Universities face a variety of questions in the still nascent era of the Uniform Guidance (UG). Huron's webinar, Internal Controls for Compensation: Payroll Review Methodologies and Implementation Strategies, outlined practical approaches for how institutions can evaluate and adapt their existing systems of internal controls for compensation on federal awards. The session featured perspectives and insights from representatives of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Cohort.

Cohort members Lisa Mosley, Principal Investigator (PI) and Assistant Vice President for Research Operations at Arizona State University, and Jeremy Forsberg, Assistant Vice President for Research at the University of Texas at Arlington, also joined us after to address some outstanding questions from that conversation:

1. What factors did you consider when seeking alternatives to effort reporting? How did you convince leadership to make the change?

2. What major challenges have you encountered, if any, through this process? How have you addressed those?

3. What advice would you give an institution that is seeking alternatives?

About the Cohort:

In January 2016, the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) funded a research project to establish a cohort of universities to develop an effective model policy for alternatives to effort reporting in compliance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.430 (I) and the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). The purpose of this project is to establish a nationally recognized cohort of universities to develop efficient and effective model policies, procedures and practices designed to reduce administrative burden for both faculty and the institution, minimize audit risk and, most importantly, facilitate research within an ethical and appropriate compliance framework.

Contact Huron to learn more about solutions designed to facilitate a more compliant, less burdensome internal controls environment at your institution. If you're interested in an evaluation of your internal controls or a more detailed assessment of readiness to implement an alternative to effort reporting, contact Zach Belton.