Society Responds to State Requests for Cost Allocation Attestations

Last fall, many not-for-profit organizations that receive grants from New York State—or that were applying for new grants—began getting requests to furnish the funding source with a cost allocation attestation.

The NYSSCPA Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee, chaired by Julie Floch, was concerned that the wording of the form did not meet professional standards and that some practitioners expected to complete the form would not recognize the potential problems. The committee formed a task force to research the form’s origins and objectives, and to offer the committee’s input on revising the form in a way that would meet the state’s objectives while keeping the reporting form out of the attestation standards.

We learned that the New York State Division of Budget had created the reporting form as a way to monitor subrecipients of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). As a result of a conference call with Phyllis Morris of the Division of Budget and the agency heads of the various departments involved with TANF funding, the task force developed alternative wording that would keep the reporting out of attestation standards. As of press time, Morris has distributed the proposed revised reporting form to the agency heads, and will respond to the task force with their collective comments.

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