Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost Principles and Administrative Requirements (Including Single Audit Act), 7282-7296 [2013-02113]

Agencies

• Management and Budget Office

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7282-7296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02113]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2013 / 
Proposed Rules

[[Page 7282]]



OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

2 CFR Chapters I and II


Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements; Cost Principles and Administrative Requirements (Including 
Single Audit Act)

AGENCY: Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB).

ACTION: Proposed Guidance.

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SUMMARY: To deliver on President Obama's promise of a 21st-Century 
government that is more efficient, transparent, and creative, the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking to adjust the Federal 
government's partnership with non-Federal stakeholders to best achieve 
program outcomes while we ensure the financial integrity of the dollars 
we spend. The goal of this effort is to transform our Federal financial 
assistance framework so that it meets a higher standard of performance 
on behalf of the American people.
    OMB proposes these reforms to the guidance for Federal policies 
relating to grants in order to ensure that Federal grants meet the high 
standards of a 21st-Century government. Federal grant-making must be 
streamlined to make the most of taxpayer dollars and ensure financial 
integrity while delivering the right program outcomes. This proposal 
provides this opportunity for the Federal government and its partners: 
state, local, tribal governments, institutions of higher education, and 
nonprofit organizations, to rethink and reform the rules that govern 
our stewardship of Federal dollars.

DATES: To be assured of consideration, comments must be received by OMB 
electronically through www.regulations.gov no later than midnight 
Eastern Standard Time (E.S.T.) on May 2, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this proposal must be submitted electronically 
at www.regulations.gov. In submitting comments, please search for 
recent submissions by OMB to find docket OMB-2013-0001, which includes 
the full text of this proposal, and submit comments there.
    Comments will be most useful if they are presented in the same 
sequence and with the same section number as the section of this 
guidance to which they apply. Please also provide any information 
regarding the cost implications of any particular proposal. If you are 
submitting comments on behalf of an organization, please identify the 
organization, and if that organization represents a number of entities, 
please note the number of entities who endorse the organization's 
comments. Finally, the public comments received by OMB will be posted 
at https://www.regulations.gov (follow the search instructions on that 
Web site to view public comments). Accordingly, please do not include 
in your comments any confidential business information or information 
of a personal-privacy nature.
    To View This Proposal: The complete text of this proposal and a 
crosswalk of policy changes from the existing guidance are available on 
the OMB Web site at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_docs under 
``Proposed Policies'' and will also be available on www.regulations.gov 
by searching for docket number OMB-2013-0001, or, in hard copy, by 
contacting Victoria Collin of OMB at (202) 395-7791. Copies of the OMB 
Circulars that are discussed in this notice are available on OMB's Web 
site at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_default/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, please 
contact Victoria Collin at (202) 395-7791. OMB will host an 
informational Web cast with the Council on Financial Assistance Reform 
and key stakeholders on Friday February 8th, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. EST 
available at www.cfoc.gov. More information on the Council on Financial 
Assistance Reform is available at www.cfo.gov/cofar.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: With this proposal, OMB seeks to ensure the 
highest integrity in the financial management and operation of Federal 
programs and to strengthen accountability for Federal dollars by 
improving policies that protect against waste, fraud, and abuse. At the 
same time, OMB aims to increase the impact and accessibility of 
programs by minimizing time spent complying with unnecessarily 
burdensome administrative requirements, and so to re-orient recipients 
toward achieving program objectives. Through close and sustained 
collaboration with Federal and non-Federal partners, OMB has developed 
ideas articulated in this proposal that would ensure that grants are 
awarded based on merit; that management increases focus on performance 
outcomes; and that rules governing the allocation of Federal fund are 
streamlined, and better focus the Single Audit oversight tool to reduce 
waste, fraud, and abuse.
    This proposal--the complete text of which is available online, or 
in hard copy by telephone request (see To View This Proposal section)--
follows the February 28, 2012 Advance Notice of Proposed Guidance 
(ANPG) published in the Federal Register. Both that notice and this 
proposal were developed in response to the November 23, 2009 Executive 
Order 13520 on Reducing Improper Payments and his February 28, 2011 
Presidential Memorandum on Administrative Flexibility, Lower Costs, and 
Better Results for State, Local, and Tribal Governments. In those 
documents, the President directed OMB to work with Executive Branch 
agencies; state, local, and tribal governments; and other key 
stakeholders to evaluate potential reforms to Federal grants policies. 
The ANPG built on the work of those collaborations and discussed 
initial ideas to meet those goals. OMB received over 350 responses to 
the notice from across the spectrum of stakeholders in the grants 
community. The notice and comments received in response are available 
to the public at www.Regulations.gov under docket number OMB-2012-0002.
    This proposal was developed after considering the comments received 
in response to the ANPG. This preamble outlines the broad themes of 
stakeholder feedback received and how that feedback influenced further 
development of ideas mentioned in the ANPG into this proposal. With 
this publication, the public is once again invited to comment on the 
proposed reforms. Comments received in response to this proposal will 
be used to further refine the reforms discussed prior to the issuance 
of new guidance.

[[Page 7283]]

    This proposed guidance would supersede and streamline requirements 
from OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A-110, and A-122 (which have been placed 
in 2 CFR Parts 220, 225, 215, and 230); Circulars A-89, A-102, and A-
133; the guidance in Circular A-50 on Single Audit Act follow-up; and 
pending further review, the Cost Principles for Hospitals at 45 CFR 
Part 74, Appendix E. The proposal consolidates the guidance previously 
contained in the aforementioned citations into a streamlined and 
consolidated format that aims to improve both the clarity and 
accessibility of the guidance. If and when this proposal is finalized, 
OMB will integrate this guidance into Title 2 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations.
    Similar to existing guidance that this proposal would supersede, 
the new guidance would be applicable to grants and cooperative 
agreements that involve state, local, and tribal governments as well as 
institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations. Parts of 
it may also apply to for-profit entities in limited circumstances as 
described in section .101 Applicability and the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation. Single Audit Act requirements will continue to apply to all 
Federal awards, including contracts, though cost-reimbursement 
contracts may continue to be subject to additional audit requirements. 
This guidance does not supersede any existing authority under law or by 
Executive Order or the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

I. Objectives and Background

A. Objectives

    OMB is proposing new streamlined guidance for grants in order to 
meet the standards of a high-performing 21st-Century government. Only 
by streamlining this guidance can we increase the efficiency and 
effectiveness of the Federal grant-making process to ensure best use of 
the more than $500 billion in Federal funds that are spent through 
grants.
    As the President articulated in Executive Order 13563 of January 
18, 2011, on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review (76 FR 3821; 
January 21, 2011; https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-01-21/pdf/2011-1385.pdf), each Federal agency must ``tailor its regulations to impose 
the least burden on society, consistent with regulatory objectives, 
taking into account, among other things, and to the extent practicable, 
the costs of cumulative regulations.'' To that end, it is important 
that Federal agencies identify those ``rules that may be outmoded, 
ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome,'' and ``modify, 
streamline, expand, or repeal them in accordance with what has been 
learned.'' The President reinforced his commitment in Executive Order 
13579 of July 11, 2011 on Regulation and Independent Regulatory 
Agencies (76 FR 41587; July 14, 2011; https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-07-14/pdf/2011-17953.pdf).
    As in other areas involving Federal requirements, the President is 
committed to making government more accountable to the American people 
while eliminating requirements that are unnecessary and reforming those 
requirements that are overly burdensome. Eliminating unnecessary 
requirements for financial assistance will allow recipients of Federal 
awards to re-orient efforts spent on compliance with complex 
requirements towards achievement of programmatic objectives. As part of 
this commitment, the President believes that the Federal government has 
an obligation to eliminate roadblocks to effective performance in 
carrying out and completing grants and cooperative agreements. 
Essential to this reform effort is reducing ``red tape'' that is 
attached to the financial assistance the Federal government provides 
annually in the form of grants and cooperative agreements. These awards 
provide important benefits and services to the public, and most of the 
awards go to state, local and tribal governments as well as to 
institutions of higher education, hospitals, and non-profit 
organizations. In order to ensure that the public receives the most 
value, it is essential that these programs function as effectively and 
efficiently as possible, and that there is a high level of 
accountability to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
    To this end, the President on February 28, 2011, issued his 
Memorandum on Administrative Flexibility, Lower Costs, and Better 
Results for State, Local, and Tribal Governments, (Daily Comp. Pres. 
Docs.; https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/DCPD-201100123/pdf/DCPD-201100123.pdf). In the Memorandum, the President explained that 
``Federal program requirements over the past several decades have 
sometimes been onerous, and they have not always contributed to better 
outcomes. With input from our state, local, and tribal partners, we 
can, consistent with law, reduce unnecessary regulatory and 
administrative burdens and redirect resources to services that are 
essential to achieving better outcomes at lower cost.'' In addition to 
other actions, the President instructed the OMB Director to ``review 
and where appropriate revise guidance concerning cost principles, 
burden minimizations, and audits for state, local, and tribal 
governments in order to eliminate, to the extent permitted by law, 
unnecessary, unduly burdensome, duplicative, or low-priority 
recordkeeping requirements and effectively tie such requirements to 
achievement of outcomes.'' OMB has endeavored to deliver on that 
mission with this proposal.
    Equally as essential to a 21st-Century government as removing 
unnecessary and overly burdensome requirements that interfere with 
efficient and effective program performance is strengthening 
accountability by ``intensifying efforts to eliminate payment error, 
waste, fraud, and abuse'' in Federal programs, as the President 
emphasized in Executive Order 13520 of November 20, 2009, on Reducing 
Improper Payments (74 FR 62201; November 25, 2009; https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2009-11-25/pdf/E9-28493.pdf). Accordingly, as the 
President explained, it is important for Federal agencies ``to more 
effectively tailor their methodologies for identifying and measuring 
improper payments to those programs, or components of programs, where 
improper payments are most likely to occur.'' This proposed guidance is 
aimed at achieving these goals by focusing our Single Audit tool on the 
programs and practices that pose the greatest risk of improper 
payments, waste, fraud, and abuse.
    This proposal would streamline the language from eight existing OMB 
circulars into one document. This consolidation is aimed at eliminating 
duplicative or almost duplicative language in order to clarify where 
policy is substantively different across types of entities, and where 
it is not. As a result, the proposed guidance includes sections and 
parts of sections which are clearly delineated by the type of entity to 
which they apply. For Federal agencies, auditors, and pass-through 
entities that engage with multiple types of entities in the course of 
managing grants, this consolidation is intended to clarify where 
policies are uniform across entities or differ, protecting variances in 
policy where required by the unique nature of each type of entity.
    Accordingly, section .101 Applicability outlines how each 
subchapter of the proposed circular will apply across types of 
entities. All provisions of this circular would apply uniformly to 
grant and cooperative agreement awards made to state, local, and tribal 
governments, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit 
organizations except where specific variations by entity are described 
within

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this circular. The provisions of Subchapter G Audit Requirements will 
apply to all awards made to the above-mentioned types of entities as 
described in section .702 Basis for Determining Federal Award 
Expenditures. These provisions would apply equally to recipients and 
subrecipients receiving Federal awards. The proposal states that 
Federal agencies may apply the provisions of Subchapters B through F to 
commercial organizations, foreign governments, organizations under the 
jurisdiction of foreign governments, and international organizations. 
The provisions of subchapter G would not apply to non-U.S.-based 
entities expending Federal awards. OMB may consider providing further 
guidance in the future around best practices for applying the policies 
in subchapters B-F to commercial and non-U.S. based entities.
    OMB is interested in receiving broad public feedback to further 
refine these ideas. Comments received will be considered as OMB 
develops a refined final guidance document. Following the 
implementation of these reforms, OMB will continue to monitor their 
effects to evaluate whether (and the extent to which) the reforms are 
achieving their desired results, and will consider making further 
modifications as appropriate.

B. Background

    This proposal reflects input from over a year of work by the 
Federal and non-Federal financial assistance community. In response to 
the President's direction that OMB and Federal agencies identify ways 
to make the oversight of Federal funds more effective and more 
efficient, OMB worked with the Office of Science and Technology Policy 
(OSTP) to convene meetings with both Federal and non-Federal 
stakeholders to discuss possible reform efforts. These meetings 
resulted in OMB receiving a series of reform ideas in late 2011 that 
were developed into the ANPG published on February 28th, 2012. That 
notice and the more than 350 comments received in response to it are 
available to the public on www.regulations.gov.
    On October 27, 2011, the OMB Director issued Memorandum M-12-01, 
Creation of the Council on Financial Assistance Reform (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2012/m-12-01.pdf). 
To ``create a more streamlined and accountable structure to coordinate 
financial assistance,'' the Memorandum established the interagency 
Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR) as a replacement for two 
Federal boards (the Grants Policy Council and the Grants Executive 
Board). The 10-member COFAR is composed of OMB's Office of Federal 
Financial Management (Co-Chair); the eight largest grant-making 
agencies, which are the Departments of Health and Human Services (a Co-
Chair), Agriculture, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, Housing and 
Urban Development, Labor, and Transportation; and one additional 
rotating member to represent the perspectives of other agencies, which 
for the first two-year term is the National Science Foundation.
    As the COFAR begins to solidify its role in the grants community, 
it has committed to engaging in outreach efforts with both Federal and 
non-Federal stakeholders, both in response to this proposal and going 
forward. Since the COFAR's first meeting on November 4, 2011, and 
through its review of the comments received in response to the ANPG, it 
has worked to formulate and further develop reform ideas to create the 
21st-Century version of financial management policy for Federal 
assistance awards. These reform ideas as presented originally in the 
February notice, the broad themes of comments that were received in 
response to them, and the refined proposals presented here are outlined 
below in Part II of this notice. Part III is the actual draft text of 
the proposed guidance.

II. Reform Ideas Discussed in the Advance Notice of Proposed Guidance

    In the ANPG, OMB invited comments from the public on all issues 
addressed in the advance notice, and further invited the public to 
suggest additional reform suggestions. The goal of publishing the ANPT 
was to provide the broadest possible collection of stakeholders in the 
grants community with visibility on these ideas and the opportunity to 
participate in the discussion.
    In response to the notice, OMB received more than 350 comments 
which were carefully considered in the development of this proposal. 
Accordingly, this section will continue the discussion by outlining the 
ideas that were proposed in the advance notice, the broad themes 
identified in the comments that were received across stakeholders, and 
the resulting reforms that OMB is proposing in this guidance. In 
addition, this section addresses particularly popular ideas for reform 
beyond the ANPG that were proposed by commenters and considered by OMB.
    OMB views this proposal as an important opportunity to solicit 
stakeholder feedback, and the first opportunity for the public to 
comment on specific language under consideration. The language proposed 
here is subject to revision; the feedback received will influence the 
extent to which this language becomes final. In some cases, we have 
noted in this section where there is language in the proposal that was 
particularly difficult to craft, and where feedback on the policy 
direction outlined will be especially useful in charting the future 
path.
    The reform ideas under discussion are outlined below in four main 
categories:
    1. Section A: Reforms to Administrative Requirements (the 
government-wide Common Rule implementing Circular A-102; Circular A-
110; and Circular A-89).
    2. Section B: Reforms to Cost Principles (Circulars A-21, A-87, and 
A-122).
    3. Section C: Reforms to Audit Requirements (Circulars A-133 and A-
50).
    4. Section D: Additional Suggestions Outside of the Guidance 
Reform.
    In addition, more minor changes are listed in the crosswalk 
provided on the OMB Web site with this proposal.

Section A: Reforms to Administrative Requirements (the Common Rule 
Implementing Circular A-102); Circular A-110; and Circular A-89: 
Subchapters A-E

    This section discusses proposed changes to the government-wide 
common rule implementing Circular A-102 on Grants and Cooperative 
Agreements with State and Local Governments; Circular A-110 on Uniform 
Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with 
Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit 
Organizations (2 CFR part 215); and Circular A-89 on Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance. The following are ideas for reform that were 
discussed in the February 28th Advance Notice of Proposed Guidance.
1. Creating a consolidated, uniform set of administrative requirements: 
subchapters A-E
    The ANPG solicited comments on consolidating the administrative 
requirements in OMB Circulars A-102 and A-110 into a uniform set of 
administrative requirements for all grant recipients.
    The goal of this consolidation would be to eliminate duplicative 
(or almost duplicative) language while clarifying where there are 
important substantive policy variances across entities. This 
consolidation is aimed at eliminating confusion for entities--such as 
Federal

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agencies, auditors and pass-through entities--that deal with more than 
one type of grant-recipient entity, and for whom greater clarity about 
which language is universal and which is not could be useful. Further, 
this language has been updated to reflect common 21st-Century business 
practices, such as electronic submissions of information, and to 
anticipate an even greater reliance on advances in information 
technology to move, store, and share data in the future. Finally, 
consolidation of the guidance aims to ensure that references across the 
guidance to other topics and sections are streamlined to most 
efficiently facilitate the understanding of complete policies.
    Comments received in response to this idea in the ANPG fell broadly 
into two categories. Those commenters who deal habitually with more 
than one type of grant-recipient entity were generally in favor or open 
to consolidation, noting that consolidating duplicative or similar 
language and clarifying policy differences would relieve administrative 
burden. Other entities were less likely to see any potential benefit 
from the consolidation.
    Some responders expressed concern that consolidation of circulars 
could lead to the broader application of onerous policies that 
previously had applied to a narrow set of entities. OMB has endeavored 
to craft the proposed language in such a way as to avoid this outcome, 
but will appreciate feedback if there are places where policies have 
inadvertently been broadened in an unfavorable way. Other responders 
worried that consolidation of the circulars might make it more 
difficult to make future changes that may only be applicable to one set 
of entities. OMB is sensitive to this concern, and believes that we 
will be able to remain responsive to the needs of all stakeholders 
through the ongoing outreach efforts of the COFAR, regardless of the 
level of integration of guidance in the circulars.
    In this proposal, Subchapters A-E consolidate the administrative 
requirements as discussed. In drafting the consolidated version of the 
administrative requirements, OMB for the most part used language from 
OMB Circular A-110, and then endeavored to explicitly articulate where 
there were separate provisions for state, local, and tribal governments 
carried over from A-102, as described in the crosswalk published on the 
OMB Web site with this notice. In section .504 Procurement standards, 
sections .40- .41 of A-110 were replaced with section .36 of A-102. OMB 
will be particularly interested in feedback from entities previously 
subject to the provisions of A-110 as to whether the new provision 
would result in increased administrative burden.
2. Requiring pre-award consideration of each proposal's merit and each 
applicant's financial risk: section .205 Agency Review of Merit of 
Proposals and Risk Posed by Applicants
    The ANPG solicited comments on requiring agency consideration of 
the merit of each proposal and the financial risk associated with each 
applicant prior to making an award. The goal of this requirement would 
be to articulate as a government-wide policy a set of policies that, 
though widely practiced, have not previously been universally required 
across Federal agencies. Requiring agencies to design and implement a 
merit-based review process and to transparently disclose the criteria 
for that review in notices of funding availability will help ensure 
that all applicants for Federal assistance are guaranteed a fair and 
consistent review, and that they have the information they need to 
craft the strongest possible applications. Further requiring agencies 
to review the financial risk posed by applicants will ensure that 
agencies are able to take appropriate steps to provide oversight for 
the award to mitigate any risks that may be present. This could 
supplement the oversight provided by audit activities which take 
corrective action well after the funds have been spent, and could 
result in complementary pro-active prevention of waste, fraud, and 
abuse.
    Some of the comments received indicated concern that the proposal 
could hamper effective review policies and practices that agencies 
currently use. OMB has endeavored in crafting this language to ensure 
that these requirements do nothing to constrict the policies of 
agencies that already have robust review processes in place. As 
drafted, the requirements for merit-based review and financial risk 
review are separate and distinct, and each provides great flexibility 
to agencies.
    Tribal entities expressed concern that this policy could contravene 
the requirements of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (ISDEAA). OMB notes that where the requirements in this 
guidance (and any OMB guidance) conflict with Federal statute, the 
statute always governs. These proposals should be read as applicable 
only when they do not conflict with existing statutes, as described in 
section .101 Applicability.
    Many commenters noted that the requirements of the Single Audit Act 
should already provide agencies with all necessary information about 
financial risk. Indeed, the proposed guidance includes Single Audit 
reports as one type of information that agencies may use in these 
reviews, but further options are available in the event that, for a 
particular set of circumstances, the Single Audit is not the most 
appropriate tool.
    In this proposal, section .205 Agency Review of Merit of Proposals 
and Risk Posed by Applicants includes this requirement as discussed. 
The language in the proposal intentionally provides significant 
flexibility to agencies with respect to how these requirements are 
implemented. In particular, the requirement for an assessment of risk 
may be conducted at any point prior to an agency making an award, and 
therefore need only include review of applications likely to be 
selected for funding. OMB believes that this flexibility is important 
given the diverse nature of Federal programs and the types of 
information that might be most appropriate in different cases. 
Recognizing that these reviews can be equally burdensome for both 
Federal agencies and for recipients, OMB expects that agencies will not 
to use this latitude to design overly burdensome requirements.
3. Requiring agencies to provide 90-day notice of funding 
opportunities: Sections .203 Requirement to Provide Public Notice of 
Federal Financial Assistance Programs and .204 Announcements of Funding 
Opportunities
    The ANPG discussed requiring Federal agencies to provide 90-day 
advance forecast of funding opportunities in an updated Catalog of 
Federal Financial Assistance (CFFA) that would replace the existing 
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). The goal of this reform 
would be to provide applicants with enough time to prepare the best 
possible applications. At the time of the Federal Register Notice, OMB 
suggested that the CFFA, as an existing database of Federal programs, 
might be the most efficient tool to implement this requirement.
    Many Federal agencies noted that implementation of a 90-day advance 
notice would be impossible in the event that appropriations take place 
late in the fiscal year, in which case agencies need to publish funding 
opportunities as soon as possible. Given the frequent need for agencies 
to publish solicitations expeditiously after appropriations, OMB 
proposes to help ensure that applicants have adequate time to apply by 
instead articulating a minimum amount of time for the solicitation to 
be open on grants.gov.

[[Page 7286]]

Generally, comments received from recipient entities were in favor of 
providing applicants with as much time as possible to craft quality 
applications.
    This proposal replaces the idea of 90-day advance notice in the 
CFFA with a requirement to ensure that all notices of funding 
opportunity be open for a minimum of 30 days on grants.gov, unless 
required by statute or unless exigent circumstances dictate otherwise 
as determined by the agency head. This language is proposed in section 
.204 Announcements of Funding Opportunities.
    This proposal also refers to the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance by using the new name of the Catalog of Federal Financial 
Assistance. The final decision to change the name will be made in the 
context of ongoing COFAR governance of the Integrated Acquisition 
Environment and System for Award Management which currently hosts the 
CFDA and other governmentwide systems that support the grants 
community. This process will include consideration of any relevant 
system-related consequences to a name change.
    In addition to these proposed changes to guidance, OMB is working 
with Federal agencies on the development of the Federal Program 
Inventory (FPI) over the course of 2013-2014. The FPI uses a broader 
definition of Federal Program than the definition proposed in this 
guidance, which refers specifically to the CFFA. The Federal Program 
Inventory will likely include linkages to CFFA. For more detail on the 
FPI see A-11 Part 6 Section 280.
4. Providing a standard format for announcements of funding 
opportunities: section .204 Announcements of Funding Opportunities
    The ANPG discussed incorporating into circulars the existing 
requirement for certain categories of information to be published in 
announcements of public funding opportunities. See OMB Memorandum M-04-
01 of October 15, 2003 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda_fy04_m04-01), which announced the Federal Register notice that OMB published 
at 68 FR 58146 (October 8, 2003).
    This is not a policy reform, but rather consolidation within the 
circular of separate guidance implemented in 2003 to further 
consolidate all applicable guidance for grants into one clear location.
    Most comments received in response to the Advance Notice were 
generally in favor or had no objections to this consolidation.
    This proposal incorporates this requirement in section .204 
Announcements of Funding Opportunities.
5. Reiterating that information collections are subject to Paperwork 
Reduction Act approval: section .206 Standard Application Requirements
    The ANPG discussed that information collection requests are limited 
to standardized data elements approved by OMB, as required under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), plus OMB-approved exceptions for 
all applications and reports. This is not a policy reform, but rather 
an indicator of the importance OMB places on compliance with the 
requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and an indication 
that OMB will be using the PRA process to ensure that agencies make use 
of standard approved collections wherever possible to encourage broader 
goals of data standardization across government. As this standard of 
review is implemented, Federal agencies may find that fewer non-
standard information collections are approved, if not required by 
statute.
    Comments in response to the ANPG generally did not object to 
continued use of the Paperwork Reduction Act. Some comments emphasized 
in particular that use of government-wide systems to support 
information collections, such as Grants.gov, should be consistently 
funded and supported as standardization of information collections 
continues.
    This proposal includes this language in section .206 Standard 
Application Requirements. In addition, the proposed language eliminates 
references to specific OMB-approved forms, and refers only broadly to 
OMB-approved information collections. This proposed language is not 
intended to have an immediate effect on the forms used, but is intended 
to broaden applicability so that, as the Federal government replaces 
forms with electronic collections of data elements, this guidance will 
continue to apply. Final guidance will be accompanied by a full list of 
the OMB-approved information collections that are available. For 
example, where section ----.206 Standard Application Requirements 
refers to ``the information approved by OMB for governmentwide use for 
applications,'' the list accompanying final guidance will refer section 
206 to the 424 family of forms and any other OMB-approved information 
collections for applications, though in the future, the data currently 
included in the 424 forms may be collected differently.
6. Additional Suggestions for Administrative Requirements
    In response to the ANPG, OMB received a number of suggestions for 
ways that existing guidance could be clarified. OMB reviewed these and 
anticipates that clarifications made in the draft language in 
subchapters A-E may address many of them. The most notable 
clarifications are as follows:
    A. Subchapter C Federal Award Notice and Subchapter D Inclusion of 
Terms and Conditions in Federal Award Notice lay out mostly new uniform 
requirements for the information that agencies are required to provide 
to recipients at the time that an award is made. This language is based 
on work done by the Grants Executive Board and Grants Policy Committee, 
two interagency councils that preceded the COFAR in providing policy 
leadership to the grants community. In particular, this language 
includes the requirement to include a unique award identifier in the 
notice. OMB will continue working with Federal agencies to provide 
further guidance on the inclusion of this data element.
    B. Section 501 Subrecipient Monitoring and Management is created to 
co-locate guidance on oversight of subawards that previously was 
located in different places in different OMB Circulars. This is an 
attempt to provide greater clarity into the expectations for subaward 
oversight across the Federal government.
    C. Language in section 502 Standards for Financial and Program 
Management and other minor language throughout the guidance is updated 
to align the objectives for performance monitoring and measurement with 
those described for Federal agencies in OMB Circular A-11.
    D. Language in section .504 Procurement Standards (d) updates the 
threshold for small purchase procedures to be consistent with the 
simplified acquisition threshold at 41 U.S.C. 403(11) (currently at 
$150,000).
    E. Language in Section .506 Records and Retention (c)(1) is 
simplified to clarify that the 3-year period for retention of documents 
starts on the day the award recipient submits its final expenditure 
report.
    F. Section .808 on Closeout adds language that Federal agencies 
complete all closeout actions for Federal awards no later than 180 days 
after the final report is received. OMB will consider whether further 
guidance on closeout is needed.
    Finally, some state government entities asked that the threshold 
for requirements applicable to equipment

[[Page 7287]]

be raised above $5,000, but further discussions indicated that the 
level of that threshold varies significantly at the state level. In 
order to provide for consistent award management across entities, OMB 
considers $5,000 to continue to be the most appropriate level for this 
degree of accountability.

B. Reforms to Cost Principles (Circulars A-21, A-87, and A-122, and the 
Cost Principles for Hospitals): Subchapter F Cost Principles and 
Appendices IV-IX

    This section discusses proposed changes to the OMB cost-principle 
circulars that have been placed at 2 CFR Parts 220, 225, and 215 
(Circulars A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions; Circular 
A-87, Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments; 
and Circular A-122, Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations), and, 
pending possible future review, to the Cost Principles for Hospitals 
that are in the regulations of the Department of Health and Human 
Services at 45 CFR Part 75, Appendix E (Principles for Determining 
Costs Applicable to Research and Development Under Grants and Contracts 
with Hospitals). The following ideas for reform were discussed in the 
ANPG.
1. Consolidating the cost principles into a single document, with 
limited variations by type of entity: Subchapter F and Appendices IV 
through IX
    The ANPG solicited comments on consolidating the cost principles in 
OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, and A-122, and the Cost Principles for 
Hospitals that are in the regulations of the Department of Health and 
Human Services at 45 CFR Part 75, Appendix E, into a uniform set of 
cost principles for all grant recipients.
    The goal of this consolidation would be to eliminate duplicative 
(or almost duplicative) language while clarifying where there are 
important substantive policy variances across entities. This is aimed 
at eliminating confusion for entities such as Federal agencies, 
auditors, and pass-through entities that deal with more than one type 
of grant recipient entity, and for whom greater clarity about which 
language is universal and which is not could be useful. Further, the 
goal is to provide updated language to reflect common 21st-Century 
business practices, such as electronic submissions of information. 
Finally, consolidation of the guidance aims to ensure that references 
across the guidance to other topics and sections are streamlined to 
most efficiently facilitate the complete understanding of each policy.
    Comments received in response to this idea in the ANPG fell broadly 
into the same two categories as those regarding consolidation of the 
circulars for administrative requirements. Those commenters who deal 
habitually with more than one type of grant recipient entity were 
generally in favor or open to consolidation, noting that consolidating 
duplicative or similar language and clarifying policy differences would 
relieve administrative burden. Other entities, in particular in the 
university community, who do not habitually deal with other types of 
grant recipients, were less likely to see any potential benefit from 
the consolidation.
    Some responders expressed concern that consolidation of circulars 
into one set of guidance could lead to the broader application of 
onerous policies that previously had applied to a narrow set of 
entities. OMB has endeavored to craft the proposed language in such a 
way as to avoid this outcome, but will appreciate feedback if there are 
places where policies have inadvertently been broadened in an 
unfavorable way. Other responders worried that the proposed 
consolidation might make it more difficult to make changes that would 
only be applicable to one set of entities. OMB is sensitive to this 
concern, and believes that we will be able to remain responsive to the 
needs of all stakeholders through the ongoing outreach efforts of the 
COFAR, regardless of the level of integration of guidance.
    In this proposal, Subchapter F and Appendices IV-X consolidate the 
cost principles except those for hospitals, as discussed below. The 
majority of the consolidation is in Subchapter F, which outlines the 
basic considerations and the selected items of cost. Appendices IV-X 
provide specific guidance for negotiating indirect cost rates that 
varies by specific type of entity. Based on initial feedback, OMB 
proposes to conduct further review of the cost principles for 
hospitals, and will make a future determination about the extent to 
which they should be added in a reserved Appendix XI to this guidance 
based on the outcome of the review.
    OMB will be particularly interested in feedback from the public on 
the language used in the consolidated cost principles, and whether any 
particular entity perceives a change in policy that appears 
unfavorable. OMB also notes that in response to concern from tribal 
entities that the consolidated cost principles may conflict with the 
cost principles provided in the ISDEAA, the subordination of this 
guidance to that statute was specifically articulated in section .101 
Applicability.
2. For indirect (``facilities and administrative'' or f&a) costs, using 
flat rates instead of negotiated rates: section .616 Indirect (F&A) 
Costs
    The ANPG discussed two different possibilities for offering flat 
indirect cost rates; one that would be a mandatory and universal 
discount from a negotiated rate, and a second that would give entities 
the option of choosing a flat discount from a previously negotiated 
rate.
    The goal of this discussion was to explore whether the savings that 
could be accrued by avoiding the complexities of the negotiation 
process could be recaptured both by recipients and Federal agencies 
through a slightly lower rate that would split the difference in the 
cost of the process evenly. It seemed that there could be a win-win 
amount that allowed the Federal government to pay a lower rate, but 
still provide an overall savings for recipients.
    Commenters were universally against the idea of a mandatory flat 
discounted rate. Some who responded were in favor of having an optional 
flat rate, but almost all commenters indicated that if the flat rate 
were below the negotiated rate, it would almost always be worth it to 
negotiate for the difference.
    Two new suggestions emerged that had not been discussed in the 
ANPG. One was to provide the option for entities and Federal agencies 
to agree to extend the period of utilization of a rate once negotiated. 
The second idea was proposed by the nonprofit community, and entailed 
explicitly requiring pass-through entities to honor rates that are 
negotiated at the Federal level.
    Finally, some expressed interest in the availability of a minimum 
flat rate for entities that had never had a negotiated indirect cost 
rate. Such entities could adopt this rate for an interim period, while 
developing capacity to engage in negotiations.
    As a result of this feedback, this proposal does not further 
contemplate a flat negotiated rate, but rather provides in section .616 
Indirect (F&A) costs for all types of entities the option of extending 
negotiated rates for up to 4 years subject to approval of the indirect 
cost cognizant agency. This one-time extension will only be approved if 
there have been no major changes in indirect costs. If an extension is 
granted the entity would not be allowed to request a rate review until 
the extension period ends. OMB hopes that this extension of the 
negotiated rate may provide a reduction in burden by reducing the 
frequency of negotiations.

[[Page 7288]]

    In addition, also in section .616 Indirect (F&A) Costs, a minimum 
flat rate of 10% of modified total direct costs has been added to 
ensure that entities without the capacity for a full negotiation 
receive a minimum reimbursement for no more than four years while they 
develop the capacity to engage in full negotiations. Finally, section 
.501 Subrecipient Monitoring and Management explicitly requires pass-
through entities to either honor the indirect cost rates negotiated at 
the Federal level, negotiate a rate in accordance with Federal 
guidelines, or provide the minimum flat rate. This is aimed at ensuring 
that entities who receive Federal funds primarily indirectly 
nevertheless are appropriately reimbursed for the allowable costs 
associated with the award.
3. Exploring alternatives to time-and-effort reporting requirements for 
salaries and wages section .621 Selected Items of Cost, C-10 
Compensation--Personal Services
    The ANPG discusses OMB's intent to identify possible alternatives 
to current reporting requirements for validating the costs of salaries 
and wages. The discussion points to three pilots that are currently 
ongoing as possibly instructive examples of alternatives.
    Consideration of alternatives to time and effort reporting reflects 
the long-term goal of tying assessment to the achievement of 
programmatic objectives rather than measurement of effort (hours) 
expended. OMB has learned that though this is an important long-term 
goal, based on the diverse nature of programs across the Federal 
government and related variations in methodologies for measuring 
achievement and outcomes, time and effort reporting continues to be 
viewed by the audit community as an important tool for confirming 
appropriate use of funds.
    In response to the ANPG, institutions of higher education in 
particular pointed out that current requirements are particularly 
restrictive because they include specific examples of compliance with 
current requirements which, over time, have become the rule. These 
commenters recommended broadening time and effort reporting language to 
omit specific examples and instead feature the essential principles for 
accountability based on strong internal controls that entities could 
then implement however is most appropriate for them. Some in the 
auditing community similarly commented that while open to streamlined 
guidance, they recommend OMB ensure that the standards for appropriate 
internal controls and audits remain clear.
    This proposal addresses these ideas with language in section .621 
Selected Items of Cost, item C-10 Compensation--Personal Services. 
Within this language, OMB has consolidated reporting requirements that 
previously differed across types of entities and eliminated specific 
examples in order to clarify the broad principles of how an entity may 
establish the internal controls that would allow them to validate these 
costs. It recognizes the potential to integrate the necessary 
information in automated payroll distribution systems where clear 
internal controls govern those systems, thereby reducing duplication.
    OMB will be interested in feedback from the audit community on 
whether the draft language provides sufficient guidance to result in a 
set of requirements that will be easily audited. Further, OMB will be 
interested in feedback from the recipient community on whether the 
language proposed adequately provides enough flexibility for entities 
to meet these standards in the way most appropriate to their particular 
organizations, and in ways that may change over time as technology 
continues to advance.
4. Revisions to reimbursements for utility costs to institutions of 
higher education. Appendix IV--Indirect (F&A) Costs Identification and 
Assignment, and Rate Determination for Educational Institutions
    The ANPG discusses expanding the application of the 1.3% indirect 
(F&A) costs adjustment for utility costs of research to more 
institutions of higher education.
    The goal of this reform idea would be to eliminate unfairness 
inherent in a policy that provides a benefit to a limited group of 
institutions based on arbitrary criteria without consideration of 
applicability to other institutions. The Utility Cost Adjustment (UCA) 
currently provides an extra 1.3% percentage points in addition to the 
negotiated indirect cost rate to 65 institutions of higher education 
for research grants. The ANPG noted that OMB would work with Department 
of Defense's Office of Naval Research and the Department of Health and 
Human Services' Division of Cost Allocation to develop guidelines and a 
format for entities to apply for this benefit in a streamlined way that 
ensured the adjustment was only provided where real costs exist. 
Further, the notice discussed requiring entities to demonstrate a plan 
to bring utility costs down over time.
    The need for action is a result of the fact that utility costs, 
while included in indirect cost rate negotiations, are generally 
recorded only at the building level, making it difficult to document 
the utility cost that should be allocated to Federal awards as opposed 
to other activities. This is particularly true for research, where 
funded activities are likely to use more energy than teaching, for 
example. The current situation is further complicated by the fact that 
the 1.3% adjustment itself is long outdated and based on limited 
information. Thus, there is a strong sense in the Federal community 
that some additional way to verify the accuracy of the adjustment is 
also overdue.
    Commenters from the university community were in favor of expanding 
the adjustment, but many who currently receive the adjustment preferred 
that it not be expanded if the expansion would mean a reduction in 
funds to those who currently receive it, or in other words, a cost 
neutral expansion. Further, commenters argued strongly that the 
expansion should not be linked to a burdensome application or 
justification process, nor a burdensome process to document reductions 
in cost over time.
    OMB has received feedback from rate setting agencies that given the 
complexities of documenting utility costs, it is likely that any type 
of study or application done to justify costs would be difficult to 
achieve with accuracy and without inducing significant administrative 
burden and expense for both recipient entities and Federal agencies.
    As a potential solution, language in Appendix IV of this proposal 
would replace the 1.3% utility cost adjustment that is currently in 
effect with two options for reimbursement of utility costs. The first 
would allow any institution of higher education to meter their utility 
usage at the sub-building level instead of by building. When metering 
utility usage by function is not feasible, entities may add a 
multiplier to their square footage used for research to calculate 
``effective'' square footage for purposes of utility cost calculation. 
Taken together, these two options should provide a more accurate 
reimbursement of utility costs through the normal indirect cost rate 
negotiation process than the current practice of metering by building 
does. OMB will be interested in responses to this proposal from 
institutions of higher education, particularly with regard to whether 
metering at the sub-building level within buildings is a feasible 
option for them or whether changes in metering practice are 
prohibitively expensive, the extent to which the calculation of the

[[Page 7289]]

effective square footage is viewed as a fair proxy for utility costs, 
and whether this is likely to significantly increase the accuracy of 
utility cost reimbursements.
5. Charging directly allocable administrative support as a direct cost. 
Section .615 Direct Costs
    The ANPG discussed clarifying the circumstances under which 
institutions of higher education and other entities where appropriate, 
may charge directly allocable administrative support as a direct cost. 
Included in this discussion were examples of appropriately direct 
chargeable project-specific activities such as managing substances such 
as chemicals, data and image management, complex project management, 
and security.
    The goal of this reform idea was to ensure that charges are 
appropriately classified in order to provide support for all of the 
costs directly associated with a Federal award. It is further aimed at 
addressing a concern raised by institutions of higher education for 
which administrative tasks directly associated with a research grant 
routinely make up a significant proportion of directly allocable 
activities and costs.
    Comments received, including from the university community, 
indicated a preference that any further guidance rely on the 
overarching cost principles, which indicate that an item or activity 
may be charged directly to a grant if it is clearly allocable to that 
award, as opposed to an activity that supports multiple projects. This 
principle remains true regardless of whether the work performed is 
administrative in nature.
    This proposal reflects that principle, and guidance proposed in 
section .615 Direct Costs indicates that all work that is directly 
allocable to one award may be charged to that award, regardless of the 
type of task. With this proposal OMB hopes to provide consistently 
across the cost principles that direct costs are those allocable to one 
award, while indirect costs are those that cannot easily be so 
allocated.
6. Including the costs of certain computing devices as allowable direct 
cost supplies. Section .621 Selected items of cost, C-31 Material and 
Supplies Costs, Including Costs of Computing Devices
    The ANPG discussed explicitly including the cost of computing 
devices not otherwise subject to inventory controls (i.e. cost less 
than the organization's equipment threshold) as allowable direct cost 
supplies. Applicants for Federal awards would be required to document 
these items as a separate line-item in their budget requests, but would 
not be required to conduct the more stringent inventory controls in 
place for equipment.
    The goal of this clarification would be to ensure that charges are 
appropriately classified in order to provide support for all of the 
costs directly associated with a Federal award, while reducing the 
burdens of securing special permission to purchase what have become 
routine supplies. This is not intended to result in a net cost 
increase, but rather to provide clarity in how allowable costs are 
routinely charged. The need for this clarification is a result of the 
fact that while computing devices routinely cost less than the $5,000 
equipment threshold, they are seen as highly valuable items. These 
facts have led to diverse opinions as to whether these devices should 
be treated as equipment versus supplies, and to audit findings of 
incorrect documentation.
    Commenters in the recipient community were generally in favor of 
this reform, but specified a preference that these items not require 
separate line items in budget requests as the ANPG contemplated. Those 
with this preference noted that specifying separate line items would 
limit existing rebudgeting authority in a way that would lead to less 
efficient administration of grants. The audit community argued in 
contrast that computing devices are both highly valuable and contain 
highly sensitive data, and so should be subject to more detailed 
inventory requirements as they would be if classified as equipment. 
Others proposed that because these items may be used for more than one 
award, they should be treated as indirect costs.
    This proposal discusses this idea in section .621 Selected items of 
cost, Item C-31 Material and Supplies Costs, Including Costs of 
Computing Devices. The language proposed reflects feedback OMB received 
from Federal agencies that the sensitivity of data stored on computing 
devices should not be a factor in determining cost accounting, since 
protection of that data is a separate area of internal control. 
Recipient entities are responsible for the security and encryption of 
their data regardless of how the devices are accounted for. Further, 
the costs of documenting inventories for these items would be 
significant and generally detrimental to the efficient administration 
of the grant. Given the low cost of these items (generally far below 
the $5,000 threshold) the proposed language anticipates that they fit 
naturally within the category contemplated as supplies, and should be 
explicitly included there, without further requirements to add a line 
item in the budget. Further, OMB believes these items are similar in 
their allocability to other items typically in the supply category, 
which are directly allocable because of their programmatic relevance 
for the execution of an award, but which may have some unavoidable 
excess capacity.
7. Clarifying the threshold for an allowable maximum residual inventory 
of unused supplies. Section .621 Selected items of Cost, C-31 Material 
and Supplies Costs, Including Costs of Computing Devices
    The ANPG discussed harmonizing cost principles with existing 
language in Circulars A-110 and A-102 to clarify that $5,000 is the 
threshold for an allowable maximum residual inventory of unused 
supplies as long as the cost was properly allocable to the original 
agreement at the time of purchase. The notice included language to the 
effect that these supplies may be retained for use on another Federal 
award at no cost, though that language did not align with existing 
guidance found in Circulars A-110 and A-102.
    The goal of this clarification is to minimize confusion about 
appropriate disposal or re-expensing of unused inventories at the 
conclusion of an award and at ensuring consistency in the application 
of the cost principles. Federal agencies view this requirement as 
important, because below this level the costs for the agency to 
recover, inventory, store, and dispose of these items would exceed the 
benefit of such efforts. Though the auditing community expressed some 
concern, particularly about what would be done when the recipient did 
not have another Federal award for which to retain the supplies, the 
majority of comments received on this idea were in favor of it.
    This proposal clarifies language in section .621 Selected Items of 
Cost, Item C-31 Material and Supply Costs, including Costs of Computing 
Devices. This language is harmonized with language in the draft 
administrative requirements that states that $5,000 is the threshold 
for an allowable maximum residual inventory of unused supplies as long 
as the cost was properly allocable to the original agreement at the 
time of purchase. Consistent with existing administrative requirements, 
there is no requirement to retain the supplies for use on another 
Federal award.

[[Page 7290]]

8. Eliminating requirements to conduct studies of cost reasonableness 
for large research facilities. (No language in proposed guidance)
    The ANPG discussed eliminating requirements for institutions of 
higher education, and other entities where appropriate, to conduct 
studies of cost reasonableness for large research facilities.
    The goal of this reform would be to reduce paperwork that is costly 
to generate and duplicative of more useful information that is 
otherwise provided to the awarding agency. The cost reasonableness 
studies mentioned compare a specific set of data compared against a 
data set compiled by the National Science Foundation. This comparison 
does not yield information that is as useful as the information that is 
routinely reviewed by agencies any time a grant proposal includes a 
proposal for construction of a new facility. These routine reviews 
cover actual costs included in all aspects of the project, which 
program managers are able to evaluate using their expertise and 
knowledge of reasonableness of these proposals in comparison with 
others and with market prices. The specific studies in question have 
been found not to add additional value to this process.
    Comments received in response to this idea were generally positive. 
This proposal eliminates the previously existing language.
9. Eliminating restrictions on sse of indirect costs recovered for 
depreciation or use allowances. (No language in proposed guidance)
    The ANPG discussed eliminating the restrictions on the use of the 
portion of indirect cost recoveries associated with depreciation or use 
allowances. These restrictions are duplicative of the indirect cost 
rate negotiation process, during which appropriate indirect costs are 
documented, justified, and negotiated. This requirement put 
restrictions on the use of funds which were received as reimbursements 
for costs already incurred appropriately in accordance with negotiated 
indirect cost rates. Articulating requirements for how recipients 
should spend reimbursements is fundamentally duplicative.
    Further, in this same item of cost, all references to use 
allowances have been eliminated. Use allowance was an alternative 
accounting method which was necessary at the time of the last update to 
OMB circulars because not all entities were capable of using the 
depreciation method. Now, however, the depreciation method is widely if 
not universally used, and use allowance has become an obsolete 
reference.
    Comments received in response to this idea were generally positive. 
As a result, this proposal eliminates restrictions on depreciation 
reimbursements in section .621 Selected Items of Cost, item C-15 
Depreciation.
10. Eliminating requirements to conduct a lease-purchase analysis for 
interest costs and to provide notice before relocating federally-
sponsored activities from a debt-financed facility. (No language in 
proposed guidance)
    The ANPG discussed eliminating requirements for institutions of 
higher education, and other entities where appropriate, to conduct a 
lease-purchase analysis to justify interest costs, and to notify the 
cognizant Federal agency prior to relocating federally sponsored 
activities from a facility financed by debt. The goal of this reform 
would be to reduce paperwork that is costly to generate and does not 
yield information that is useful to the awarding agency.
    Where recipient entities are required to invest equity of their own 
in facilities they purchase, and where they must provide the up-front 
financing and are reimbursed based on the ongoing costs of facilities, 
OMB finds that entities have appropriate incentives to make the most 
cost-effective decisions about whether to lease or purchase a facility 
without providing additional paperwork to the Federal government. 
Further, Federal agencies have provided feedback that such paperwork 
does not meaningfully affect funding decisions.
    Comments received in response to this reform idea were generally 
positive. This proposal therefore eliminates this requirement.
11. Eliminate requirements that printed ``help-wanted'' advertising 
comply with particular specifications. Section 621 Selected Items of 
Cost, C-42 Recruiting Costs
    The ANPG discussed updating the cost principles to reflect the 
media now used for those notices. The goal of this reform would be to 
update guidance to conform to 21st-Century business processes. Comments 
received in response to this reform idea were generally positive.
    This proposal updates this language accordingly, specifically in 
section .621 Selected Items of Cost, and item C-42 Recruiting Costs.
12. Allowing for the budgeting for contingency funds for certain 
awards. Section .621 Selected Items of Cost, C-12 Contingency 
Provisions
    The ANPG discussed clarifying that budgeting for contingency funds 
associated with a Federal award for the construction or upgrade of a 
large facility or instrument, or for IT systems, is an acceptable and 
necessary practice, and that the method by which contingency funds are 
managed and monitored is at the discretion of the Federal funding 
agency. The goal of this reform would be to ensure that contingencies 
inherent in grant-funded projects are planned for in accordance with 
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and with standard 
project-management practices. The language seeks to accomplish this 
while making clear that reserve funds which recipients would draw down 
in advance of a particular event actually occurring, are unallowable.
    Comments received in response to this reform idea were generally 
positive. Some in the audit community suggested limiting contingency 
budgets to a percentage of the total award; however, Federal agencies 
considered that this would be contrary to GAAP, and difficult to do at 
the government-wide level given the diverse nature of Federal programs. 
OMB acknowledges Federal agencies' program managers as experts in the 
particular needs of their programs, and expects them to look carefully 
at all award budgets, including contingency budgets, to ensure that 
they are appropriate to the scope and scale of the project at hand. 
Some comments received indicated a preference for establishing advance 
draw-down reserve funds, but OMB finds that this would result in undue 
risk of improper payments, and additional administrative burden to 
recover such funds if they were not needed.
    This proposal includes language to this effect in section. 621 
Selected Items of Cost, C-12 Contingency Provisions.
13. Strengthening requirements for all recipients to document cost 
accounting practices and provide necessary paperwork to auditors while 
eliminating cost accounting standards and requirement for institutions 
of higher education to file a disclosure statement. Section .502 
Standards for Financial and Program Management
    The ANPG discussed whether OMB should request that the CASB 
consider increasing from $25 million to $50 million in Federal awards 
per year (based on the average of an entity's three most recent years) 
the minimum

[[Page 7291]]

threshold for institutions of higher education to file a cost 
accounting standards disclosure statement. Comments received in 
response to this reform idea were generally positive, though members of 
the university community argued that institutions of higher education 
should not be subject to CAS requirements for financial assistance, 
since in the intent of these standards is duplicative of OMB guidance 
for grants but the language adds layers of complexity. Further, 
comments argued that universities should be exempt from requirements to 
file disclosure statements, on the basis that they are audited on the 
compliance of their internal policies with cost-accounting standards 
described in OMB guidance, making the added disclosure duplicative. 
Further, they find the process to obtain approvals of updates to the 
form itself to be often subject to frustrating delays. Comments from 
the auditing community indicate that any audit finding would ultimately 
rest on whether the entity's internal policies comply with OMB 
guidance, though some noted that the form itself provides a useful 
overview of cost accounting practices that have been pre-approved by 
the Federal government, providing a helpful starting point for any 
review. OMB recognizes that these requirements are applied solely to 
universities, posing an additional requirement on a particular group of 
entities without a clear justification for singling out that particular 
group.
    Ultimately, OMB finds it essential for all recipients to document 
their cost accounting standards and to provide auditors with any and 
all documentation required to satisfy audit inquiries. As a result, OMB 
has reviewed the proposed language in section .502 Standards for 
Financial and Program Management, paragraph (c). The existing 
requirement from A-110 that all recipients document their cost 
accounting practices remains sufficiently comprehensive and unchanged, 
but this proposal adds a cross reference to section. 506 on Record 
Retention and Access, which specifically authorizes awarding agencies, 
Inspectors General, and the Comptroller General of the United States to 
access these records. In addition, language has been added in section 
.708 Auditee Responsibilities to require recipients to provide auditors 
with any and all documentation required to complete the required audit. 
Finally, in the Single Audit Compliance Supplement, OMB would add 
language asking auditors to verify that recipients comply with the 
documentation requirements and to report any non-compliance 
appropriately as an audit finding.
    OMB has also removed the CAS standards from the guidance, and 
eliminated the requirement for universities to file a disclosure 
statement that must be approved by the awarding agency. This change 
applies only to the guidance for grants and cooperative agreements; 
this in no way alters requirements under the Federal Acquisition 
Regulation governed by the CASB that apply to entities receiving awards 
of contracts.
14. Allowing for excess or idle capacity for certain facilities, in 
anticipation of usage increases. Section .621 Selected Items of Cost, 
C-24 Idle Facilities and Idle Capacity
    The ANPG discussed allowing for excess or idle capacity in 
consolidated data centers, telecommunications, and public safety 
facilities. The goal of this reform is to acknowledge the unique 
requirements inherent in consolidation of data centers as encouraged by 
the President in order to deliver a 21st-Century government. Data 
centers and other types of facilities require excess capacity at their 
creation in order to accommodate increases and fluctuations in usage 
later on. Other telecommunications facilities and public-safety 
emergency-response facilities have similar characteristics.
    Comments received in response to this idea were generally positive. 
This proposal incorporates this idea in section .621 Selected Items of 
Cost, item C-24 Idle Facilities and Idle Capacity.
15. Allowing costs for efforts to collect improper payment recoveries. 
Section .621 Selected Items of Cost, C-8 Collections of Improper 
Payments
    The ANPG discussed adding a new item of cost specifically to allow 
recipients to be reimbursed for expenses associated with the effort to 
collect improper payment recoveries or related activities. The goal of 
this reform is to better encourage recipient entities to assist the 
Federal government to meet the President's directive to improve the 
Federal government's ability to recover improper payments. The draft 
language is intended to allow recipients to keep an amount of funds 
collected to cover expenses of collection efforts, where the amount 
collected is likely to exceed the expense of collection.
    These costs may be considered either indirect or direct costs as 
most appropriate for the entity in question. Amounts collected that 
exceed the expense of collection shall be treated in accordance with 
accepted cash management standards.
    Though most comments received in response to this reform idea were 
generally in favor of it, some in the university community noted that 
where these are indirect costs, which are capped, additional 
allowability would not affect them. This proposal includes language in 
section .621 Selected items of cost, item C-8 Collections of Improper 
Payments to clarify allowable treatment of these costs.
16. Specifying that gains and/or losses due to speculative financing 
arrangements are unallowable. (No language in proposed guidance)
    The ANPG discussed adding an item of cost to the guidance to 
clarify that gains or losses related to debt arrangements on capital 
assets due to speculative financing arrangements (such as hedges or 
derivatives) are unallowable. The goal of this reform idea was to 
protect the government from the scenario where recipients were charging 
losses from financing arrangements to awards as direct costs, but not 
crediting gains when accrued. Comments received in response to this 
reform were generally negative. Many institutions argued that they 
necessarily use these types of arrangements in order to balance 
legitimate investment portfolios that are part of institution-wide 
financial management plans, not exclusively for management of Federal 
awards. Nonprofits operating internationally argued that these types of 
financing arrangements are necessary in order to hedge against risk of 
currency fluctuations.
    OMB concurs with the observations in the comments, and notes that 
OMB guidance governing grants is not intended to govern how an 
institution manages its financial portfolio beyond the assets related 
to Federal awards. Further, we find that the cases where recipients are 
inappropriately charging losses directly to awards would already be 
unallowable under existing guidance and would result in an audit 
finding, so additional guidance is not needed to mitigate these risks. 
Based on comments received, OMB has not included language to this 
effect.
17. Providing non-profit organizations an example of the certificate of 
indirect costs. Appendix V--Indirect (F&A) Costs Identification and 
Assignment, and Rate Determination for Non-Profit Organizations
    The ANPG discussed providing non-profit organizations an example of 
the required certification (Certificate of Indirect Costs) similar to 
the

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information that is already provided for state, local, and tribal 
governments. The goal of this reform idea would be to provide 
uniformity in documentation requirements across different types of 
entities.
    Though comments from the nonprofit community were generally 
favorable, the university community objected to this reform and argued 
that the certificate of indirect costs should be eliminated for all 
types of entities. They argued that there are other remedies available 
to the Federal government if an institution is alleged to have 
committed fraud, and the certification includes unfortunate language 
that diminishes the spirit of the collaboration between these 
organizations and the Federal government. Though OMB continues to see 
value in the certification of indirect costs by a senior official of 
the entity, this proposal modifies the language in the certification to 
be aligned with the language in the state/local/tribal certification, 
which articulates the certification using more positive language. This 
proposal is included in Appendix V--Indirect (F&A) Costs Identification 
and Assignment, and Rate Determination for Non-Profit Organizations, 
and provides slightly modified language for institutions of higher 
education in Appendix IV--Indirect (F&A) Costs Identification and 
Assignment, and Rate Determination for Institutions of Higher 
Education.
18. Providing non-profit organizations with an example of indirect cost 
proposal documentation requirements. (No language in proposed guidance)
    The ANPG discussed providing for non-profit organizations an 
example of indirect cost proposal documentation requirements similar to 
the information provided for state, local, and tribal governments. The 
goal of this reform idea would be to provide uniformity in 
documentation requirements across different types of entities. Comments 
received in response to this idea as originally articulated were 
generally neutral. However, a broader principle of this reform effort 
has been to eliminate examples from the proposed guidance, as they can 
ultimately cause more confusion than clarity as over time they tend to 
be treated as the rule. Instead, OMB will provide guidance on 
documentation for justification of indirect cost rates that will more 
likely take the form of an instruction manual such as the one 
previously published by the Department of Labor (found at https://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/boc/costdeterminationguide/main.htm#toc) 
rather than specific examples. As a result, this proposal does not 
provide such an example, and further eliminates such examples for other 
types of entities.
19. Additional ideas for cost principles
    In response to the ANPG, OMB received a number of suggestions for 
ways that existing guidance could be clarified beyond those articulated 
in the ANPG. OMB reviewed these and anticipates that clarifications 
made in the draft language in subchapter F may address many of them. 
Particular examples of requests that may have significant policy 
implications are:
    A. Agency Exceptions to Use of Negotiated Cost Rates (Section .616 
Indirect (F&A) costs)). Many entities, in particular institutions of 
higher education, raised concern that Federal agencies do not always 
honor negotiated indirect cost rates, despite existing language in 
relevant circulars that appears to instruct them to do so. OMB 
recognizes that agencies do make exceptions to the general policy of 
reimbursing indirect costs at governmentwide negotiated rates. Further, 
OMB recognizes that the current system calculates indirect cost rates 
as an average across all Federal awards. As a result, for any given 
award, the actual associated indirect cost will fall either above or 
below the negotiated rates, theoretically in even proportions.
    In this proposal section .616 provides draft language to clarify 
the circumstances under which agencies may make exceptions to the 
negotiated rate. These include where exceptions are provided for in 
statute or regulation, or where the agency head has made a 
determination that the exception is important to the success of the 
program based on documented justification. Agency heads shall notify 
OMB of any approved deviations, so that OMB maintains a governmentwide 
view of the application of negotiated rates. OMB anticipates that 
programs with longstanding historical exceptions, such as NIH training 
grants, will continue within the new approval process. This stringent 
requirement for agency head approval should provide better transparency 
and understanding of these exceptions, and properly limit these 
exceptions to help ensure they are justified when they occur.
    In addition, new language in section .502 Standards for Financial 
and Program Management provides that voluntary committed cost sharing 
is not expected under Federal research proposals and is not to be used 
as a factor in the review of applications or proposals, except where 
otherwise required by statute. This is intended to ensure that research 
proposals are evaluated on their merit, and that cost sharing 
expectations where they exist are consistent for all applicants.
    B. Clarifications of cost principles for information technology. 
OMB received several suggestions from the National Association of State 
Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) that requested clarification of the 
cost principles for information-technology systems. The first of these 
was a request that the item of cost for interest articulate that 
financing costs are allowable for intangible assets as well as capital 
assets such as large buildings. OMB has included proposed language to 
this effect in section .621 Selected Items of Cost. In addition, NASCIO 
requested that OMB clarify guidance on whether provisions in section 
.503 Property Standards (d) Equipment may apply to equipment for 
information technology systems which have been consolidated. In 
particular, NASCIO requested including IT systems among the equipment 
which, when no longer needed by the Federal program for which it was 
originally purchased, may be used to support other Federally-funded 
activities. OMB has included proposed language to this effect in the 
above mentioned section.
    C. Clarification of costs related to family-related leave and 
dependent care. Existing guidance has long allowed recipient 
institutions to establish their own documented institutional policies 
around fringe benefits and travel, and to fund external meetings and 
conferences provided they meet the conditions established by the 
relevant item of cost. However, OMB received suggestions from the 
American Association of University Women and other organizations 
indicating that because family-related leave and dependent care are not 
discussed specifically in OMB guidance, there may be confusion over the 
documentation required to establish their allowability. In response, we 
have included specific language in section .621, item C-11 
Compensation--Fringe Benefits, C-32 Meetings and Conferences (external) 
and C-53 Travel Costs to clarify the requirements for documentation of 
these costs. This language does not require adoption of any new 
practices, and best mitigates risk of abuse of these policies by 
clearly aligning them with the existing requirement that any such costs 
are only allowable to the extent they are reasonable and consistent 
with written institution-wide policy and practice.
    D. Participant support costs. Existing guidance that applies only 
to nonprofit entities states that participant support costs are 
allowable when approved by

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the awarding agencies, and also notes that these costs are generally 
not included in calculations of modified total direct costs. This 
proposal would expand that language to all recipient entities in order 
to eliminate ambiguity in the guidance and to ensure appropriate 
Federal oversight and reimbursement for these types of expenses. 
Proposed language is in section .621, item C35 Participant Support 
Costs.

C. Reforms to Audit Requirements (Circulars A-133 and A-50) Subchapter 
G: Audit Requirements

    This section discusses ideas for changes that would be made to the 
audit guidance that is contained in Circular A-133 on Audits of States, 
Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations and in Circular A-50 on 
Audit Follow-up. The following ideas for reform were discussed in the 
ANPG.
1. Concentrating audit resolution and oversight resources on higher 
dollar, higher risk awards. Sections .701 Audit Requirements and .719 
Major Program Determinations
    The ANPG discussed whether changing the Single Audit framework 
could enable agencies to focus their oversight and follow-up resources 
in the most efficient and effective way for targeting improper 
payments, waste, fraud, and abuse. The notice discussed options to 
raise the threshold for single audits from $500,000 to $1 million. 
Further, the notice discussed whether audits for entities expending 
between $1 million-$3 million could be streamlined to only two types of 
compliance requirements.
    The goal of these reform ideas was to allow agencies to concentrate 
their audit oversight and follow-up resources more closely on areas of 
highest risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, consistent with EO 13520. For 
this purpose, OMB considers degree of risk as a combination of the 
likelihood that there is an internal control weakness multiplied by the 
possible consequence in dollars if there is. This calculation 
recognizes that an entity spending the greatest amount of money with 
the greatest likelihood of an internal control weakness poses the 
greatest risk to integrity of Federal funds.
    One of the questions OMB posed to commenters in the ANPG was the 
extent to which entities make use of the Single Audit in order to 
manage programs and provide oversight over subrecipients. The answer to 
this question in a great majority of responses was that entities do 
make use of the Single Audit as an important oversight tool, and if the 
threshold were significantly raised entities would have to make use of 
different tools to provide oversight over Federal funds. Entities who 
would fall below the raised threshold inquired about what types of 
oversight could replace the Single Audit if it were no longer in place.
    OMB received significant feedback from the audit community (e.g. 
certified public accountants, state auditors, and their professional 
organizations) that argued against a streamlined audit for entities 
expending between $1 million and $3 million in Federal awards. This 
community argued that inconsistencies in the types of entities 
receiving funds within a particular program would make it difficult to 
specify the one or two types of compliance requirements that would 
universally apply. Further, pass-through entities expressed concern 
that varying requirements significantly by program and size of entity 
would make it more administratively burdensome to oversee over 
subawards.
    OMB also received several additional suggestions about how to re-
configure the single audit coverage framework in order to best target 
risk. These suggestions included raising the threshold for 
determinations of major programs, changing the requirement for auditors 
to evaluate type B programs, raising the threshold for the amount of 
questioned costs, and requiring audited financial statements for all 
entities that fall below a new, higher single audit threshold.
    As a result, this proposal contains the following changes in 
Subchapter G, Audit Requirements:
    (A) Audit threshold. The threshold for the Single Audit Requirement 
would be raised from $500,000 to $750,000. This change would allow 
agencies to focus audit-follow-up resources on higher-risk entities. 
Further, this provides administrative burden relief to the roughly 
5,000 non-Federal entities expending less than $750,000 in Federal 
awards while maintaining single audit coverage over more than 99 
percent of the funds that are currently covered.
    (B) Major Program Determination. This proposal includes changes to 
all four steps of the risk-based approach to focus on the areas of 
highest risk and reduce the number of major programs tested. Under the 
risk-based approach the auditor calculates a threshold (based on amount 
of Federal dollars expended) above which programs are designated ``Type 
A'' and below which they are ``Type B''; and follows a prescribed 
process to assess program risk to identify which programs will be 
audited as major programs. The auditor uses the guidance in the 
Compliance Supplement to test major program requirements and provides 
opinion level audit assurance on each major program. (See section .719 
Major Program Determination) The proposed changes to this process are 
as follows:
    1. Increase the minimum threshold for a program to be Type A from 
$300,000 to $500,000 (but do not change the alternative three percent 
of total Federal awards expended). (Step 1)
    2. Refocus the criteria for a Type-A program to qualify as high-
risk. Revised criteria would result in a Type A program being 
designated as high-risk only when in the most recent period the program 
failed to receive an unqualified opinion; had a material weakness in 
internal controls; or had questioned costs exceeding five percent of 
the program's expenditures. This change puts the focus of the risk 
determination on the most central questions of whether the program 
received a qualified opinion or had weak internal controls, as opposed 
to whether the program may have received any minor finding that may or 
may not have been essential to the financial integrity of the program. 
The requirement that a Type-A program be audited as major at least once 
every three years, regardless of whether it is high- or low-risk 
remains unchanged. (Step 2)
    3. Reduce the number of high-risk Type-B programs that must be 
tested as major programs from at least one half to at least one fourth 
of the number of the low-risk Type A programs and allow the auditor to 
stop the Type-B program risk assessment process after this number of 
high risk Type-B programs are identified. (Steps 3 and 4)
    4. Simplify the calculation to determine relatively small Type-B 
programs for which the auditor is not required to perform a risk 
assessment from the current stepped approach to a flat 25 percent of 
the Type A/B threshold. The change allows more Type-B programs to be 
classified as relatively small. (Step 3)
    5. Reduce the minimum coverage required under the percentage-of-
coverage rule from the current 50 percent for a regular auditee and 25 
percent for a low-risk auditee to at least 40 percent for a regular and 
20 percent for a low-risk auditee. (Step 4)
    These changes to the major program determination will result in 
more targeted audit coverage of programs with internal control 
weaknesses. They provide appropriate burden relief for non-Federal 
entities that materially comply as evidenced by an unqualified audit 
opinion, and no material weaknesses in internal controls or material 
questioned costs. Because large

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non-Federal entities (such as a larger state government) often have at 
least one audit finding in a program, under existing guidance, for 
these entities, almost all Type A programs may qualify as high-risk. 
The proposed changes provide an incentive for these non-Federal 
entities to focus on correcting the deficiencies that indicate 
underlying weaknesses in internal controls.
    (C) Questioned Costs. Increase the minimum threshold for reporting 
questioned costs from $10,000 to $25,000 to focus on the audit findings 
presenting the greatest risk. This will eliminate smaller audit 
findings which require the investment of follow-up resources yet are 
unlikely to indicate significant weaknesses in internal controls. (See 
section .717 Audit Findings)
    In addition, to address questions about the required level of 
subrecipient oversight, OMB has consolidated and clarified relevant 
guidance on subrecipient monitoring requirements in section .501 
Subrecipient Monitoring and Management.
    If these reforms to the audit threshold were implemented, OMB would 
consider issuing further guidance about the transition to the GAGAS-
only audit and the extent to which recipients with known weaknesses 
would be required to resolve them before being subject to it.
2. Streamlining the types of compliance requirements in the Circular A-
133 Compliance Supplement. Some language in Section ----.713 
Responsibilities, but more to be added in Single Audit Compliance 
Supplement
    The ANPG discussed streamlining the types of compliance 
requirements found in the OMB Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement. The 
notice discussed streamlining these requirements by targeting a subset 
for increased testing, larger sample sizes, or lower levels of 
materiality, while de-emphasizing others, with an exception allowing 
Federal agencies on a program-specific basis to place higher emphasis 
on those other specific types of requirements believed to prevent 
waste, fraud, or abuse.
    The goal of this reform idea would be to refocus the Compliance 
Supplement to better target areas of risk, thereby reducing the audit 
burden on non-Federal entities and allowing agencies to concentrate 
their oversight and audit follow-up resources on the requirements 
targeting the highest risk of improper payments, waste, fraud, and 
abuse.
    Comments on this section from the audit community pointed out that 
to specify the amount of testing done for a particular type of 
compliance requirement would be incredibly complex across programs, and 
would likely conflict with the generally accepted auditing standards, 
which require auditors to use their professional judgment about the 
level of testing necessary for any particular entity. Moreover, 
recipients were concerned that the exception that allowed Federal 
agencies to add back requirements that they felt were necessary for the 
program would result in even more administrative burden.
    One popular observation, particularly from state governments, was 
that in earlier iterations of discussions on these topics a reform idea 
was to eliminate certain types of compliance requirements altogether; 
many of these commenters argued that this elimination could be a clean 
way to reduce burden across programs.
    As a result of this feedback, OMB proposes to limit the types of 
compliance requirements in the compliance supplement to the following 
group of key compliance requirements which, if violated, are most 
likely to result in improper payments, waste, fraud, or abuse. This 
approach is consistent with early recommendations received and OMB's 
October 2009 Single Audit Internal Control Project for American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which limited testing to the 
following basic types of compliance requirements: \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The letter references are to the references used for the 
types of compliance requirements in the OMB Circular A-I33 
Compliance Supplement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    A. Activities Allowed or Unallowed and B. Allowable Costs/Cost 
Principles (combined)--The amounts reported as expenditures and claimed 
for matching will be tested for allowable activities and charges that 
were reasonable, allowable, and allocable under applicable OMB guidance 
and terms and conditions of award or grant agreement. Some review of H. 
Period of Availability of Federal Funds would likely be incorporated in 
a determination of allowability under this requirement. The Matching 
part of G. Matching, Level of Effort, and Earmarking would also be 
covered, since testing under this requirement will include a 
determination of whether costs claimed for matching are allowable, 
allocable, and reasonable. Documentation of appropriate matching 
claimed would still be reviewed under L. Reporting.
    C. Cash Management--The non-federal entity followed procedures to 
minimize the time elapsing between the transfer of funds from the U.S. 
Treasury, or pass-through entity, and their disbursement.
    E. Eligibility--The records show that those who received services 
or benefits, either directly or on behalf of someone else, were 
eligible to receive them: benefits were provided in the right amount, 
to the right person, for the right purpose, and at the right time.
    L. Reporting--Federal financial reports, performance reporting, 
claims for advances and reimbursement, and amounts claimed as matching 
are accurate and include all activity of the reporting period, are 
supported by applicable accounting records, and are fairly presented in 
accordance with program requirements. As noted above, this would 
include review of documentation of amount reported for matching.
    M. Subrecipient Monitoring--The pass-through entity (1) Made sub-
awards only to eligible entities, (2) identified awards, compliance 
requirements, and payments to the subrecipient prior to disbursement, 
(3) monitored subrecipient activities to ensure subrecipient 
compliance, and (4) performed the audit resolution function (e.g., 
ensured proper audit submitted on time, followed up on audit findings, 
including issuance of a management decision, and ensuring that 
subrecipients took timely and appropriate corrective action).
    N. Special Tests and Provision--Requirements that are unique to 
each federal program and are found in the laws, regulations, and the 
provisions of contract or grant agreements pertaining to the program 
which could have a direct and material effect on a major program.
    The seven compliance requirements that would be eliminated from the 
compliance supplement would be D. Davis Bacon, F. Equipment and Real 
Property Management, the latter two components of G. Matching, Level of 
Effort, and Earmarking, H. Period of Availability of Federal Funds 
except where tested to verify allowable/unallowable costs, I. 
Procurement and Suspension and Debarment, J. Program Income and K. Real 
Property Acquisition and Relocation Assistance.
    In order to accommodate programs where these requirements are 
essential to the oversight of the program and required by statute or 
regulation, OMB will consider requests from agencies to add one or more 
of these requirements back under special tests and provisions. Such 
requests for inclusion would only be accepted when compliance is 
required by statute or regulation, and when the federal agency (1) 
makes a strong case for how non-compliance

[[Page 7295]]

with these types of requirements could result in increased risk of 
improper payments, waste, fraud, or abuse; and (2) provides a targeted 
compliance supplement write-up identifying improper-payment risks and 
focusing audit tests to address these risks. If adopted, OMB will take 
appropriate steps to ensure consistency between programs for the same 
compliance requirement.
    OMB believes that this approach will focus Single Audit resources 
where the risks to financial integrity are greatest and eliminate the 
more minute detail from audit reports that distracts agencies from 
identifying and addressing significant weaknesses in programs. This 
change is not reflected in the draft proposal but would be implemented 
through the first Compliance Supplement to be issued after the proposed 
change becomes final.
3. Strengthening the guidance on audit follow-up for Federal awarding 
agencies. Section----.713 Responsibilities
    The ANPG discussed various policy options to strengthen audit 
follow-up at the Federal agency level. Ideas contemplated included:
     Requiring agencies to designate a senior accountable 
agency official to oversee the audit resolution process;
     Requiring agencies to implement audit-risk metrics 
including timeliness of report submission, number of audits that did 
not have an unqualified auditor opinion on major programs, and number 
of repeat audit findings;
     Encouraging agencies to engage in cooperative audit 
resolution with recipients; and
     Encouraging agencies to take a pro-active approach to 
resolving weaknesses and deficiencies, whether they are identified with 
single specific programs or cut across the systems of an audited 
recipient.
    Further, to improve audit follow-up, the notice contemplated 
digitizing Single Audit reports into a searchable database to support 
analysis of audit results by Federal agencies and pass-through 
entities.
    The goal of these reforms is to strengthen audit resolution 
policies to result in agencies taking a more pro-active and 
collaborative approach towards following-up on audit findings, which 
should result in a decrease in audit findings and program risk over 
time. Combined with the reforms above to focus the Single Audit on the 
major programs and types of compliance requirements likely to result in 
the greatest risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, this reform would 
strengthen the oversight and response to those high-risk findings that 
were identified. As underlying programmatic weaknesses are resolved and 
repeat findings reduced, both recipients' and agencies' audit burdens 
would be lessened.
    Comments received in response to these ideas were generally 
positive, and this proposal includes language on these ideas in section 
.713 Responsibilities. One additional suggestion OMB received was to 
consider making audit reports publicly available through the Federal 
Audit Clearinghouse. OMB acknowledges that making these reports public 
would reduce burden on the pass-through entities as they work to 
follow-up with subrecipients to obtain reports needed for oversight. 
OMB will work with the Federal Audit Clearinghouse to determine if 
privacy concerns over personally-identifiable information and 
confidential-business information can be overcome. One idea is that 
these concerns could be addressed by explicitly placing the 
responsibility on non-Federal entity uploading the reports to ensure 
that no such information is included. OMB has included draft language 
in this proposal section. 713 Responsibilities to reflect the 
possibility that these concerns will be sufficiently resolved.
    OMB will consider providing additional guidance on agency use of 
cooperative audit-resolution mechanisms and metrics to track audit 
effectiveness in order to ensure agencies are held accountable for 
improvements to use of the Single Audit process. OMB believes that 
taken together these steps will result in a more robust single audit 
framework providing strong oversight over high-risk programs, entities, 
and findings and providing incentives for prompt corrective action to 
strengthen the overall integrity of our Federal financial-assistance 
programs.
4. Reducing burden on pass-through entities and subrecipients by 
ensuring across-agency coordination. Section .713 Responsibilities
    The ANPG discussed strengthening language that would reinforce 
cross-agency coordination of audits and audit follow-up.
    The goal is to reduce redundancy and burden by making more explicit 
the existing requirement that the Federal cognizant or oversight agency 
coordinate audits or reviews by other Federal awarding agencies that 
are made in addition to the Single Audit. This proposed change would 
not affect the ability of Inspectors General to conduct audit work as 
deemed necessary in accordance with the Inspector General Act of 1978, 
as amended.
    This proposal includes language to this effect in section .713 
Responsibilities, which, though not a change in policy, makes clear 
that it is the responsibility of the cognizant or oversight agency to 
coordinate audits or reviews by other Federal agencies that are made in 
addition to the Single Audit.
5. Reducing burdens on pass-through entities and subrecipients from 
audit follow-up. Section .713 Responsibilities
    The ANPG discussed the idea that for subrecipients receiving a 
majority of their awards directly from the Federal government, the 
Federal cognizant or oversight agency might be the most appropriate 
entity to conduct follow-up on audit findings that cut across multiple 
programs.
    The goal of this reform is to eliminate duplicative audit follow-up 
work performed by a pass-through entity without providing significant 
additional work to Federal agencies that already will be following up 
on these same audit findings, as well as to simplify the follow-up for 
the subrecipient.
    Comments received in response to this reform were generally 
positive, though some commenters particularly in the university 
community argued that pass-through entities should not be at all 
responsible for conducting audit follow-up for subrecipients that 
receive a majority of their funds directly.
    This proposal attempts to address this issue at both the Federal 
and pass-through level by making management decisions available through 
the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, on the possibility that privacy-
related concerns articulated above can be resolved. This proposal 
articulates that the cognizant or oversight agency will provide 
management decisions for all findings in which it has funds directly 
implicated, and will make those management decisions publicly available 
so that other Federal awarding agencies and pass-through entities may 
decide to rely on them, or may decide to issue their own decisions, as 
appropriate. This should streamline the audit-resolution process and 
result in relieved administrative burden both for the Federal awarding 
agencies and pass-through entities as well as for the subrecipient.
6. Additional ideas for audit requirements
    In response to the ANPG, OMB received a number of additional 
suggestions for ways that existing guidance on audit requirements could 
be clarified. OMB reviewed these and anticipates that clarifications 
made in

[[Page 7296]]

the draft language in Subchapter G--Audit Requirements will address 
many of them.
    One additional idea for reform suggested by many in the Federal 
agency and audit community was to reduce the amount of time for audit 
submission from the current nine months down to three months or six 
months. OMB supports this idea, but notes that it will require changes 
to legislation to accomplish.

D. Additional Suggestions Outside of the Scope of This Proposed 
Guidance

    In addition to the ideas discussed above, OMB received many ideas 
for reforms to Federal grant policies which have merit but are not 
properly addressed through changes to governmentwide guidance. Some of 
these ideas include better coordination of regulations that are 
applicable or have an impact on Federal grant; use of the Federal rule-
making process for agency grants policies; improvements in data quality 
across systems that support the Federal grants community; looking at 
regulations governing electronic imaging for documents for both grants 
and contracts; facilitating better coordination, consistency, and 
transparency between indirect cost rate setting agencies; and improving 
the training available to Federal grants professionals. OMB is 
committed to continuing improvements in the policies, practices, and 
systems that support the Federal grants community under the continuing 
leadership of the COFAR. OMB and the COFAR will continue to work 
together to reach out to stakeholders to continue these discussions and 
to evaluate where further improvements may continue to be made.

Daniel I. Werfel,
Controller.
[FR Doc. 2013-02113 Filed 1-31-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P