Disclaimer: Please note that materials created prior to the current grant cycle may not reflect the most current grant guidance, especially that emerging from the Serve America Act, reauthorizing the Corporation for National and Community Service. If you are a grantee or potential grantee, it is your responsibility to review all current guidance, regulations, rules, and provisions for information related to grant compliance. For more specific information, see the appropriate page listed here and/or contact your grant or program officer:

Current Regulations from CNCS
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2009 Financial and Grants Management Institute

NOTE: Some of the material covered in this training, has been replaced with content from the 2010 Financial and Grants Management Institute. The sessions listed below without a link to the materials, have been covered in the 2010 Institute. The 2009 Financial and Grants Management Institute was held in New Orleans, Louisiana on November 17th – 19th, 2009, and put on by AmeriCorps State and National, at The Corporation for National and Community Service, in partnership with its Financial Management training and technical assistance provider, MacArthur & Baker International, Inc., (MBI Consulting).

This institute covered both financial and grants management topics for AmeriCorps State, National Program, and Tribal Grantees, sub-grantees, and State Commission staff, and included general financial management topics such as financial reporting, fiscal monitoring, budgeting, as well as specific sessions for AmeriCorps Parent Organizations, programs and State Commissions.

Workshop Sessions

Avoiding Common Issues and Pitfalls
This session will provide an overview of the common issues and pitfalls that have been found in AmeriCorps State and National programs through OIG audits, CNCS monitoring and site visits, and Administrative Standards reviews. This session will review and explore various issues, including to some extent issues identified and discussed in greater depth in other sessions. Participants will learn from other’s mistakes and how to take steps and establish systems or protocols to avoid or help prevent these types of issues within their organization. This session is a good pre-cursor to the Member Files and Match sessions.

Grants Management Overview for Program and Fiscal Staff
This session will assist program and fiscal staff in understanding the basic concepts and responsibilities of managing their Federal grant. Review and discussions will cover several key grant requirements, program changes, budgets, needed approvals, reporting, allowable costs, the interdependence of program and financial issues and decisions, the need for effective working relations, and coordination between program and financial staff.

Member Records, Files, and Documentation
This session will focus on the programmatic requirements relating to members including appropriate records and files. Participants will gain a better understanding of what documentation records and files are needed for members, what records and information will be reviewed during a monitoring visit, and the significance of these records for determining allowable costs. Participants will have the opportunity to explore, discuss, and diagnose real life program scenarios and understand the common programmatic audit findings related to member records in both OIG audits and findings of State Commission and other reviews.

Programmatic and Fiscal Compliance as a Team Effort
This session will focus on the interrelation of the program and fiscal staff and how their roles, responsibilities, decisions and actions affect not only the grant and its management, but also each other and their interdependencies. This session will review and explore specific areas where decisions or actions by program staff or fiscal staff can significantly affect program and grant compliance. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and trouble shoot real life scenarios, which will allow them to better understand how they can work as a team to increase both program and fiscal compliance.

Match – Documenting Cash and In-Kind
Meeting and documenting required match is essential. This session will discuss how to properly track and record cash and in-kind donations, how to calculate the value of in-kind donations, how to document match expenses in the accounting system, how to avoid audit findings related to match, and other match-related matters.

The Federal Financial Report and Program Income
This session will be helpful for both grantees and subgrantees. Participants will review the new Federal Financial Report (FFR), the changes from the previous Financial Status Report (FSR) and the consolidation into the FFR of previous cash reporting information submitted to HHS in the previous SF-272 report. The session will also address obtaining necessary, timely financial information from subgrantees in order to complete grantee FFR reports and address what to do about late reporting or incomplete data at time of reporting. Discussions will also include the new Program Income reporting requirements in the FFR, the definition of income, and how to report unexpended program income.

Financial Monitoring of Subgrantees
This session will be most helpful to grantees that have subgrantees, but it will also be useful to subgrantees to know what to expect. The session will review: the importance of subgrantee monitoring; grantees and subgrantees respective responsibilities in overseeing and managing subgrantee activities; risk-based approach to monitoring; monitoring methods; basic areas to review; the most frequently found monitoring issues; and various monitoring tools and available resources.

Establishing Internal Controls
Internal controls include organizational policies, procedures and processes to help ensure decisions, actions, and transactions are appropriately justified, reviewed, approved and documented. Internal controls support effective management and help minimize the opportunity for waste, fraud and mismanagement. This session will review internal controls and policies and procedures in general and key elements dealing with topics such as: staff time sheets, in-kind contributions, job descriptions, accounting systems, chart of accounts, and budgetary controls.

Developing and Managing Your AmeriCorps Budget
This session will be most helpful for those responsible for preparing, managing or operating an AmeriCorps program. A well-developed program budget provides the road-map and resources that a program needs to achieve its programmatic and financial objectives. This session will provide participants with the techniques, tools and tips that will assist them in developing a good program budget. The session will include: a) things to consider during the planning stages for your grant, e.g., ensuring you budget includes only allowable costs and maximizing your administrative cost recovery; and b) strategies for reviewing and managing your budget during the program year.

National Service Criminal History Checks
This session will be most helpful for AmeriCorps programs recruiting and placing members and for staff monitoring programs. Determining the suitability of AmeriCorps members and grant-funded staff is a crucial requirement established by regulation in 2007 for all AmeriCorps programs. The key component of this regulation is the National Service Criminal History Check for all covered positions. This session will address the regulations, requirements and alternatives. It will provide participants with a clear understanding to whom these requirements apply and under what circumstances; what is necessary to determine suitability; the timeline to accomplish the background checks; and the potential ramifications of not adhering to the requirements.

Alternatives to WBRS
This Grantee Panel Session is targeted to State Commissions and National Direct grantees with subgrantees (not sites). With the loss of WBRSs’ financial functions, AmeriCorps grantees may need to consider what detailed financial expense information they need from subgrantees. Grantees may need data in conjunction with their invoicing and payment processes; for comparative analysis; as part of their subgrantee management and oversight strategy; or to accumulate and roll-up financial data for aggregate financial reporting. This session will briefly summarize the minimal regulatory requirements for data and a panel of State Commission and National Direct representatives will discuss and explore what alternatives they are using or have developed to replace the WBRS financial functions and reasons for their approach.

CNCS – A Legacy of Service
This session will provide participants, which are new to AmeriCorps and National Service, with background information on the Corporation for National and Community Service. Topics to be discussed include the structure of AmeriCorps funding and the distribution methods via the State Commissions and National Direct grants, the cost per MSY structure and some of the unique aspects of operating an AmeriCorps program. Participants will also be provided with information on the other programs operated within the CNCS and resources available as part of the network.

Closing Out Your AmeriCorps Grant
This session will focus on the process of closing out an AmeriCorps grant. Participants will learn to understand the closeout process, learn about closeout requirements, and understand the roles & responsibilities during the closeout process. A review of the closeout forms will also be made.

Understanding OIG Audits and Preventing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Your Organization
The Office of Inspector General provides agency oversight to ensure adequate organizational internal controls are in place to safeguard program and taxpayer dollars. This session will cover an overview of the OIG’s mission; identify indicators of fraud; identify current audit findings; preparation for an audit, safeguarding and accountability of Recovery Act funds, and how to report fraud, waste, or abuse.

Understanding and Analyzing Financial Statements and OMB A-133 Audit Reports
This session reviews the requirements for an A-133 audit, and will examine the importance and relevance of the information reported. Participants will learn the relationship between an organization’s A-133 audit or other audit report and financial statements. This session will also help State Commissions and National Direct grantees assess their systems to ensure they meet their responsibilities related to tracking, receiving, reviewing and resolving audit issues and complying with management decisions for their pass-through entities.