Dear Principal Investigators and Grant and Business Managers,

The University of Vermont is subject to financial audits, including those performed by internal, external, state and federal audit offices. This document describes the various types of audits of sponsored awards and the associated roles and responsibilities. The terms of the award dictate the requirement for and what type of audit may be necessary. Federal and federal pass through awards are included in the annual Single Audit mandated by Uniform Guidance 2 CFR 200 Subpart F. In addition, individual sponsors may require further reviews such as desk reviews of selected invoices or site visits.

Primary management of all audits, desk reviews and site visits connected with sponsored awards resides with SPA Compliance Analyst.

Guidelines for being Audit and Site Visit Ready

Create and maintain documented Internal Controls. Auditors want to see that you have procedures documented and that the project staff follows them.
Ensure that all purchase receipts and supporting documentation are in one place and can be linked to the expense transaction.
Ensure that each expense transaction can stand alone. This means that anyone can read the documentation and confirm that it is reasonable, allowable, allocable, and consistently treated.
Be prepared to describe how specific expense transactions are tied to the program objectives.
Keep organized and complete accounting, contract, and project files.
Ensure that all Cost Transfers are documented.
Ensure that bids and consultant contracts are on file in the appropriate place.
Keep list of personnel authorized to approve expenses.
Resolve issues when they arise, do not wait for an audit or Award end.

Best Practices in an Audit

Contact the SPA Compliance Analyst Marcy Whittle at [log in to unmask], if you or your department are notified of an audit or contacted by an Auditor.
Be prompt in responding to requests from SPA Compliance Analyst.
Keep original documentation on site; Auditors can have copies if they want to retain any documentation.
Only provide information that is asked for, do not elaborate.
Do not include office politics or other departmental issues in the response.
Only answer questions you know the answer to; do not hesitate to defer.
Do not return any documentation to archive/off site storage until the audit has been resolved.

Please see SPA’s Procedure for Supporting Sponsored Project Audits and Site Visits

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Marcy Whittle | Senior Compliance Analyst

University of Vermont