The presentation by Danny Werfel at the February 2013 Council on Governmental Relations meeting focuses on federal grant reform initiatives led by the Council on Financial Assistance Reform (COFAR) for fiscal years 2013-2015. Established in 2011, COFAR aims to provide strategic leadership and policy direction to improve the management and effectiveness of federal grants. Key priorities include enhancing risk-based guidance while minimizing administrative burden, harmonizing and standardizing business processes and data elements, ensuring robust oversight and transparency of public financial data, fostering a well-trained workforce, and strengthening program oversight through effective audit resolution. The presentation details the federal government’s commitment, outlined in several presidential directives, to reform grants management in response to stakeholder input from states, universities, and related entities seeking increased administrative flexibility and reduced complexity.
Among the major reforms proposed are the streamlining and consolidation of multiple Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars into a single, more accessible set of guidance; enhanced merit and risk reviews for grant awards; clearer and more consistent cost principles, particularly for indirect costs and administrative cost allocation; and simplified reporting requirements. Technological and procedural updates include direct charging of computing devices as supplies and revised mechanisms for utility cost rates. Substantial changes to audit requirements—raising audit thresholds and refining audit targets to focus on high-risk areas—aim to reduce unnecessary burden while maintaining rigorous oversight of federal funds. The reforms collectively seek to balance effective stewardship of public resources with administrative efficiency, and ongoing stakeholder engagement is invited to shape the final guidance. For more information and to participate in the comment process, stakeholders are directed to COFAR’s website and the federal regulations portal.
