Finding No. 2022-001 Significant Deficiency
Personnel Responsible
For Corrective Action: Mike Higgins, VP of Development; Ben Johnson, SVP of Programs; and Grant Manager, to be hired
Anticipated Completion Date: Completed
Corrective Action Plan: Of the six reports selected for testing, the specific ...
Finding No. 2022-001 Significant Deficiency
Personnel Responsible
For Corrective Action: Mike Higgins, VP of Development; Ben Johnson, SVP of Programs; and Grant Manager, to be hired
Anticipated Completion Date: Completed
Corrective Action Plan: Of the six reports selected for testing, the specific grant report found to be 7 days after the deadline fell at a time of employee transition – when a prior employee with responsibility for report filing moved on to another role at another company and a newly created Grants Coordinator position was filled to take over responsibility. Given the timing of the on-boarding process and education around EDA processing, the report was submitted 7 days late. It should be noted that all subsequent reports were submitted timely. With the establishment of the dedicated Grants Coordinator position (the timing of which coincided with the timing of the cited report), improved controls came into place – namely: 1) dual supervisory review of reports between the direct supervisor of theGrants Coordinator position and the legacy supervisory role of the Senior Vice President Programs; 2) a clearer timeline of reporting was established with project management systems and document repositories (e.g., Salesforce, Asana, and Box) with additional reminders in place to ensure adequate notice is provided to individuals responsible for providing information; and 3) there is a structured follow-up process, at periodic intervals, for report review to ensure deadlines are met. Additionally, in 2023, BioSTL created another new position to ensure internal programmatic and financial control for grants – initiating the hiring of a new Grants Manager role that has already been posted to our website and recruiting has begun. This role will have more dedicated time and responsibility for internal controls and be responsible for timeliness on all reporting and to monitor against all compliance requirements – above and beyond existing and previous supervisory review from the VP, Development and SVP, Programs.