[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71288-71290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27178]


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LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION


Financial Guide for Grantees

AGENCY: Legal Services Corporation.

ACTION: Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Legal Services Corporation (``LSC'') is updating its 
Financial Guide (``Guide'') for grantees. LSC previously sought comment 
on the revised Guide and is now seeking additional comments on discrete 
changes to the Guide.

DATES: All comments and recommendations must be received on or before 
the close of business on January 31, 2022.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods.
    Instructions: Electronic submissions are preferred via email with 
attachments in Acrobat PDF format. LSC may not consider written 
comments sent via any other method or received after the end of the 
comment period.
    Email: [email protected]. Please include ``Financial Guide 
Comment'' in the subject line of the message.
    Fax, U.S. Mail, Hand Delivery, or Courier: Please call 202-295-1563 
for instructions if you need to send materials by one of these methods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stefanie K. Davis, Senior Assistant 
General Counsel, (202) 295-1563, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) has 
conducted a comprehensive review of the Accounting Guide for LSC 
Recipients, 2010 Edition. Based on input from LSC grantees and LSC's 
fiscal compliance analysts, LSC believes that the format of the 
Accounting Guide no longer best serves grantees or LSC. LSC has 
restructured the document and renamed it the Financial Guide. The new 
draft Financial Guide removes outdated or inapplicable materials, 
improves materials directly related to LSC-specific issues, and adds 
clarity about both required and recommended financial practices. The 
draft Financial Guide also addresses areas that were previously 
identified as problematic or complex, such as cost allocation, and 
assists grantees in the financial management of LSC grants. Overall, 
the draft Financial Guide conforms to existing LSC and grantee 
practices and requirements. Additionally, in some places, the draft 
Financial Guide sets out requirements that previously have not been 
published for comment.
    LSC originally sought comment on the comprehensive revisions to the 
Financial Guide via a notice published in the Federal Register on July 
7, 2020. 85 FR 40688 (July 7, 2020). LSC received 38 unique comments on 
the draft Financial Guide from five grantees and the National Legal Aid 
and Defender Association on behalf of itself and its LSC grantee 
members. Generally, the commenters suggested clarifications and 
requested that LSC make many of the proposed requirements into 
recommendations to accommodate the diversity of grantee sizes, fiscal 
sophistication, and resources.

[[Page 71289]]

    LSC conducted a thorough review of the entire draft and all 
comments. In most cases, LSC agreed with the comments and changed 17 
proposed requirements into recommendations. Additionally, LSC removed 
five requirements related to audits and accounting. These changes align 
with the new scope of the Financial Guide to focus on providing 
guidance related to LSC rules and regulations--including those 
pertaining to internal controls--and not technical audit and 
accounting-specific requirements. LSC also added clear definitions that 
``must'' and ``shall'' state requirements, but ``should'' states a 
strong recommendation. For all required items, grantees can opt to use 
different methods of reaching the goal, subject to LSC's determination 
that the alternatives are sufficient.
    OCE also identified several current requirements that had not 
appeared in the prior version of the Financial Guide that was published 
for comment. These are requirements that LSC has been applying through 
required corrective actions and most, perhaps all, grantees have 
already implemented. OCE also added some requirements and 
recommendations related to ``high-risk'' areas, such as cost allocation 
and employee expense reimbursements.
    LSC has published the revised draft Financial Guide for comment on 
the Matters for Comment page at www.lsc.gov. LSC is seeking comment 
only on the areas identified below as new requirements or substantive 
revisions to the version of the Financial Guide for which LSC sought 
comment in 2020.

Newly Identified Requirements

Section 1.3--Recipient Responsibility

    This new section contains general statements moved from other 
sections that grantees must keep their financial policies and 
procedures up to date with accounting standards and changes to LSC 
requirements (such as regulations, the Audit Guide, etc.). This new 
section also contains a statement that ``Any policies and procedures 
implementing the requirements of this Guide must be written and 
approved by the recipient's governing body.'' LSC already requires 
grantees to obtain governing body approval of their policies and 
procedures through policy reviews during competitive assessments and 
required corrective actions after a fiscal review. The following 
sections are all affected by this requirement:

Section 2.1.1.a--Accounting System Capabilities
Section 2.2.2--Payroll
Section 2.2.3--Reconciliations
Section 2.3.1--Document Integrity
Section 2.5.3--Electronic Data Processing and Cybersecurity (Board 
approval of policy is new)
Section 3.1.4--Derivative Income
Section 3.2.1--Bank Accounts
Section 3.2.2--Cash Receipts
Section 3.2.3--Investments (if applicable)
Section 3.2.4--Cash Disbursements
Section 3.2.6--Client Trust Accounts
Section 3.4--PAI. This section now clearly states that the financial 
accounting of the 12.5% expenditure for the PAI requirement must be in 
policies and procedures that are written and board approved, the same 
as other financial policies and procedures.
Section 3.5.1--Procurement and Contracting (Board approval of policy is 
new)
Section 3.6--Property and equipment
Section 3.7--Cost Principles (Board approval of policy is new)
Section 3.8--Subgrants. The grantee's policies and procedures regarding 
the financial accounting for subgrants must be written and board 
approved. For subrecipients, it now states that ``Recipients must 
ensure that subrecipients have written policies and procedures 
consistent with applicable LSC requirements, including this Guide.'' 
Part 1627 provides flexibility for subrecipients' financial accounting 
to reflect the amount of the subgrant and capacity of the subrecipient. 
The relationship between the recipient and subrecipient will determine 
the proper method of financial reporting following generally accepted 
accounting principles. 45 CFR 1627.4(f)(1)(i).

Section 2.1.1--General Accounting System Requirements

    This section now provides more specifics about the general 
accounting system requirements. Most, if not all, grantees already meet 
these requirements, which are items that LSC already requires grantees 
to adopt in required corrective actions after a fiscal review.

2.2.2--Time and Attendance (Payroll)

    This section now provides more specific requirements for formal 
payroll policies and procedures including time and attendance records, 
use of a payroll register, and review of payroll before processing and 
payment.

3.2.1--Bank Accounts

    This section now explicitly requires documentation and tracking of 
all bank accounts opened and closed (e.g., purpose, authorized 
signatory, custodian, opening date, and closing date) within the last 
three years.

3.2.1.b--Electronic Banking

    This section now requires recipients to conduct a risk assessment 
of electronic banking policies and procedures, with Board oversight, to 
identify areas requiring additional safeguards.

3.2.4.a--Employee Expense Reimbursements

    This new section requires grantees to have written and well-defined 
expense reimbursement policies and procedures. It also provides a 
number of recommendations for those policies.

3.2.5--Petty Cash

    This section now explicitly requires a monthly reconciliation of 
all petty cash funds and identification of all required supporting 
documentation. Also, the section now requires that policies describe 
all allowable uses of petty cash.

3.6.3--Disposal of Property and Equipment

    This new section references the Part 1631 requirements for disposal 
of real and personal property. It also requires that the grantee's 
policies include ``disposal procedures, controls, and documentation 
requirements.''

New Recommendations

Section 2.3.2--Document Destruction

    This section ``strongly encourages recipients to develop and 
implement a policy (in accordance with their record retention policy) 
to address the proper destruction of documents and data.''

Section 3.2.4--Cash Disbursements

    This section now states that ``Recipients may consider additional 
control measures related to higher risk disbursements (e.g., require a 
second check signer for amounts over a certain threshold).''

Significant Clarifications

    LSC reorganized several sections to group items together more 
logically, provide clearer explanations, and better identify areas of 
risk. The following sections had notable updates.

2.1.1.a--Accounting System Capabilities

    This section now provides a detailed bullet list of basic 
capabilities of an adequate accounting system involving collecting, 
allocating, tracking, documenting, and reporting financial information.

[[Page 71290]]

3.7.1--Cost Allocation

    This section now provides a detailed bullet list of basic 
requirements for cost allocation policies to better illustrate the cost 
allocation requirements proposed in the published draft Financial 
Guide.

2.5.3--Security for Data and Records Including Electronic Data 
Processing and Cybersecurity

    This section combines information from scattered sections in the 
previous draft to more clearly require grantees to ``have written 
security policies and procedures for physical and digital assets 
including all financial data and records in any form (e.g., electronic 
data processing (EDP) and cybersecurity policies and procedures).'' 
Furthermore, LSC recommends in this section that ``These policies and 
practices should be part of an overall data and records security policy 
and an annual overall risk-assessment process.'' Finally, LSC provides 
in this section a bullet list of issues that these policies must 
address, including a risk assessment at least annually and resolution 
of risk findings or conclusions.

    Dated: December 10, 2021.
Stefanie Davis,
Senior Assistant General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-27178 Filed 12-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7050-01-P