NSF - 21-1-002 - 4.3

Direct TAMU to strengthen its administrative and management processes and internal controls for applying indirect costs to Federal awards. Processes could include: a. Requiring that personnel manually review material and supply purchases to evaluate whether TAMU should account for the items as equipment. Specifically, TAMU should consider whether the items purchased have a useful life that exceeds one year and a value that exceeds $5,000, and/or if the items are necessary for the use of an asset that meets those criteria. b. Requiring that personnel manually review purchases from consultants and vendors whose collective billings exceed $25,000 each to ensure that the expenses should not be considered subaward costs and that TAMU does not inappropriately apply indirect costs to subaward expenses that exceed $25,000. c. Implementing an annual review process for costs charged to awards that include funding for tuition remission to ensure that TAMU is appropriately segregating tuition remission costs in accounts that it has excluded from its Modified Total Direct Cost base.