Grant File Audit Checklist

How to Use This Checklist

This checklist is designed for one grant at a time. Run it quarterly as a completeness check, and again at closeout to confirm the file is complete before archiving.

A well-organized grant file serves two purposes: it makes day-to-day management faster (you know where everything is), and it makes audit response straightforward (you can produce any document without a multi-day search).

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Phase 1: Pre-Award and Award Setup

Documents that belong in the file before the first expenditure is made.

Application and Award Documents

• Submitted grant application or proposal (final version as submitted) Include the narrative, budget, and all attachments. If the award terms differ from what was proposed, the application is the baseline for understanding what was approved.

• Notice of award or grant agreement The official document from the funder establishing the award. For federal grants, this is typically a Notice of Award from the agency’s grants management system.

• All amendments, modifications, and no-cost extensions Every change to the original award - period of performance extensions, budget modifications, scope changes - must be in the file with the date of approval.

• Funder’s prior approval letters for any approved modifications If a budget reallocation, scope change, or period extension required funder approval, the approval letter belongs in the file adjacent to the modification.

Budget and Financial Setup

• Approved budget as awarded (line-item detail) The budget as approved in the notice of award, not the budget as proposed if the funder modified it.

• All subsequently approved budget modifications Every approved rebudgeting. If a category was increased and another reduced with funder approval, the approval documentation belongs here.

• Indirect cost rate documentation (NICRA or de minimis election) The rate agreement or the documented election of the 10% de minimis rate. Without this, indirect cost charges are unverifiable.

• Organizational chart or role assignments for grant-funded positions Documents who is responsible for program delivery, financial management, and compliance for this award.

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