Folsom, CA Accounting Services for Government Grants

Organizations, individuals, projects, and programs that do work for the good of the public may depend on government grants to continue to do their work. Grants provided by the government are intended to be used for a variety of reasons, as long as that reason is to benefit the public. Individuals and organizations that have been given government grants may find it difficult to meet all of the conditions of the grants while continuing to focus on their mission. There can be many things to keep track of, and it can be overwhelming. The accountants at Cook CPA can help you or your organization with all of your accounting needs.

Managing a Government Grant in Folsom, California

Organizations, individuals, projects, and programs may receive grants that come in the form of either awards, loans, program-related investments, fellowships, prizes, awards, and scholarships. It’s not customary for them to come in the form of salaries, payment to employees, or payment for personal services. Grants are usually provided to cover the cost of acquiring an asset or the cost of reimbursement for something. Individuals or entities that receive grants must receive them for a specific purpose, meaning that their efforts must be focused on providing a particular type of support or helping a specific population of people. Government grants may be one of two types of grants. The first is categorical, which means that the grant is given specifically to improve the well-being of its benefactors. There are two varieties of categorical grants. The first is a project grant, which exists to provide funding for specific projects. The second is a formula grant, which provides funding according to a formula determined by the law. The second type of grant is a block grant, which is given to state and local governments by the federal government. Block grants are intended to be used for a specific purpose. Another less common but notable type of grant is the earmark grant, which is appropriated by Congress, but is not usually administered to regular people. Grants can fall into one of many categories, which may be arts, disaster prevention and relief, food and nutrition, health, information and statistics, natural resources, or science and technology, among many others. Entities or individuals that receive government grants have to prove that they intend to serve a purpose on behalf of the public. Any person or group that receives a government grant must have an understanding of the needs and sensitivities of the communities that they intend to serve. They must also have the ability to match their services with similar organizations and groups and have enough money to keep their organization running while they are between grants. Entities and individuals that have — or are interested in having — government grants should be aware of how government grants are different from foundation grants. The main difference is that government grants take longer to go through all of the steps in the process of requesting and accepting applications from those that apply. Another major difference is that government grants require recipients to provide financial reporting. They may also audit federally-funded programs whenever they see fit. Government grants may also require cost sharing or cost matching.

How a CPA Can Help Your Organization Manage Your Government Grant

Meeting the requirements dictated by your government grant may seem daunting. However, with the help of an accountant from Cook CPA Group, it doesn’t have to be. An accountant from Cook CPA Group can assist you with managing your files and reporting your finances to the government while helping you navigate the actions required to maintain your government grant. A CPA can help you or your organization, program, or project with accounting in a few ways. They include:

• Expenditure analysis – A CPA can help you keep track of not only how much money gets spent in relation to your government grant, but where it gets spent, how often it gets spent, and what that spending means for your grant.
• Financial reporting – Entities and individuals that receive government grants must disclose their accounting policies. They should disclose which conditions and contingencies of the grant have gone unfulfilled as well.
• Auditing – Many recipients of government grants must be audited once per year. If an organization, program, person, or project receive an amount that is higher $300,000 in federal funding, then auditing is a requirement.

Folsom, CA, Providing Government Grant Accounting Services

Don’t allow worries about managing your grant to interfere with the fulfillment of your mission to help create something good in your community. With the help of the accountants at Cook CPA Group, you can focus on making an impact in the best way that you or your organization are able to. For more information about how you can use the help of the accountants at Cook CPA Group, contact us as soon as possible.