Attachment 5 – Risk Assessment

Grants awarded by the federal government are subject to federal administrative requirements, cost principles and audit requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued new guidelines for federal grants management through the publication entitled, “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.” This Uniform Guidance is designed to reduce the administrative burden on recipients of federal funds as well as the risk of waste, fraud and abuse. These guidelines became effective on December 26, 2014 for all new awards.

In order to meet the new guidelines, City of Phoenix Head Start Birth to Five Program is required to conduct a Risk Assessment of each potential Early Head Start Child Care Partner before funding is awarded, regarding each Child Care Partner’s fiscal and programmatic fidelity. Offerors are required to provide the following information:

*NOTE: Offeror’s response is limited to a total of 10 single sided pages for this Attachment. The font must be 12 point Arial. Any additional pages submitted by the Offeror beyond the first 10 pages will not be evaluated. *

Fiscal Infrastructure
How is the annual operating budget developed, implemented, and supported?
What program information is shared with the fiscal officer to support development of the annual operating budget?
Describe the process of sharing data with the City of Phoenix and obtaining approval of the annual operating budget.
What information does the fiscal officer rely on to determine whether budgeted expenditures are supporting the accomplishment of program objectives?
Describe the staffing and internal controls that support the Offeror’s financial management system.
Fiscal Capacity
Describe the qualifications (experience and education) of the fiscal officer primarily responsible for oversight of the Head Start contract.
Who is the Offeror’s designated individual with a background and expertise in fiscal management or accounting?
Describe the Offeror’s process for engaging an auditor, implementing audit recommendations, and sharing audit results with the City of Phoenix and other stakeholders.
What systems does the Offeror have in place to manage the budget in areas of personnel compensation, shared costs, non-federal match, and administrative costs?
Describe the staffing and internal controls that support the Offeror’s financial management system.
Financial Management Systems
Explain how the Offeror’s financial management system, accounting, and reporting practices ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, reporting and audit requirements.
How does the Offeror’s financial management system support ongoing fiscal operations?
What is the Offeror’s system for determining whether individual expenses are necessary, reasonable, allocable, and adequately documented?
How does the Offerorensure payment of allowable program expenses promptly and within the appropriate budget period?
Facilities
How does the Offeror ensure sufficient staffing and resources are available to ensure facilities, equipment and materials are safe, including providing routine monitoring for compliance and correction of any safety risks or concerns?
Personnel Matters
Are personnel records and resumes of individuals maintained on- site? If no, where are they maintained?
What is your process for ensuring all employees have current and valid fingerprint clearance cards? How often do you verify that an employee’s fingerprint clearance card has not expired?
How do you assure that Time and Effort is reported accurately and correctly charged to the appropriate Funding Source? Time and effort is the amount of time a person works on the project.
How do your employees record their time and effort for payroll purposes?

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