Subcontracting Primer: The ABCS of Agreements Between Collaborators (Educational Update‪)‬

Introduction Collaborations among researchers of multiple institutions are becoming an essential element in a growing number of research projects, and oversight of subcontract relationships is under increasing scrutiny by auditors and federal awarding agencies. The agreements that accommodate these collaborations are coming under increased scrutiny by the federal government, and the 2003 supplement to OMB Circular A-133 (Part 3, item M) describes subrecipient monitoring as one of the core compliance requirements that applies to most federal assistance programs. According to the Federal Grants Management Handbook, this section of the 2003 supplement to OMB Circular A-133, includes audit objective, suggested audit procedures as well as an overview of subrecipient monitoring with references to specific circulars and relevant citations pertaining to subrecipient monitoring. A task force working on implementation of the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act (P.L. 106-107) will be evaluating whether the federal government needs to issue even more guidance on subrecipient monitoring. (2003)