Time and Effort Reporting for Federal Grants: Requirements and Best Practices

July 17, 2012 Webinar - Listen On-Demand or Get a CD!

The On-Demand recording will be available immediately upon purchase* as a link within a PDF file of the accompanying written materials. CDs and printed materials are shipped via USPS.

Learn the ins and outs of time and effort reporting to be sure your practices are effective and compliant

If your organization has a federal grant or subgrant, there is no escaping the reality of ... timesheets! Since salaries, wages and fringe benefits are such a major portion of most federal awards, understanding the documentation requirements surrounding time and effort recording and distribution is essential to effective compliance.

Risks in this area are even greater with independent auditors performing reviews under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133 being instructed that federal programs with significant staff payroll costs may be at “high risk” for time and effort reporting problems. This leaves little doubt that auditors will be pulling some “timesheets” and testing whether they were prepared in accordance with applicable federal requirements.

But those aren’t the only auditors who may be interested in time and effort reporting. Federal auditors from offices of inspectors general have been spending a lot of time on this aspect of federal fund management as well. As a result, the list of recipients and subrecipients who have had costs questioned because of substandard documentation is long and distinguished and cuts across the landscape of governments, universities and nonprofit organizations. Many of them have been told to repay hefty sums or reconstruct records that are credible enough to avoid repayments.

And, now the U.S. Office of Management and Budget is taking a fresh look to see if there are any ways to reduce the time and effort reporting burden. OMB has placed the subject front and center in its recently announced grants reform initiative. But they are already receiving push-back from auditors who aren’t comfortable with accounting for federal funds based on metrics other than the traditional timesheet.

With that backdrop, it’s prudent to take a close look at what the federal government actually requires and what options exist for compliance by recipient and subrecipient organizations, and what changes could be ahead.

This program will provide practical, hands-on assistance in these areas. You’ll get answers to these and other questions on time and effort reporting:

• What are the most common effort reporting vulnerabilities?
• What federal policy documents establish the requirements?
• What are the key standards that the federal government imposes?
• What role can budget estimates play in effort reporting?
• What system design options exist for various types of award performers?
• What features of your system are not driven by federal policy?
• How can you fix effort reporting mistakes?
• What proposals are on the table for changes to effort reporting policies?

Level: Intermediate
Prerequisites: Some knowledge of federal grant management and audit requirements is helpful
Advanced preparation: None

Hand-out Materials

Attendees will receive presentation slides as well as access to background materials.

Course Instructor

BOB LLOYD is a respected authority on policies and practices affecting the award, administration and oversight of federal grants, contracts and subawards. Mr. Lloyd has nearly 40 years of experience in federal award implementation. Prior to starting his management consulting practice in Washington, D.C., in 1982, he served as the executive director of the Grants Management Advisory Service and held staff positions in two large federally funded organizations. Since then, he has been a consultant, trainer or advisor to award and audit units in sixteen federal award-making departments and agencies, and to recipient and subrecipient organizations and their professional advisors located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, several U.S territories and 18 foreign countries. He is the principal author of several reference works on federal grants management and audits, and currently serves as contributing editor to Federal Grants News and Federal Auditing News, published jointly by Atlantic Information Services, NACUBO and NCURA. He also is a Charter Life Member of the National Grants Management Association and served on its Board of Directors for five years.

Who Should Attend?

• Grant and Contract Administrators
• Sponsored Program Administrators
• Federal Program Managers
• Principal Investigators
• Program managers
• Subaward administrators
• Internal Auditors
• External Auditors

Allowable Charges

The costs of webinars sponsored by Federal Fund Management Advisor are allowable charges to your federal grants and subgrants. Each of the sets of federal cost principles issued by OMB for federal awards administered by state, local, and tribal governments, colleges and universities, and nonprofit organizations explicitly states that the costs of training for employee development and vocational effectiveness are allowable. For your records, the specific citations are:

• OMB Circular A-21 (2 CFR 220), Appendix A, Paragraph J.51—Colleges and Universities
• OMB Circular A-87 (2 CFR 225), Appendix B, Paragraph 42—State, Local and Tribal Governments
• OMB Circular A-122 (2 CFR 230), Appendix C, Paragraph 49(a)—Nonprofit Organizations

Shipping Information

CDs (and accompanying written materials) are shipped via UPS. Please give us your street address when you order (UPS does not deliver to PO boxes). You should receive your order within two weeks.* Shipping and handling cost is $12.

The On-Demand Recording will be delivered as a link within a PDF file of the accompanying written materials. Shipping will NOT be charged for this item.

• If you order the On-Demand Recording before the conference date (by itself or in combination with the live Webinar), you will be sent an email with the PDF file attached once the recording is available.*
• After the On-Demand Recording is available*, if you order on this website through our secure shopping cart, you will receive an email, immediately after submitting your order, with a link directing you to download the PDF file. If you order through our customer service department (by phone, mail, fax or email), you will be sent an email with the PDF file attached.

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*On-Demand recordings will be available within a week of the conference and CDs will be available within two weeks.

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