Institutional Research Effectiveness & Assessment

Audits

Except where otherwise authorized by statute, costs, must meet the following general criteria in order to be allowable: a) Be necessary, reasonable, and allocable; b) Conform to limitations or exclusions set forth in the sponsor’s guidelines or the notice of award; c) Be consistent with policies and procedures that apply to both federal and non‐Federal entities.

In recent years, many of USF’s sponsors of extramural funding have transitioned to focusing on assessing program impact and measuring both project and individual award recipient progress by employing a performance management framework in order to foster public accountability and transparency, reduce taxpayer costs, encourage efficiency, and improve performance metrics. The result of these actions is that the administrative burden for ensuring compliance with program requirements and the terms and conditions of Federal, state, local, and even private awards has shifted to grant recipients predominantly. Under these circumstances, it has become imperative that the university observe and adhere to a robust system of internal controls to avoid incurring findings and fines and to prevent the loss of future funding. Auditing has been and continues to be the most integral part of ensuring that USF complies with the terms and conditions of all sponsored awards accepted by the institution.

Role of Institutional Research Effectiveness and Assessment (IREA) 

Ensure that USF complies with the terms and conditions of all sponsored awards accepted by the institution; evaluate and monitor the system of internal controls that it is sufficient to detect, prevent, and mitigate waste, abuse, and fraud in the research enterprise; and, reduce or mitigate risks to the research enterprise that do not align with leadership’s risk appetite.