January 31, 2013

OMB Issues Proposed Guidance on Federal Grants Reform

The federal Office of Management and Budget has published the Proposed Guidance, Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Cost Principles and Administrative Requirements (Including Single Audit Act).

The proposed guidance would supersede and streamline requirements from eight OMB circulars (OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A-110, and A-122; Circulars A-89, A-102, and A-133; the guidance in Circular A-50 on Single Audit Act follow-up; and pending further review, the Cost Principles for Hospitals at 45 CFR Part 74, Appendix E), combining the eight circulars into one document.

The official notice officially appears in the February 1 Federal Register. On January 31, OMB provided the preliminary Federal Register Notice, the 244-page full text of the Proposed Guidance, and six additional crosswalks and comparisons between the current OMB circulars and the proposed guidance.
OMB will host an informational webcast with the Council on Financial Assistance Reform and key stakeholders on Friday, February 8, at 8am PST, to be available at cfo.gov.

Comments on the proposed changes are due by May 2 on regulations.gov, under docket OMB-2013-0001.