National Institutes of Health (NIH) 

Accounting and Grant Management Services

National Institutes of Health (NIH) research is funded under the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants and other grant programs. Request for applications, government grants, and grant management for NIH grants involve requirements found nowhere else in the government contracting realm. We have years of experience successfully developing, negotiating, and managing NIH SBIR and STTR grants, both Phase I and II and other types of grants as well. We also have experience with SBIR Phase III commercialization efforts. Our objective with our NIH Grantee clients is to ensure that they:
  1. Receive the maximum benefit from their grants for commercialization,
  2. Have an accounting system that is adequate to avoid refunding money to the Government after a project is complete while making a profit (or not losing money on grants with no fee)
  3. Provide a financial framework that will enable company growth
  4. Navigate through the requirements referred to in NIH policies, OMB & FAR, and NIH audit support
  5. Help create a strategy to move from being a US Government grantee to a commercial company

NIH SBIR/STTR Ph I Accounting 

As with all other SBIR/STTR Ph I awards, the government is not highly concerned with how you perform the accounting, as the award is firm fixed price (FFP), and the only deliverable is your final report.  Given the circumstances, we do not recommend awardees use a govcon accounting firm like ReliAscent or one of our competitors. Instead, awardees should hire a local (commercial or general) bookkeeper or accountant during the Ph I (you can even hire one directly out of QuickBooks Online/Intuit if you have a hard time finding one locally). This will not only allow your business to save several hundred or even over $1,000 per month (and avoid costly setup fees), but ensures a professional handles your accounting. 

However, we are still here to support grantees during Ph I if needed. Should you run into an issue that needs our support (trouble with a drawdown or a compliance matter, for example), you can always work with one of our experts one-on-one (if we can't answer your question via a short email). The process starts with a one-time retainer (typically $1,000 - $1,500), and any remaining balance can be used towards other consulting support or setting up your accounting system during Ph II. 

 

NIH SBIR/STTR Ph II Monthly Accounting Services

ReliAscent® offers full, outsourced accounting to NIH Ph II awardees, in order to ensure compliance with agency requirements and to ensure awardees can focus on their grant.  ReliAscent® will set up a DCAA compliant job cost accounting system in QuickBooks Online or Enterprise (though NIH does not require a DCAA compliant system, it is the gold standard from a compliance perspective, and can be quickly tailored to the accounting requirements found in any Federal Government contract or grant). Once the system is setup, our accounting teams handle the bookkeeping and monthly accounting functions for you, so you can focus on what you do best, and improve your chances of succeeding.  This is highly recommended in Phase II to avoid compliance issues for the company and allow the company to concentrate on the core technology to ensure the success of the business.

In most cases, the price to setup a DCAA compliant accounting system for the Ph II winner will range between $2,000 - $3,000, and take 2 weeks. Outsourced monthly accounting for an NIH Ph II winner (with only the single grant), generally starts at $1,500 for complete accounting services (bookkeeping, accounting, all necessary financial reporting, payroll, AR/AP, grant drawdowns). Contact ReliAscent® to learn more.

 

NIH Grant Management

The following are just a few of the services and skills we offer to NIH grantees:

  • Grant Application Preparation and Costing
  • Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) review
  • Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) review
  • Office of Management and Budget Directives (OMB) review
  • NIH Grant Policy Statement
  • Negotiations
  • Intellectual Property Rights with the Federal Government
  • Subcontract Management and Government Flow Down Requirements
  • Use of Different Types of Contracts (CPFF, FFP, Time & Material, etc.) in subcontracts
  • Property Administration
  • National Institute of Health (NIH) Grant Officer and Auditor Communications

 

NIH Audit Support

The NIH contracting officer may request a review of your Phase II grant application to verify that proposed costs are reasonable and allocable. This review, or audit, is often conducted by an NIH auditor who asks for information (such as rate backup). The audit typically causes great concern for our clients and, unless we can intercede on their behalf, may result in the decrease in the price of our client’s proposal. We know how to deal with the NIH auditor or how to help with a private audit (whichever the grant specifies).

Establish/Negotiate Facilities and Administration Rates

Facilities and Administration (F&A) rates are very important to your company’s future. The Government will reimburse you for all reasonable costs incurred to make your business successful. We can coach you through the process (or do it all for you if you wish) of creating a budget to enable you to understand the type of cost necessary to grow your company, and to deal with the Government in a manner they understand. We advise most of our clients not to settle for the default F&A rate.

 

NIH Single Audit Support and Preparation

As of October 1, 2024, NIH grantees that draw down more than $1 million in Federal Grant money in a fiscal year are required to have a Single Audit (sometimes referred to as Uniform Guidance or Yellow Book Audit), performed by third party CPA firms with experience in government grants (prior to October 1, 2024, the threshold was $750,000).  Single Audits are comprehensive financial & compliance audits that focus on a financial statement audit and an extensive review of how your business complied with federal regulations for each of your federal grants (the main point is to ensure the funds were used correctly). Single audits are critical for the government as they identify weaknesses in internal controls and help verify accountability.

ReliAscent® supports companies through the Single Audit process in two ways: 

  1. If you are already a monthly accounting client of ReliAscent® - your accounting team will take you through the audit with the auditing CPA firm, and the process is relatively quick and easy. As we maintain a DCAA compliant accounting system for all of our clients, the robust financial tracking, timekeeping, and other policies and procedures that we implement are more than sufficient to meet the various requirements of the audit. In most cases, this means very little additional cost to the client from our side, in addition to the cost of the Single Audit itself (charged by the CPA firm).
  2. If your company performed the accounting internally, or outsourced it to a third party - ReliAscent® can review your accounting system, policies and procedures, financial controls, etc., provide guidance as needed to address compliance gaps and errors, and get your business audit-ready. The amount of time and cost involved in this process varies greatly from company to company, and is very dependent upon the state of your books and if you followed all of the proper policies & procedures that should have been implemented.

Failing your single audit can result in serious financial consequences, so contact us today to learn more about our services and how we can help.