[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 228 (Monday, November 25, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 59917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29997]



[[Page 59917]]

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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as 
amended (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that an 
information collection request has been submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs for processing under 5 CFR 1320.10. The information collection 
request is for the proposed information collection contained in the 
recent revision of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, 
``Cost Principles for Educational Institutions,'' published in the 
Federal Register on May 8, 1996 (61 FR 20880). The first notice, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, was published in the Federal 
Register on May 30, 1996 (61 FR 27109).
    The information collection request involves a submission of the 
Cost Accounting Standards Board's (CASB) Disclosure Statement (DS-2) by 
educational institutions receiving more than $25 million in federally-
sponsored agreements. Circular A-21's information collection 
requirement covers approximately 20 educational institutions not 
subject to CASB's regulatory requirement for filing the DS-2, pursuant 
to Public Law 100-679, which was previously approved and assigned OMB 
control number 0348-0055 (which expires August 31, 1997).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information or a copy of 
the revision, contact Gilbert Tran, Office of Federal Financial 
Management, OMB (telephone: 202-395-3993).

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent by February 24, 1997 to: 
Edward Springer, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, 
Room 10236, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the May 30, 1996, notice, OMB 
received one comment on this proposed information collection. The 
comment and OMB's response is summarized below.
    The commenter stated that the OMB estimate of 120 hours for 
completing the Disclosure Statement (DS-2) is understated. Instead, the 
commenter estimated preparation time for the DS-2 to range from 200 
hours to 2000 hours per affected institution.
    OMB disagrees that the preparation of the DS-2 can take as much as 
2000 hours to complete unless a university does not currently have 
adequate written cost accounting policies for Federal grants and 
contracts. The DS-2 is a 20-page document that provides a summary of an 
educational institution's cost accounting system for Federal grants and 
contracts. OMB's estimated time for the completion of DS-2 does not 
include the development of any cost accounting policies for Federal 
grants and contracts; instead, it reflects the effort by a university 
to document the existing cost policies at the institution. Furthermore, 
the cost accounting practices used for Federal grants and contracts 
should be already documented as required by Subpart C, Section ____.21, 
Standards for financial management systems, in OMB Circular A-110, 
``Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with 
Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit 
Organizations.''
G. Edward DeSeve,
Controller.
[FR Doc. 96-29997 Filed 11-22-96; 8:45 am]
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