Open Recommendations

Resolve the $36,908 in questioned inappropriately allocated publication, lease, and material and supply expenses for which UNL has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct UNL to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.

Direct UNL to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $43,736 in questioned salaries and fringe expenses for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.

Direct UNL to strengthen its policies and procedures and internal controls for allocating expenses to sponsored projects. Updated policies, procedures, and internal controls should address how UNL will ensure:
• It charges salaries and fringe benefit expenses to NSF awards consistent with personnel action forms.
• It allocates publication expenses consistent with the benefits received by acknowledged funding sources that contributed to the published research.
• Its personnel document and justify allocation methodologies when charging expenses to NSF awards near grant expiration dates based on the benefit the NSF awards receive from the services and/or materials purchased.
• It appropriately…

Resolve the $2,480 in questioned publication expenses for which UNL has not agreed to reimburse NSF and direct UNL to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.

Direct UNL to provide documentation supporting that it has repaid or otherwise credited the $20,058 in questioned participant support, publication, salary and fringe, and equipment expenses for which it has agreed to reimburse NSF.

Direct UNL to implement additional policies or procedures that address how to ensure it spends participant support funds appropriately, as well as how it will obtain required prior approvals from NSF before re-budgeting participant support funding.

Direct UNL to produce formal written guidance and provide training on how to assess and document the methodology used to allocate publication costs consistent with the benefits received by acknowledged funding sources.

Direct UNL to implement procedures that ensure it does not charge NSF awards for salary and fringe benefits earned after the NSF award expires.

Direct UNL to implement additional procedures that require Principal Investigators to regularly monitor and validate that they incurred expenses charged to NSF awards to benefit the award(s) to which they charged the expenses.

Direct UNL to strengthen its policies, procedures, and internal control processes for applying its indirect cost rates to all direct costs that should be included in its Modified Total Direct Cost base per its Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreements.

Direct UNL to implement additional procedures and controls necessary to ensure it complies with its internal policies when overseeing NSF awards. Updated controls should ensure UNL:
• Verifies that personnel perform and document a quarterly review of expenses for each NSF award each quarter.
• Monitors for approaching project verification statement deadlines and develops procedures necessary to obtain approval of all project verification statements prior to the 60-day deadline.
• Verifies that personnel obtain necessary contract approvals from the procurement department and receive, review, and maintain any required price and rate quotes prior to the final execution of a contract…

Revise its policies and procedures to align with the Uniform Guidance requirement for price to be considered as a factor in evaluating proposals for professional services other than A/E services.

Work with ARC to resolve the questioned cost totaling $136,730 for ARC funded construction cost.

Work with ARC to resolve the questioned cost totaling $134,230 for non-ARC Matching cost share construction cost.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

USDA OIG has determined that this recommendation contains sensitive information and will not be publicly released due to privacy concerns.

Direct the University of Maine to demonstrate to NSF that its policies, procedures, and systems applicable to IUCRC awards ensure compliance with award requirements, including timely and accurate certification and tracking of program income receipts and expenditures.

Direct the University of Maine to strengthen controls to ensure it spends Center for Advanced Forestry Systems (CAFS) membership dues only on CAFS Industry Advisory Board-approved projects or administration.

Resolve the $12,282 in questioned promotional, meal, and payroll costs, and direct the University of Maine to repay or otherwise remove the sustained questioned costs from its NSF awards.

(U) Rec. 1: The DoD OIG recommended that the Director, Defense Support Services Center, require the Defense Travel Management Office to develop and implement a policy to review completed Visa IntelliLink Compliance Management system compliance cases on a quarterly basis to identify merchants associated with misuse, abuse, or potential fraud and update or add those merchants to a Visa IntelliLink Compliance Management rule.