Fiscal & Administrative Review Assistance for IDHS Providers: Expenditure Testing

Expenditure Testing

During the Fiscal Administrative Review (FAR), the reviewer conducts expenditure testing to determine if costs claimed to the grant align with the grant contract and appropriate governing codes. The provider's budget gives reviewers information regarding approved expenses for the grant. Please note the following:

  • Any costs for which reimbursement is claimed must be clearly identified in the approved budget or be supported with evidence that grantor agreed to the cost. Otherwise, for purposes of the FAR process, the cost is subject to potential recovery based on program administrator determination.
  • Expenditures are NOT allowed for a line-item category if you did not identify expenses for that category in your approved budget.
  • You MUST request a budget revision to make a"$0 or N/A" line item on the budget eligible for cost claiming.
  • Budget amendments are required to transfer costs that exceed 10% (or $1,000) of a line-item to another line-item.
  • Transfers between line-items less than 10% or $1,000 are allowable and considered to be "discretionary". Discretionary transfers DO NOT REQUIRE a budget amendment.
  • Providers should amend their budget as needed before expending any portion of the grant (amend before you spend!).

"An awardee shall not deviate from the budget, project scope, or objective stated in the Grant Agreement except with mutual agreement of the State grantmaking agency and the awardee. However, some revisions and deviations shall not be made without prior approval of the State grantmaking agency as required by subsection (b)(3)."

Supporting documentation for all expenditures must be kept by the provider per the Uniform Grant Agreement and made available to the reviewer. Each line item in the budget indicating projected expenditures requires supporting documentation. These may include, but are not limited to:

  • Payroll (Payroll Vendor, General Ledger Payroll reports, etc.)
  • Staff Timesheets
  • Receipts
  • Invoices
  • Utility Bills
  • Travel (Travel Approval(s), Staff Requests for Mileage Reimbursement, Per Diem Authorizations, etc.)
  • Copies of Leases

The FAR reviews the budget and corroborates these expenditures against the supportive documentation for a period of either two months or a quarter; the period reviewed may be expanded to include additional months. Non-allowable expenses identified by the reviewers are potentially subject to grant funds recovery as per the Illinois Grant Funds Recovery Act (30 ILCS 705).