Event
Event Details
Where:
Nashville, TN
Nashville, TN
When:
October 30 - November 1, 2024
October 30 - November 1, 2024
Attain Partners is a proud sponsor of the 2024 National Conference on College Cost Accounting (NACCA). Hear from our experts Oct. 30 – Nov. 1 in Nashville, TN.
At Attain Partners, we leverage proven expertise and innovative thinking to support the missions of our nation’s top research institutions. From research administration to indirect cost rate proposal development and negotiation, facilities management, organizational and digital transformation, and strategic financial analysis, Attain Partners isn’t just powering the future—we’re empowering it. Contact us today to learn how we can serve your institution.
Enduring Relevance of Libraries in Indirect Costs
S-7 | Wednesday, Oct. 30 | 4p – 5p
A library cost study is important to a university because library costs are a component of the indirect recovery rate negotiated with the federal government for sponsored research.
Learning Objectives
- Describe the work of modern research libraries all along the research lifecycle, including research data management and infrastructure, dataset acquisition and dissemination, digital repositories, and transformative read and publish agreements between universities and research publishers.
- Share the expenses of a university library in support of the research enterprise, especially those related to regulatory developments in open science and open access to federally sponsored research.
Presenters
- Hilary Craiglow – Attain Partners
- David Beckstrom – University of California Los Angeles
Compliance and Audits – Federal and Institutional Perspectives
S-9 | Thursday, Oct. 31 | 9:30a – 10:15a
This session will provide insights from the federal OIG perspective and institutional viewpoints in understanding the audit process, current federal thinking about audits, the federal areas of focus, and how institutions might consider how to anticipate and proactively address potential audit concerns.
Learning Objectives
- Engage in an interactive discussion of key audit issues
- Understand current and future federal agency perspectives on audits with goals of ensuring appropriate accountability of federal funds and emerging research compliance issues
- Understand proactive steps and considerations for institutions in reducing audit risks
Presenter
- Gil Tran – Attain Partners
What Activities Do You Perform Cradle-to-Grave for your Indirect Proposal?
S-10 | Thursday, Oct. 31 | 10:15a – 11:45a
Preparing an indirect cost rate proposal is a daunting task that higher education institutions typically face every 4 to 8 years. While these proposals may be prepared infrequently, they have a significant impact on the financial resources of your institution. Having an understanding the proposal development process can help make this task a little less daunting and pays dividends when it comes time for your institution to prepare its next indirect cost rate proposal.
Learning Objectives
- Detailed process for preparing indirect cost rate proposals, from reconciling expenses to financials to the final submission of the proposal.
- Data gathering for the proposal, proper classification of expenses to cost pools and bases, allocation methodologies for each indirect cost pool, special cost studies, and more.
- Insights from previous proposal development experience and highlight some of the key issues that institutions face when developing proposals.
Presenters
- Wally Davis – Attain Partners
- Chris Menzies – Attain Partners
- Deston Halverson – Independent Research Administrator
O&M UCA – What Types of Allocations?
S-11 | Thursday, Oct. 31 | 1p – 2:15p
It has been eight years (2016) since IHE’s have had to justify the Utility Cost Adjustment (UCA) in their Indirect Cost proposals. However, there is still confusion as to what costs are utilized in the calculation, how to calculate it, and is what you calculated reasonable. We still find institutions that don’t even realize that all Long Form IHE’s can include it in their proposal and are leaving money on the table if they aren’t. We will provide an understanding of what the UCA is and why it is included in the Indirect Cost Rate.
Learning Objectives
- Walk participants through the O&M cost pool categories to identify what costs should be included in the calculation.
- Review a sample space inventory to demonstrate how to correctly apply the Relative Energy Utilization Index (REUI).
- Discuss how to combine the space and cost data to obtain the UCA, and what it means if you calculate above or below the 1.3 maximum.
- Other opportunities to defensibly improve your identification (and recovery) of these O&M costs.
Presenters
- Mark Davis – Attain Partners
- Tony Benigno – Attain Partners
Federal Panel – Parts 1 and 2
S-16 | Friday, Nov. 1 | 9:15a – 10:15a / 10:30a – 12p
Moderated by Gil Tran – Attain Partners
This is your chance to have your questions answered! A panel of representatives from the federal government will respond to your ‘have to know’ questions.
Learning Objectives
- Participants will directly interact with federal agency representatives on indirect and direct costing practices
- Participants will gain deep insights to federal costing and regulatory positions
- Participants will obtain direct responses and information to their questions to better clarify stewardship responsibilities
