Jacobson Jarvis has been assisting not-for-profit organizations to navigate the maze of requirements and pitfalls of grant and contract compliance since 1991.

Grants and contracts received from government and private agencies are legally binding agreements and organizations awarded them must fully comply with their terms. Noncompliance can result in:

• Termination of the contract
• The requirement to refund money
• Adverse publicity
• A higher level of scrutiny in the future

Federal awards come with many compliance requirements, many of which are not included in the body of the award document, but are incorporated by reference to Circulars published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The most important of these publications are the following:

• OMB Circular A-133 Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations (also the A-133 Compliance Supplement)
• OMB Circular A-122 Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations
• OMB Circular A-110 Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Non-Profit Organizations

Any award originating from a federal agency, even if passed through other governmental entities and/or private organizations, carries compliance requirements associated with the federal award. You must determine whether any award you receive originated as federal funds. Every award that originated as federal funds has a number from the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) that identifies the federal agency from which the award came and the name of the program the award supports.

Responsibilities of federal award recipients..(continued)

A sustaining resource for
the not-for-profit community

Elements of an Audit

Financial Statements

Employee Benefit Plans

Cost Certification (Housing)

Grant & Contract Compliance (A-133 & Govt. Auditing Standards)

NOTE: The most important first step toward grant compliance is to completely read and understand the grant or contract.