OMB Releases Updated Guidance on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Via our friends at the NGMA

On March 22, 2010, the Office of Management and Budget released a memorandum outlining updated guidance on the Recovery Act.
This Memorandum:

  • Highlights the steps Federal agencies must take to review data quality of recipient reports during the new “Continuous Corrections” period initiated by the RATB in January 2010.
  • Introduces a new category of data quality issues to be identified and tracked by Federal Agencies, “Administrative/Technical,” and provides specific instructions on preventing such issues from occurring.
  • Clarifies the process by which Federal agencies obtain OMB approval of proposed program-specific guidance related to recipient reporting.
  • Memorializes and extends the current process in place for Federal agencies to provide a master, detailed list of Recovery Act awards to the RATB and OMB.
  • Clarifies miscellaneous issues for recipients, such as when a recipient should categorize a Section 1512 report as “final.”
  • Instructs Federal agencies to take immediate action, as appropriate, to review and act on Single Audit findings.
  • Reminds Federal agencies of applicable requirements and flexibilities for States to recover administrative costs and establishes a requirement to update OMB on efforts taken in this area.

The Memorandum can be accessed using the following link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/memoranda_2010/m10-14.pdf.