will also address obtaining necessary, timely financial information from subgrantees in order to complete grantee FFR reports and address what to do about late reporting or incomplete data at time of reporting. Discussions will also include the new Program Income reporting requirements in the FFR, the definition of income, and how to report unexpended program income.
Financial Monitoring
This session will be most beneficial to those individuals who have oversight responsibilities for subgrantees or sites and is designed to enhance State Commission and National Program financial monitoring strategies. Among topics to be discussed are: purpose of monitoring, grantee's responsibilities, keys to effective monitoring, the use of risk based assessments and other strategies to efficiently manage monitoring resources, the use of on-site and desk monitoring tools, basic areas to review, frequently found monitoring issues, and shared practices and available resources.
Immersion Session: Financial and Grants Management 101
This Immersion Session is NOT designed for all participants, but for those who are new to the job with 1 year or less experience and new CNCS-funded grantees. This Immersion Session will review the basic elements of financial and grants management for Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) grants and awards. Topics include Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars dealing with cost principles, CNCS regulations and award provisions, key accounting system requirements, written policies and procedures, internal controls, budgets, match, time and activity reports, budget controls, financial reporting, documentation, audits, and other financial related requirements. This Immersion Session is for participants who want to be immersed in a specific topic to not only develop their knowledge, but also share practices, discuss challenges and opportunities, and explore ways to enhance current practices.
Match: Documenting Cash and In-Kind
Meeting and documenting required match is essential to an efficiently run and compliant grant. This session will discuss how to properly track and record cash and in-kind donations, how to calculate the value of in-kind donations, how to document match expenses in the accounting system, how to avoid audit findings related to match, and other match-related topics.
Member Records, Files, and Documentation
This session will focus on the requirements related to member records and files. Participants will gain a better understanding of what documentation is needed for member files, what records and information will be reviewed during a monitoring visit or audit, and the significance of these records for determining allowable costs. Participants will have the opportunity to explore, discuss, and diagnose real-life program scenarios and understand the common audit findings related to member records in audits, site visits, and other reviews.
National Service Criminal History Background Checks
This session will be most helpful for programs recruiting and placing members and for staff monitoring programs. Determining the suitability of members and grant-funded staff is a crucial requirement established by regulation in 2007, as well as the Serve America Act. The key component of this regulation is the National Service Criminal History Check for all covered positions, and the Serve America Act expanded the requirements for who is covered. This session will address the regulations, requirements and alternatives. It will provide participants with a clear understanding to whom these requirements apply and under what circumstances; what is necessary to determine suitability; the timeline to accomplish the background checks; and the potential ramifications of not adhering to the requirements.
OIG: Safeguarding and Accountability of Corporation and Recovery Act Funds
In this session the Office of Inspector General (OIG) discusses agency oversight to ensure adequate organizational internal controls are in place to safeguard program and taxpayer dollars. This session will cover an overview of the OIG’s mission; identify indicators of fraud; identify current audit findings; preparation for an audit, safeguarding and accountability of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds, and how to report fraud, waste, or abuse.
Programmatic and Financial Compliance as a Team Effort
This session will focus on the interrelation of the program and financial staff and how their roles, responsibilities, decisions, and actions affect not only the grant and its management, but also each other and their interdependencies. This session will review and explore specific areas where decisions or actions by financial or program staff can significantly affect program and grant compliance. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and troubleshoot real life scenarios, which will allow them to better understand how they can work as a team to increase both financial and program compliance.
Strengthening Internal Controls
Internal controls include organizational policies, procedures and processes to help ensure decisions, actions, and transactions are appropriately justified, reviewed, approved and documented. Internal controls support effective management and help minimize the opportunity for waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. This session will review internal controls and policies and procedures in general and key elements dealing with topics such as: staff time sheets, in-kind contributions, job descriptions, accounting systems, chart of accounts, and budgetary controls.
Understanding Financial Statements and OMB A-133 Audits including ARRA Requirements
This session will help participants to better understand and analyze financial statement relationships. We will focus on the Statement of Financial Position, Statement of Activities and the Statement of Cash Flow. The session will illustrate the relationship between these statements, including key ratios that are used to assess organizations’ financial health. The sessions will also review requirements for an OMB A-133 audit and new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) implications. Participants will learn the relationship between an organization’s A-133 audit or other audit report and financial statements. This session will also help commissions and national programs assess their systems to ensure they meet their responsibilities related to tracking, receiving, reviewing and resolving audit issues for both parents and pass-through entities.
Round Robin Topics
During this session, participants will take part in three, 45-minute sessions, where a presenter will deliver training on a specific topic for 10 – 15 minutes, with about 30 minutes for questions and answers. Most sessions will be presented at a table with no more than 10 participants. Some sessions will be presented in separate rooms to allow for a greater number of participants or to permit the use of overhead or other projected visual materials. Some sessions may be repeated one or more times, while others will be presented once. See Agenda-At-A-Glance for topics.
Allowable Costs: OMB Circular Criteria for Cost Allowability
Changes in the IRS Form 990 Report
Cost Allocation Plans: Allocating Indirect and Overhead Costs
Federal Financial Reports and Program Income
Financial Accounting Software for Non-Profit Organizations
In-Kind Documentation and Valuation
Living Allowance Distributions: AmeriCorps
Securing or Updating an Indirect Cost Rate Agreements with CNCS
Timesheets: A Review of an Example and OMB Requirements
Resources
Resource 1 – CNCS Grants Acronyms (PDF)
Resource 2 – Glossary of Terms and Definitions (PDF)
Resource 3 – Grants Management Regulation List (PDF)
Resource 4 – Internet Resource Guide (PDF)
Audit Lunch Plenary
Power Point Financial Audits and You (PDF)
Pre-Post Assessment
Pre-Post Assessment Answers (PDF)
SIF and NCB Grantee Specific Meeting
SIF and NCB Grantee Specific Meetings
