1. 2016 AmeriCorps Texas All-Grantee Meeting February 25-26, 2016
March 1-2, 2017
2016 AmeriCorps Texas
All-Grantee Meeting
February 25-26, 2016

2. False Leads: Common Fiscal Findings
During this session we’ll focus on staying on the Fiscal Compliance Trail

3. Common Fiscal Findings
In this session, we will:
Review fiscal compliance findings from OIG visits, IPERA testing, and Single Audits
Understand the potential consequences
Identify Preventative Actions

4. Common Fiscal Findings
Common Findings
Staff Eligibility
Time and Effort Reporting
Inadequate Match Documentation
GL & PER not reconciling
Lack of written policies and procedures

5. Common Fiscal Findings
Staff Eligibility
Which positions are listed on the approved budget?
Were the criminal background checks completed correctly?
The positions reported on the PER must be listed on the approved budget.
Like AC members, staff are subject to the NSCHC requirements.

6. Common Fiscal Findings
Time and Effort Reporting
Inadequate documentation to support charges to the grant
Examples of incorrect allocation methods include:
Based on the budget
Based on estimates
Including non-AmeriCorps duties
Other common mistakes include:
Unsigned timesheets

7. Common Fiscal Findings
Time and Effort Reporting
What are the potential consequences?
Entire claimed salaries and wages over the course of the grant may be disallowed
Grantee staff spend excessive time on alternative documentation years after the fact
Preventative Actions:
Understand Federal requirements for timekeeping
Salaries, Wages & Fringe Benefits must be:
Reasonable – consistent with that paid for similar work
Allocable – incurred specifically for program
Allowable – no unallowable activities
Unallowable activities includes general public relations and lobbying.

8. Common Fiscal Findings
Time and Effort Reporting
What are best practices?
Use timesheets that align with the payroll period and provide information on all activities of the employee
Proper support for salaries & wages
Documented memos/forms with wage information approved by managers and executives.
Payroll reports
Time and Effort reports showing allocation to the program
After the fact determination of how time was spent
Account for the total of each days’ activity
Signed by employee and/or supervisor

9. Common Fiscal Findings
Inadequate Match Documentation
Common Findings Include:
Match not met, undocumented, unreasonable, or not in the approved budget
Not supported by adequate documentation or not verifiable from the grantee’s records
Using other federal funds as match without authorization
Match claimed was not necessary to operate the grant
Match amounts were unreasonable or excessive
Insufficient documentation to support allowable and allocable
Match items were not in the approved budget
Match included periods outside of the grant budget period.

10. Common Fiscal Findings
Inadequate Match Documentation
What are the potential consequences?
Undocumented, unmet, or unacceptable match can reduce some or all of the allowable costs paid with Federal funds by the amount of required match no met for the program.
Preventative Actions:
Know the statutory or budgeted match requirements
Periodically review match documentation to ensure it is complete.

11. Common Fiscal Findings
Inadequate Match Documentation
*Remember, the same requirements apply to both match and CNCS share. What are the potential consequences?
All costs must be:
Reasonable
Allocable
Allowable
Consistent
Adequately supported

12. Common Fiscal Findings
GL & PER Reconciliation
Finding:
Expenditures in GL do not reconcile to the PER
Consequence:
Costs disallowed because the GL does not support them
Preventative Action:
Regularly reconcile the differences between the accounting system and the cumulative PER amounts.
Unallowable activities includes general public relations and lobbying.

13. Common Fiscal Findings
Other Findings:
Financial System and Internal Controls Findings:
Accounting systems and internal controls are inadequate to report the grant expenditures
Management controls are insufficient to safeguard federal funds
Single Audit not yet turned in to FAC
Records do not identify cost by programmatic year
Lack of written policies and procedures

14. Common Fiscal Findings
Activities!
Bad Source Documentation Activity/Bad PER Activity
Bad Budget Activity

15. Common Fiscal Findings
Bad General Ledger and PER Reconciliation
Pitfalls, Inc. houses an AmeriCorps Program
Review their February GL and compare it to the PER.
How many errors have you located?

16. False Leads Budget Instructions
Review Budget Checklist against Budget.
1.Correct all Calculation Errors
AND
2.Use Professional judgement to indicate if you would;
Disallow
Accept As Is
Add Explanation
Add Justification
Review Budget Instructions (handout Checklist, budgets, etc.,.)

17. Budget Review Session Title/Topic
Go over Errors. Hand out Corrected Budget

18. We have a few minutes for questions…

19. 2016 AmeriCorps Texas All-Grantee Meeting February 25-26, 2016
March 1-2, 2017
2016 AmeriCorps Texas
All-Grantee Meeting
February 25-26, 2016