SEFA Tutorial
Lesson 1: Federal Reporting Requirements – Background
This lesson provides an overview of federal and statewide requirements for submitting the annual SEFA.
Code of Federal Regulations – Uniform Guidance
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the federal government’s codification of general and permanent rules. Title 2 of the CFR, part 200, includes the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) uniform administrative requirements, cost principles and audit requirements for federal grants and agreements. This section of the CFR is commonly referred to as the Uniform Guidance or by its reference 2 CFR 200 and includes requirements for non-federal recipients of federal awards. The Uniform Guidance supersedes prior OMB circulars for federal awards with an effective start date on or after December 2014.
The Uniform Guidance includes administrative requirements award reporting, performance and financial management and monitoring and closeout requirements. The cost principles include factors to determine whether an item of cost is allowable based on whether the item can be considered reasonable, allocable and necessary to carry out the federal program. The audit requirements include the Single Audit and program specific audit thresholds, requirements and considerations for federal award recipients and subrecipients.
According to 2 CFR 200.38, a federal award includes the federal financial assistance, cost reimbursement contract or agreement that a non-federal entity (such as a state agency) receives from the federal government either directly from a federal agency or indirectly from a pass-through entity. Federal financial assistance is the assistance a state agency receives or administers in the form of grants, cooperative agreements, non-cash contributions or donations, direct appropriations or commodities and may also include loans, loan guarantees, interest subsidies and insurance (2 CFR 200.40). Federal financial assistance does not include reimbursement for services to individuals.
Grant Management — Texas Requirements
The CFR applies to federal awards. See Purchasing’s Grant Management page on the Comptroller’s website for general grant guidance and requirements for state awards.
- Apply the Uniform Grant Management Standards (UGMS) to grants and contracts that begin before Jan. 1, 2022.
- Apply the Texas Grant Management Standards (TxGMS) to grants and contracts that begin on or after Jan. 1, 2022.