Sponsored Program Services

Grant Related External Requests Guide

This guide is intended to help SPS Pre-Award, SPS Post Award , SPS Contracting or Business Offices who get contacted by a sponsor or auditor related to any financial review related to a grant. It provides an overview of the external request procedure, the audit notification and approval process, the audit coordination and communication roles, and the useful links to relevant university services and resources.

Audit Request Procedure

When SPS Pre-Award, SPS Post Award , SPS Contracting or Business Offices receive a notification of a grant related external request, they should immediately notify SPS Research Quality Assurance (RQA) by forwarding the request email to rqa@purdue.edu.

RQA will then follow these steps:

  1. Determine the type of request: Audit, Site Visit or Desk Audit, Invoice Review or Transaction Request
  2. For Audits, Site Visits or Desk Audits, notify the Associate Vice President of SPS, and the Directors of Sponsored Program Administration and Post Award immediately.
    1. Contact the Principal Investigator (PI) and the College DFA/ADFA for Grants and Business Manager (BM) of the unit or department where the grant is administered.
    2. Inform them of the audit request and ask them to refrain from sending any documentation to the audit organization until further notice.
    3. The Assistant Director of RQA will assign an audit coordinator for the audit.
      1. The audit coordinator will be the primary contact person for the audit organization and will facilitate the communication and documentation between the university and the audit organization.
      2. The audit coordinator will create the requested audit package, get the package reviewed by the Assistant Director of RQA and submit the information to the requesting organization.
    4. For Invoice or Transaction Reviews
      1. The audit coordinator will be the primary contact person for the external organization and will facilitate the communication and documentation between the university and the external organization.
      2. The audit coordinator will also notify the Finance Team Manager of the request for information.
      3. The audit coordinator will create the requested audit package, get the package reviewed by the Assistant Director of RQA and submit the information to the requesting organization.

Audit Notification and Approval

Before sending any documentation to the audit organization, the RQA audit coordinator will obtain the following information from the reviewing organization:

  1. The name, title, phone number, and email address of the audit contact person.
  2. The name and type of the audit organization (e.g., federal agency, state agency, CPA firm, etc.).
  3. The scope of the audit, including the grant number, award period, budget categories, and specific issues or areas of interest.
  4. The timing of the audit, including the start and end dates, the expected duration, and the deadlines for submitting the documentation.
  5. The location of the audit, including whether it will be conducted on-site, off-site, or remotely.

Audit Coordination and Communication

The audit coordination and communication roles are as follows:

  • Chief Audit Executive: Assists with major audits as needed.
  • Associate Vice President of SPS: Oversees the audit process and approves any findings related communications with the audit organization. Provides guidance and support to the RQA Assistant Director and audit coordinator.
  • Assistant Director of RQA: Assists the Associate Vice President of SPS in overseeing the audit process, approves the documentation to be sent to the audit organization, and tracks outstanding audits. Provides guidance and support to the audit coordinator and any other related parties. Serves as the primary contact person for the audit organization and facilitates the communication and documentation between the university and the audit organization.  This person could be the auditor coordinator.
  • Lead or Senior Compliance Officer: Assists the Assistant Director of RQA in preparing audit or review packages, prepares after action reports and follows through with any policy or procedures updates needed.  This person could be the auditor coordinator.
  • Director/Assistant Director of Post Award: Assists RQA staff with details related to Sponsor guidelines, specific grant terms and conditions and any known issues or situations related to the grant(s) in question. 
  • Director of Sponsored Program Administration: Works with RQA staff when issues related to the requested programs have been or are being reviewed within the University.
  • Audit Coordinator: Leads the gathering of documentation to respond to the financial review. Works with the Post Award staff member, the PI, and the BM to gather and review the documentation and ensure its accuracy and completeness. May Send the approved documentation to the audit organization and tracks the status of the audit.
  • SPS Post Award Account Management staff member: Works with the audit coordinator to gather and review the documentation related to the grant when needed. Provides explanations and clarifications on the university processes and procedures related to the grant administration. Assists with the responses and corrective actions.
  • SPS Post Award Finance Team Manager: Assists with details related to grant income and billing.
  • PI: Provides the technical and scientific documentation related to the grant, such as the progress reports, the deliverables, the publications, and the data. Provides explanations and clarifications on the research activities and outputs related to the grant. Assists with the responses and corrective actions.
  • Business Management Staff (DFA, ADFA and/or Business Manager): Provides the financial and administrative documentation related to the grant, such as the invoices, the receipts, the timesheets, the payroll records, and the subaward agreements if not available via University systems. Provides explanations and clarifications on the accounting and reporting practices related to the grant. Assists with the responses and corrective actions.

The audit coordination and communication steps are as follows:

  1. Entrance Conference – If Requested by the Auditing entity
    1. The Assistant Director of RQA schedules the entrance conference with the audit organization, the Associate Vice President of SPS, the Director and Assistant Director of SPS Post Award, the audit coordinator, the SPS Post Award staff member, the PI (if needed), and the BM staff.
    2. The entrance conference is an opportunity to introduce the audit team, clarify the scope and objectives of the audit, discuss the audit methodology and timeline, and address any questions or concerns.
  2. The audit coordinator handles any logistics related to the meeting. The audit coordinator also requests the expense and payroll listings for the grant from the Director of SPS Support.
  3. The audit coordinator assembles the audit package, reviews with the Assistant Director of RQA and sends the approved documentation to the audit organization and keeps a copy for reference.
  4. The audit coordinator, the SPS Post Award staff member, the PI, and the BM assist the audit team with any inquiries or requests during the audit. They provide explanations and clarifications on the university processes and procedures related to the grant administration and the research activities and outputs related to the grant.
  5. Exit Conference – If Requested by the Auditing entity
    1. The Assistant Director of RQA schedules the exit conference with the audit organization, the Associate Vice President of SPS, the audit coordinator, the SPS Post Award staff member, the PI, and the BM staff.
    2. The exit conference is an opportunity to review the preliminary audit findings and recommendations, discuss the potential implications and impacts, and address any questions or concerns.
  6. The audit organization issues the draft audit report and sends it to the Assistant Director of RQA, the Associated Vice President of SPS, the Director of Post Award, the audit coordinator, the SPS Post Award staff member, the PI, and the BM. They review the draft audit report and provide their comments and feedback to the Assistant Director of RQA within the specified timeframe.
  7. The Assistant Director of RQA coordinates the responses and corrective actions to the draft audit report and submits them to the audit organization for approval. The Assistant Director of RQA also follows up with the audit organization on the status of the final audit report and communicates any updates or changes to the Associate Vice President of SPS, the Director of Post Award, the audit coordinator, the SPS Post Award staff member, the PI, and the BM.
  8. The audit organization issues the final audit report and sends it to the Assistant Director of RQA, the Associate Vice President of SPS, the audit coordinator, the SPS Post Award staff member, the PI, and the BM. They review the final audit report and implement the agreed-upon corrective actions within the specified timeframe.

Useful Links

The following links provide access to various university services and resources related to payroll, travel, procurement, managerial accounting, F&A rate agreement, SPS handbook, and subrecipient monitoring guidelines and processes:

 

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