1. Changes to Transparency, Accountability and Reporting Requirements
Steven A. Spillan, Esq. Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC Spring 2012 Forum

2. Overview Reporting Before FFATA FFATA Reporting Programmatic Reporting
EDGAR Reporting Requirements
ARRA Reporting
FFATA Reporting
Programmatic Reporting

3. Reporting Before FFATA
What is “reporting”?
Accountability measure used by granting agencies to ensure that federal funds are spent appropriately

4. Reporting Before FFATA – EDGAR Reporting
Financial Status Reports
EDGAR 80.41
OMB-approved forms - Standard Form 425
Grant Life Cycle
Solicitation, application, award issuance
Obligations, draw Federal cash payments
Disburse cash/liquidate obligations
Document transactions
Submit Financial Reports

5. Reporting Before FFATA- EDGAR Reporting
Standard Form 425
Combines SF 269 and SF 272
Deadlines - federal fiscal year quarters
New Certification Language
Previous features retained:
Object class categories of expenditure
Frequency
Handling of accruals
Cash management instructions

6. Reporting Before FFATA- EDGAR Reporting
Subgrantee Reporting
Not required to use OMB forms
Grantees may not impose more burdensome requirements on subgrantees

7. Reporting Before FFATA- EDGAR Reporting
Performance Reports
EDGAR 80.40
Frequency depends on awarding agency, not required more often than quarterly
EXCEPTION: “High Risk” grantees may be subject to more frequent and extensive reporting. EDGAR 80.12

8. Reporting Before FFATA- EDGAR Reporting
Performance reports must contain:
Comparison of actual accomplishments to established objectives
Explanation of slippage if objectives not met
Analysis/explanation of cost overruns or high unit costs
Grantees must immediately report “significant developments”

9. Reporting Before FFATA- EDGAR Reporting
“Significant Developments”
Problems, delays or adverse conditions that substantially impair ability to meet objective of award
Favorable developments that enable meeting time schedules and objectives sooner, at less cost, or produce more beneficial results than originally planned
Note: If grantees/subgrantees suspect materials misuse of funds, may need to report the issue to the awarding agency
Potential fraud, waste or abuse may need to be reported to Office of Inspector General

10. Reporting Before FFATA- ARRA Reporting
Section 1512 requires states to submit quarterly reports
Total amount received and expended
List of all projects or activities funded
Estimate of the number of jobs created and retained

11. Reporting Before FFATA- ARRA Reporting
SFSF reporting
Distribution of highly qualified teachers
Data systems tracking student achievement
Improved standards and assessments
Turnaround of failing schools
Some states received extension on certain indicators to December 31, 2013
Old deadline: January 31, 2012

12. FFATA Reporting Background
Reporting needed to
Assess grant performance/effectiveness
Provide public opportunity to review
Scope of data collected increase
Need for better risk management
New technologies
Reported information available through single, searchable website
USASpending.gov

13. FFATA Reporting- Federal Agency Reporting
Federal agencies have long been required to report data on prime awards and prime awardees
Old: Federal Assistance Award Database System (FAADS), operated by Census Bureau
New: FAADS-Plus
Info updated daily
Posted on USASpending.gov

14. FFATA Reporting- Reporting by Prime Recipients
“Prime Recipients” – receive grant or contract directly from federal gov’t
New layer of reporting: prime recipients to report data on first-tier subawards and executive compensation
“Subawards” includes subgrants and subcontracts
Prime recipients of grants and contracts, both mandatory and discretionary, awarded after October 1, 2010

15. FFATA Reporting- Reporting by Prime Recipients
Initial awards of $25,000 or more:
Prime recipients report first-tier subawards of $25,000 or more, and executive compensation, if conditions are met
Initial awards below $25,000
FFATA does not apply
Subsequent grant modifications push award over $25k threshold, award is subject to requirements
Subsequent grant modifications reduce award under $25k threshold, continues to be subject to FFATA

16. FFATA Reporting- Exempt from Reporting
Contracts, purchase agreements, vendor agreements and consultant agreements for supplies, equipment, and services
Grants under ARRA
Federal awards to individuals
Federal awards to entities with gross income of less than $300,000
Classified information

17. FFATA Reporting- Prime Recipient Registration
Prime recipients that receive grants must register in two systems:
FFATA Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) – to be displayed on USASpending.gov
Accessible to federal employees and prime recipients
Central Contractor Registration System (CCR)
Entities that do business with the federal government
Links to Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS)

18. FFATA Reporting First tier subawards Second tier subawards
A grant or contract from a prime recipient to a subgrantee or subcontractor
Second tier subawards
A subsequent subgrant or subcontract between the subawardee and another entity

19. FFATA Reporting - What Name of entity receiving award Amount of award
Subcontract/subcontract number
Funding agency
NAICS code (contracts)/CFDA program number (grants)
Program source
Award title descriptive of the purpose of the funding action
Location of the entity (congressional district)
Place of performance (congressional district)
Unique identifier (DUNS) of the entity and its parent; and
Total compensation and names of top five executives (same thresholds as for primes), if required

20. FFATA Reporting - When
Federal agencies, including ED, report prime award information to USASpending.gov on the 5th and 20th of each month
Prime recipients must report first tier subaward information by the end of the following month in which the subaward was made

21. FFATA Reporting- Executive Compensation
Prime recipients must report the total compensation and names of 5 most highly compensated executives for both itself and first-tier subrecipients, if:
(1) more than 80% of annual gross revenue is from the federal government, and those annual revenues are greater than $25 million, and
(2) compensation information is not already available through reporting to the SEC

22. FFATA v. ARRA
Under FFATA, expenditures are not required to be reported on USASpending.gov, only obligated subawards must be reported.
Under FFATA, reporting is done on a rolling basis depending on when a subgrant is made, rather than reporting on a quarterly basis.
There are certain data elements required under ARRA that are not required under FFATA. For example, number and descriptions of jobs created and reporting requirements related to infrastructure projects.

23. FFATA vs. ARRA
FFATA reporting is done through while ARRA reporting should continue to be done through

24. FFATA Guidance
OMB: April 6, 2010 memo requiring the reporting of first-tier sub-awards
OMB guidance containing specific instructions on the sub-award reporting on August 27, 2010:
FSRS FAQs:

25. New Higher Ed Reporting Requirements/Proposals
Gainful Employment:
Higher Ed programs must lead to gainful employment.
Beginning on July 1, 2012, IHEs must report on previous students.
Applies to:
All programs at for-profit institutions except program leading to baccalaureate degree in liberal arts offered since Jan. 09 if institution has been regionally credited since Oct. 07.
Any program at a public or not-for-profit school that is not:
A program leading to a degree
A transfer program of at least 2 years

26. Gainful Employment Reporting
Covered programs must show that:
At least 35% of their students are repaying their loans; or
That the annual loan payment does not exceed:
30% of a typical graduate’s discretionary income; or
12% of total income
An institution only has to meet one of the three requirements to remain eligible for federal aid.
Institutions would only see sanctions if they fail to meet the criteria for three years out of four.

27. Gainful Employment Reporting
The first year that programs could lose eligibility is 2015.
Students evaluated in 3rd and 4th years after completion.
Colleges can cap their measurements of student debt at the amount necessary to pay tuition, fees, textbooks and other college expenses in order to avoid counting debt amassed by students who borrow more than that amount and use some of it to pay living expenses while enrolled. 
ED will calculate Debt Measures, based on data reported by IHEs (34 CFR 668.6).

28. Gainful Employment Reporting
As of October 1, 2011, institutions must report information for the award year to the extent that the information is available and for the through the award years.
Info for Award Year was due last November
Info for Award Year due October 15, 2012

29. New Higher Ed Reporting Proposals
April 12, 2012: ED released “Action Plan”
Current law only requires that schools track graduation rates for full-time, first-time students.
Proposals to include part-time and other students who have previously attended postsecondary education.

30. This presentation is intended solely to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice. Attendance at the presentation or later review of these printed materials does not create an attorney-client relationship with Brustein & Manasevit, PLLC. You should not take any action based upon any information in this presentation without first consulting legal counsel familiar with your particular circumstances.