Webinar highlights procurement, segregation of duties and financial reporting for grant awards

Presenters at an NC Pro webinar urged grant administrators to adopt procurement policies that require fair and open competition and to follow the most stringent applicable rule. Natalie Floyd said procurement policies should be documented and procurement records — RFPs, RFQs and bids — kept centrally and accessible for audit review.

Ramon Alemar highlighted internal controls and segregation of duties as one of the most common gaps Deloitte sees in practice. He said reviewers should map approval workflows, keep a responsibility matrix, and ensure that approval, payment and reconciliation duties are separated so a single person cannot both approve and disburse funds.

On financial management, presenters recommended using generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to track encumbrances and expenditures against awards, completing regular financial reconciliations and monitoring budget variance reports. They said systems should provide accurate, current financial data to authorized users and support timely reporting for audits.

Presenters also stressed contract administration: contracts should include required provisions, be fully executed (signed by all parties), and be monitored to avoid budget overages. Deloitte advised maintaining a central contract repository and running periodic reviews of contract budgets and deliverables.

An attendee asked who typically owns a responsibility matrix; presenters said agency management or a grants administrator usually leads this work, and that the state often provides templates and guidance.