NSF OIG Audits of Effort Reporting

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NSF OIG Audits of Effort Reporting

The Council of Government Relations (COGR) which represent Rutgers and one hundred fifty other large research universities/institutes informed its members at the June meeting of the following:

"The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the National Science Foundation (NSF) is beginning to implement audits of "time and effort reporting," as specified in their FY 2006 Annual Audit Plan. The plan is to conduct 5 to 6 audits over the remainder of the year. The OIG's approach is to "randomly select" the institutions from a list of the top 100 NSF funding recipients. In addition, the audits may be performed by CPA firms, whom are enlisted by the OIG on a contractual basis."

Comments:

Rutgers is 32nd of the top 100 NSF funding recipients and therefore a possible audit selection.
Experience has shown that CPA firms are tougher and less forgiving than Federal auditors.
Please make sure your effort reports are properly signed and returned so we have them if or when we are audited.
Particular attention should be given to checking the proper box and attaching required documents, if necessary.
Disallowed effort reports generally require returning money to the sponsor since most audits are after the award ended.
Forewarned is forearmed!

Ronald S. Thompson, CPA, MBA, Assistant Controller
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey         732-932-0165 ext 2218
Division of Grant and Contract Accounting                     Fax 732-932-0182
3 Rutgers Plaza                                E-mail     rst@rci.rutgers.edu
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8559     Web site http://postaward.rutgers.edu