NCURA Session - Budgeting for Compliance: Designing Budgets That Survive Post-Award Scrutiny

Budget development during the proposal phase plays a critical role in shaping financial health and compliance of an award throughout its lifecycle. This session offers Pre-Award professionals a Post-Award lens on budgeting, highlighting how early decisions can either support or hinder long-term financial integrity.

Through real-world examples and practical strategies, we’ll explore common pitfalls such as unallowable costs, effort commitments, and cost-sharing challenges, and how to proactively address them during proposal preparation.

Attendees will leave with actionable insights to design budgets that meet sponsor expectations, align with institutional policies, and withstand Post-Award scrutiny.

Learning Objectives

• Identify budget elements that commonly lead to post-award compliance issues
• Apply strategies to design proposal budgets that align with sponsor and institutional requirements
• Collaborate more effectively with post-award teams to ensure financial readiness and reduce audit risk
• Evaluate the impact of budget design on award monitoring and reporting
• Incorporate audit-resistant practices into budget development
• Navigate cost-sharing commitments with greater confidence
• Apply real-world case studies to strengthen budgeting practices

Meet the Speakers

Leah Acajabon
Senior Consultant, Attain Partners

Miranda Burnisky
Grants Management Supervisor, Penn State University

Danforth Nicholas
Research Administration Manager, Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute