Performance Audit of Incurred Costs – Colorado School of Mines

Submitting OIG:

National Science Foundation OIG

Date Issued:

Friday, September 23, 2022

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

National Science Foundation

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

22-1-013

Location(s):

Golden, CO

United States

Type of Report:

Audit

Questioned Costs:

$10,260

Funds for Better Use:

Number of Recommendations:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
22-1-013-Colorado-School-Mines.pdf	1.56 MB

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
1.1	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $5,081 in questioned entertainment, publication, and scholarship expenses for which Mines has agreed to reimburse NSF.
1.2	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to strengthen its processes and procedures surrounding the approval and allowability of conference expenses. Updated procedures could include implementing additional reviews of all costs charged by conference providers or additional training to individuals responsible for processing conference expenses to ensure that Mines charges any costs incurred for entertainment purposes to nonsponsored funding sources prior to charging conference costs to NSF awards.
1.3	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to establish clear guidance regarding the allowability of publication expenses on NSF awards, including the requirement to acknowledge specific NSF award funding sources.
1.4	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to strengthen its processes and procedures surrounding the allocation of scholarship expenses to NSF awards. Updated procedures should ensure that Mines only charges NSF awards for scholarships provided to eligible students.
2.1	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to provide documentation that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $2,909 in questioned indirect costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
2.2	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to strengthen its monitoring procedures and internal control processes for applying indirect costs to federal awards. Updated procedures could include implementing an annual review process for costs charged to awards that include funding for participant support costs to ensure Mines is appropriately separating participant-related expenses in accounts that it has excluded from its Modified Total Direct Cost base.
3.1	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $2,270 in questioned catering costs for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.
3.2	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to strengthen its policies and procedures for requesting and retaining documentation, including introducing additional controls to help ensure that it appropriately requests, reviews, and maintains all documentation necessary to support the allowability of catering expenses charged to sponsored programs, including those expenses invoiced by outside vendors.
4.1	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to ensure that it has appropriately performed—and has documented that it performed—risk assessments for all active subawards issued prior to the implementation of its September 2019 subaward policy.
5.1	Open	Yes
Direct Mines to update its current procedures and internal controls to ensure that it disburses its Graduate Research Fellowship Program stipends to recipients in accordance with NSF’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program terms and conditions. Updated procedures should require Mines to update or modify its internal processes to ensure it disburses Graduate Research Fellowship Program stipends in accordance with relevant NSF program terms and conditions.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

1.1

Open

Yes

Direct Mines to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $5,081 in questioned entertainment, publication, and scholarship expenses for which Mines has agreed to reimburse NSF.

1.2

Open

Yes

Direct Mines to strengthen its processes and procedures surrounding the approval and allowability of conference expenses. Updated procedures could include implementing additional reviews of all costs charged by conference providers or additional training to individuals responsible for processing conference expenses to ensure that Mines charges any costs incurred for entertainment purposes to nonsponsored funding sources prior to charging conference costs to NSF awards.