1. Preparing for External Audit Presented by Sponsored Programs Accounting 2012

2. What to do if contacted by agency for an audit? Notify the Assistant Controller in Sponsored Programs Accounting and your Sponsored Programs Administrator Once a date has been set for the audit, an entrance meeting will be established. Auditors will be provided a detailed list of your expenditures for the time period to be audited.

3. Once the auditor, has selected the documents and employees to review, you will be asked to provide back up as necessary. Sponsored Programs Accounting will have Procurement, Accounts Payable, and Travel pull the back up, but if necessary will contact the department for assistance. You may be asked to explain why a charge is allowable on the project.

4. Assume the Project will be Audited Only incur expenditures during the time period of the award. Post expenditures to the fund that are allowable, allocable and reasonable. Follow university policies for travel and procurement, to include the Consultant Policy Time and Effort report returned by the deadline and the employees charged to the award are in the approved budget.

5. For procurement card charges, it is a good practice to document the PI’s approval and purpose of the charge For equipment charges, needs to be specifically budgeted in the award document. If you determine you need additional equipment or the item has changed, talk with your SPA administrator or SPA accountant to determine if agency approval is necessary. Subcontract – invoices from the subcontractor need PI approval, so make sure this is evident.

6. MSU Cost share, Inkind and Third- Party MSU cost share should be posted to the companion cost share fund that is set up by Sponsored Programs Accounting. In-kind and Third-Party cost share should be well documented and provided to Sponsored Programs Accounting to include in the invoices and reports to the sponsor. It needs to be after the fact reporting on the cost that were actually incurred by the Third-Party.

7. Document,Document,Document It is important to document the charges on your restricted funds, especially the federally funded projects. The expenditure should meet the allowability of cost factors of A-21 - reasonable, allocable, and consistent treatment. The backup documentation should be able to satisfy the requirements of an allowable charge.

8. Contact Information Sponsored Programs Accounting Denise Peeples Assistant Controller for Sponsored Programs Phone – 662-325-1937 Email - denisep@controller.msstate.edu