Archive for October, 2010
OMB Offers Funds for Program Innovation
The Office of Management and Budget is planning to distribute $37.5 million to help federal agencies support innovative projects that improve federal assistance programs delivered through state and local governments.
The Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation will support initiatives that improve payment accuracy, improve administrative efficiency, improve service delivery, and remove access barriers for eligible beneficiaries.
The first step is for entities to submit pilot ideas. OMB will evaluate those ideas, solicit more detailed project and evaluation plans from the most promising suggestions, and then transfer funds to federal agencies to begin selected projects. The federal agencies will choose the state, local, or other relevant agencies for participation and possible funding.
Detailed information about the initiative is spelled out in a new OMB memo, including directions on how federal agencies can submit ideas. The memo, 11-01 is available here. Other stakeholders are invited to submit ideas via the website http://www.partnersforsolutions.gov. The deadline is 30 October 2010.
Audit Review Guide Available From CIGIE
Are you interested in audits? Do your job responsibilities entail audit reviews? Want to know what a quality audit looks like? The Council of Inspectors General on Integrity & Efficiency (CIGIE) has a revised Guide for Quality Control Reviews of OMB Circular A-133 Audits.
The guide is a fairly easy-to-understand tool that offers a checklist of issues to consider when evaluating the quality and reliability of a single audit. It will help reviewers determine whether the audit was conducted in accordance with applicable standards and identify any follow-up work needed to support the audit report opinions. It is organized by audit standards and elements of an A-133 audit, focusing on the portions that are of most interest to federal officials.
Visit the IGnet website here to download a copy.