During fiscal year 2024, the College had two grant awards with Natural Resources Conservation Services (NRCS). The first grant award was from September 1, 2022 through August 31, 2023. The second grant award was from the date of final contract signature which was September 29, 2023 through September 21, 2028. Due to the gap period between contracts, the September 2023 NRCS general ledger was cleared of any expenses. A grant program staff member attended a training in August 2023 and submitted for travel reimbursement in October 2023. Grant program staff members attended a conference in September 2023 and the registration fees were paid in October 2023. The travel reimbursement, conference registration fees and corresponding indirect costs were included in the October 2023 financial report submitted to NRCS for reimbursement. Once the error was discovered, the expenses were removed from the NRCS general ledger and charged to an ·appro pri at e account. An adjustment was made to reduce the expenses on the October 2024 financial report submitted to NRCS.
The college recognizes the importance of proper reporting for financial reports and reimbursement requests and that those reports should only include costs that are incurred during the grant period. The grant finance team will work with grant program staff to implement a schedule that will help to ensure that goods, services and travel are completed during the grant term, that invoices are submitted in a timely manner and prior to grant end, and when possible, payment will be made for said items prior to the end of the grant term. The grant finance team will review expenses incurred during the grant term and immediately following the grant term to confirm expenses are being reported in the correct period for financial reporting and reimbursement requests.
Person(s) Responsible: Carrie Patton, Jen Evans Timing for Implementation: Immediate