In Module 1 of this training, we talked about remote monitoring and how useful it can be for achieving many oversight and monitoring goals.
We encouraged grantees to create oversight plans that include robust remote monitoring. The review and approval of invoices submitted
by a project sponsor provide a great opportunity for grantees to monitor a range of information. This includes:
Rates of spending - Is the project sponsor spending at an expected rate? Slow spending may indicate administrative challenges
with a project. Fast spending may mean that a sponsor poorly estimated their budget needs;
Spending by budget category - Do the charges on the invoice line up with the cost types and activities approved in the original budget?
Or are there charges for activities that were not part of the original grant agreement with the sponsor? Are there any budget lines in particular
that are being spent more quickly or slowly than expected? Documentation - Has adequate documentation been provided
to back up the charges included in the invoice? Does the documentation meet the standards articulated by the grantee in the grant agreement
and in any relevant policy and procedure documents? Is the sponsor using forms or templates that have been prescribed by the grantee?
Are all documents properly signed and dated? And remember, it is up to the grantee to develop invoicing policies, procedures, and tools
that will make the most of this basic oversight opportunity. Invoicing standards and procedures should be laid out in the contracts
that project sponsors sign with a HOPWA grantee. And when a sponsor’s invoices do contain any warning signs or red flags,
the grantee should communicate early and often with the sponsor about them and not let them grow into larger problems.