March 11, 2021
ARP is released
The American Rescue Plan (ARP), a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill, is signed into law by President Joe Biden. Within this bill, are varying grant and provisions to help families, organizations, and State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to aid in recovery from the impacts of Covid-19.
March - December 2021
Funds Released
The historic ARP program provided $350 billion from the U.S. Treasury to well over 30,000 SLFRF recipients.
Many of the state, local, and tribal governments, recipients are small entities that have not previously been required to have a single audit for federal grant funds.
May 2021
Treasury IFR
To aid these smaller entities, the Treasury published the interim final rule (“IFR”) which describes eligible and ineligible uses of SLFRF, as well as other program requirements.
June 17, 2021
Compliance and Reporting Guidance
The original Compliance and Reporting Guidance is issued on June 17, 2021.
Since entities are getting their funds and using them, this report is published to confirm uses of funds and how to report the use.
August 10, 2021
User Guide Re-Released
More clarification on use and reporting is needed.
The U.S. Department of Treasury releases the “User Guide: Treasury’s Portal for Recipient Reporting” with instructions for submitting information into the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) recipient reporting portal. The User Guide is intended to supplement the Compliance and Reporting Guidance that was issued on June 17, 2021.
2021-2022
Discussion on Reporting
During all this time, there are discussions between the Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) about how to reduce the burden on these small entities.
In addition, there are concerns about the capacity of qualified auditors available to perform the audits.
April 8, 2022
Alternative Engagement Compliance is Announced
The Treasury, OMB, the Government Audit Quality Center (GAQC), and the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers worked collaboratively to develop an alternative to a full single audit or program-specific audit under the Uniform Guidance for certain recipients that would be less burdensome, but would still meet the Treasury’s duty to be good stewards of federal funds.
