Falmouth Institute - Indirect Cost Basics

This class is not currently scheduled.

Indirect Cost Basics for Tribal Organizations

If you need to understand how indirect costs work but don’t have an in-depth accounting background, you’re not alone. By popular request, we’ve created a brand new Indirect Cost Basics class. If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, this is the class is for you: Are you confused by all the terms surrounding the administration of contract support? Do you want to understand how indirect costs impact tribal programs? Would you like to know how your program is charged and how much? Want to know what flow through and pass through mean? Would you like to be able to determine if a program is fairly charged? Want to see how the indirect cost rate is calculated? You’ll learn the answers to these and many more questions during this two-day program, designed specifically for the person who is not an expert but wants to know how it all works, including how contract support issues impact programs and services managed by the organization.

This basic program will unravel the mystery behind all the terms you always hear being tossed around but don’t know what they mean. By the end of the program you’ll have the confidence to ask the right questions and know if you’re receiving the proper responses. If you’re an elected official, program manager, tribal administrator or administrative assistant, plan to attend and be taught in terms that are easy to understand. You’ll return to the job with renewed confidence and understanding of what administrative costs are all about.

T O P I C S I N C L U D E

Understanding the Terms

Indirect cost
Contract support
Pass through
Flow through
The base
The pool
Exclusions
Over-recovery

How IDC Rate is Calculated

Learn how simple it really is
Different examples for non-accountants
How you can determine what your program should pay

Indirect Costs vs. Contract Support

Where these terms come from
Differences under P.L. 93-638 contracts and compacts
How the system impact non P.L 93-638 programs

Impact on Grants

Knowing what funding agencies consider administrative costs
How the indirect cost rate impacts grant funding
What the rate means to your budget
Why some grants do not pay

How Indirect Cost Proposals are Developed

The pool budget
How and why a particular base is chosen
Who approves the tribe's indirect cost rate?

Easy Overview of Federal Laws and Regulations that Govern the Process

P.L. 93-638 Indian Self-Determination Act
OMB Super Circular
ASMBC 10

Famous Court Decisions Impacting Contract Support

Navajo Health Foundation-Sage Memorial Hospital, Inc. v. Burwell
Ramah v. Salazar
Cherokee v. Levitt

Identifying Common Indirect Cost Problems

Timekeeping systems
Consistent treatment and specific identification of costs
Costs of "unallowable activities" credits
Indirect cost allocation base
Expressly unallowable costs
Inter-organizational transfers and related-party transactions
Lease incentives and advance understandings
Budget limitations unsupported

Guidelines for Preparing Indirect Cost Rate Proposals

Preliminary steps
Indirect cost allocation bases
Indirect cost proposal checklist
Indirect cost proposal - review procedures
Administration limits and indirect cost claims

*Topics subject to change.

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