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Management Challenges for the National Science Foundation in Fiscal Year 2021
Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – University of Michigan
Direct UM to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $11,499 of questioned participant support costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct UM to establish clear guidance regarding the rebudgeting of participant support cost funding. This guidance should address when and how to request approval to rebudget participant support cost funding, as well as how to document the approval.
Direct UM to update its current award set-up practices to require that, when setting up accounts established for NSF awards and/or funding supplements, personnel ensure that the accounts apply indirect costs using the rate(s) that were established in the Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement in effect as of the date of the NSF award, rather than using the rate(s) included in the original Notice of Award.
Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities - University of Wisconsin - Madison
Resolve the $26,974 in questioned Award Cash Management $ervice drawdowns for which UW-Madison has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct UW-Madison to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned drawdowns from its NSF awards.
Direct UW-Madison to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $20,431 of questioned Award Cash Management $ervice drawdowns for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct UW-Madison to update its administrative and management processes and internal control procedures surrounding the Award Cash Management $ervice procedures for awards with expiring appropriations. Updated processes could include validating that UW-Madison adequately documents that any Award Cash Management $ervice draws in excess of its actual expenses support immediate cash needs.
Direct UW-Madison to strengthen its award set-up processes and procedures to ensure it cannot charge costs to an active award if the Federal appropriations for the award have expired.
Direct UW-Madison to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $1,593 in questioned costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct UW-Madison to update its administrative and management processes and internal control procedures surrounding the Award Cash Management $ervice system to ensure that UW-Madison appropriately incorporates credits when calculating the total amount to draw down from, or return to, NSF.
Direct UW-Madison to update its current award set-up practices to require that, when setting up accounts established for NSF awards, personnel ensure that the accounts apply indirect costs using the rates that were established in the Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement in effect as of the date of the NSF grant award, rather than using the rates included within the original grant proposal.
Direct UW-Madison to strengthen its Research Experience for Undergraduate award setup procedures to ensure that personnel select the appropriate indirect cost base.
Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – University of Alaska Fairbanks
Direct UAF to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $14,964 of questioned Award Cash Management $ervice drawdowns associated with unreturned credits.
Direct UAF to provide additional training to the individual(s) responsible for making draws within NSF’s Award Cash Management $ervice system to ensure that UAF appropriately incorporates credits when calculating the total amount to draw down from, or return to, NSF.
Direct UAF to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $10,704 of questioned indirect costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct UAF to strengthen its administrative and management processes and training procedures for ensuring that it appropriately applies indirect costs to costs charged to Federal awards. Updated processes could include: a. Requiring an annual review of sponsored award accounts that UAF established to track participant support costs to ensure that the accounts do not apply indirect costs. b. Requiring that personnel manually review purchase card transactions that exceed $5,000 to evaluate whether UAF should account for the purchase(s) as equipment.
Direct UAF to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $2,938 of questioned travel and other direct costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct UAF to strengthen its policies and procedures related to creating and retaining documentation, including introducing additional controls to help ensure that UAF appropriately creates and maintains all documentation necessary to support the allowability of expenses charged to sponsored programs.
Direct UAF to provide additional training regarding the types of travel expenses that are allowable and unallowable under Federal and NSF regulation and UAF policy. This training should specifically address how to account for expenses claimed by non-UAF employees for which UAF has received a travel credit.
Direct UAF to establish clear guidance regarding the allowability of credit card convenience fees.
Direct UAF to strengthen its administrative and management processes and procedures surrounding the approval of travel expense reports. Updated procedures could include: a. Conducting annual training for those individuals responsible for reviewing and approving expense reports within each department. b. Requiring personnel to perform additional procedures when a traveler diverts from their original travel itinerary.
Direct UAF to update its current practices for establishing indirect cost rates to ensure that UAF applies indirect costs to NSF awards using the rate(s) established in the appropriate Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement.
Review of the National Science Foundation CARES Act Spending Plan
Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – California Institute of Technology
Resolve the $16,351 in questioned salary expenses for which Caltech has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct Caltech to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.
Direct Caltech to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $418 of questioned salary expenses for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct Caltech to strengthen its policies and procedures by retroactively establishing expiration dates on its use of the Other Paid Leave Pool on Federal awards and ensuring that these expiration dates align with the expiration dates and criteria specific to Flexibility 6 of Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-20-17.
Resolve the $31,856 in questioned subaward expenses for which Caltech has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct Caltech to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.
Direct Caltech to strengthen its internal control processes and procedures surrounding the transfer of significant portions of NSF-funded research to other organizations. Updated processes could include: a. Establishing procedures to verify whether the scope of work for a proposed subcontract on an NSF award is programmatic in nature before issuing the subcontract. If the scope of work is programmatic in nature, Caltech should obtain the NSF Grants Officer’s approval before issuing the subcontract. Caltech could obtain this approval either as part of the initial NSF grant proposal/budget or through a formal request to transfer the research or effort, submitted through NSF’s FastLane system. b. Requiring periodic training for Caltech personnel that are permitted to subaward, issue, or subcontract out research under NSF awards, to ensure that they request the appropriate approvals. c. Establishing procedures to confirm that Caltech personnel perform pass-through entity risk assessments to identify the appropriate monitoring procedures when Caltech awards NSF research to a pass-through entity. d. Establishing periodic monitoring procedures to ensure that Caltech appropriately assesses indirect costs on the first $25,000 invoiced by each subawardee.
Direct Caltech to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $1,515 of questioned indirect costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct Caltech to strengthen its monitoring procedures and internal control processes for applying indirect costs to Federal awards. Updated procedures could include: a. Requiring that personnel review rental expenses charged to NSF awards to assess whether the expenses included indirect costs. Specifically, Caltech should ensure the general ledger account codes it establishes to account for equipment rental charges do not apply indirect costs. b. Requiring that personnel review capitalized expenses charged to an NSF award to ensure that the capitalized amount includes all applicable costs.
Direct Caltech to quantify the total indirect costs inappropriately applied to NSF awards as a result of its rental equipment account inappropriately applying indirect costs and to reimburse NSF for the appropriate amount.
Direct Caltech to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $581 of questioned salary and fringe costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct Caltech to strengthen its administrative and management controls and processes surrounding the charging of salary to Intergovernmental Personnel Act awards. Updated processes could include requiring departmental payroll personnel to perform additional procedures to ensure that Caltech appropriately established initial salary payments, including verifying that all payments are within the Intergovernmental Personnel Act assignment dates.
Direct Caltech to update its current award set-up practices to require that, when setting up accounts established for NSF awards, personnel ensure that the accounts apply indirect costs using either the rates that were established in the Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement in effect as of the date of the NSF grant award or the rates identified in the NSF award letters, as appropriate.
Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – State University of New York at Stony Brook
Direct Stony Brook to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $20,530 of questioned Award Cash Management $ervice drawdowns associated with unspent funds.
Direct Stony Brook to update its administrative and management processes and internal control procedures surrounding the Award Cash Management $ervice for awards with expiring appropriations. Updated processes could include validating that Stony Brook only draws down funding based on immediate cash needs and/or adequately documents that any Award Cash Management $ervice draws in excess of its actual expenses support immediate cash needs.
Direct Stony Brook to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $6,913 in questioned travel costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct Stony Brook to provide additional guidance to ensure personnel reimburse NSF timely for cash drawn down for unused travel advances.
Direct Stony Brook to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $3,898 in questioned travel costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct Stony Brook to strengthen its monitoring procedures and internal controls surrounding the allocation of travel expenses to sponsored projects. Processes could include reviewing and assessing the allocation of all travel expenses charged to NSF awards.
Direct Stony Brook to separately track its on-campus and off-campus activities so that it can appropriately apply the approved on-campus and off-campus indirect cost rates.
Direct Stony Brook to update its current budget proposal process to eliminate the use of blended indirect cost rates.
Direct Stony Brook to update its current award set-up practices to require that, when setting up accounts established for NSF awards, personnel ensure that the accounts apply indirect costs using the rates that were established in the Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement in effect as of the date of the NSF grant award, rather than using the rates included within the original grant proposal.
Direct Stony Brook to update its current award set-up practices to remove the establishment of indirect cost budget caps.
Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – University of New Mexico
Resolve the $17,269 in questioned unreasonable per diem, airfare, and ground transportation costs for which UNM has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct UNM to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.
Direct UNM to strengthen its administrative and management procedures for reviewing travel expenses incurred on sponsored projects. Updated procedures could include periodic training for Principal Investigators to ensure they understand when NSF Grant Officer approval should be requested and how to appropriately document that only reasonable costs were charged to NSF awards.
Direct UNM to strengthen its policies and procedures regarding the reasonableness of per diem expenses incurred when employees are temporarily relocated for a period longer than 30 days.
Resolve the $3,613 in questioned tuition costs for which UNM has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct UNM to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.
Direct UNM to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $83 of questioned travel costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct UNM to strengthen its controls surrounding the approval of expense reimbursements to ensure approvers appropriately verify that travelers are reimbursed at the appropriate U.S. General Services Administration per diem rate(s).
Direct UNM to strengthen its policies and procedures surrounding the use of participant support cost funding to cover tuition remission expenses. Specifically, UNM should update its current tuition remission policies and procedures to ensure that it does not use participant support costs to cover costs associated with credit hours that do not benefit student participants.
Direct UNM to update its award set-up practices to require that, when setting up accounts established for NSF awards, personnel ensure that the accounts apply indirect costs using the rates that were established in the Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement in effect as of the date of the NSF grant award, rather than using the rates included within the original grant proposal.
Direct UNM to require subawardees to apply indirect costs using the rates that were established in the Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement in effect as of the date of the subaward agreement, rather than using the rates included within the subaward budget and proposal.
Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities – University of Kentucky Research Foundation
Direct UKRF to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $33,151 of questioned materials and supplies costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct UKRF to implement additional NSF grant close-out procedures that require the Principal Investigator to evaluate whether they should remove any expenses associated with unused materials and supplies from the NSF award.
Performance Audit of the Implementation of OMB COVID-19 Flexibilities - Florida State University
Direct FSU to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $4,808 of questioned Award Cash Management $ervice drawdowns for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct FSU to update its administrative and management processes and internal control procedures for awards with expiring appropriations. Updated processes could include: a. Validating that FSU adequately documents that any Award Cash Management $ervice draws in excess of its actual expenses support immediate cash needs. b. Ensuring that FSU’s system prohibits personnel from posting costs to an award after the award’s appropriation expires.
Direct FSU to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $3,648 in questioned publication and other direct costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct FSU to establish clear guidance regarding the allowability of publication expenses, including the need to acknowledge NSF funding sources.
Direct FSU to strengthen its grant closeout procedures to ensure that it reimburses NSF for any expenses that it determines did not benefit the NSF award(s) charged. Additional procedures should ensure that FSU refunds the NSF award(s) for any materials and supplies that it was unable to use before the award’s period of performance expired.
Direct FSU to implement additional controls to prevent personnel from directly charging NSF awards for costs charged to accounts established to accumulate expenses that are not typically allowed on Federal awards, such as credit/debit fees, unless the personnel obtain specific prior approval.
Direct FSU to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $567 of questioned indirect costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
Direct FSU to strengthen its administrative and management processes and internal controls for applying indirect costs to Federal awards. Updated procedures could include implementing an annual review of other direct costs charged to sponsored awards that include funding for participant support costs to ensure that FSU is appropriately segregating other direct costs incurred on behalf of participants in accounts to which it does not apply indirect costs.