On December 26, 2013, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued final guidance entitled Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance).
The Uniform Guidance went into effect on December 26, 2014. Located at 2 CFR 200, this guidance supersedes and streamlines the following OMB Circulars:
- A-21 Cost Principles for Educational Institutions
- A-87 Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments
- A-122 Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations
- A-110 Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit Organizations
- A-102 Grants and Cooperative Agreements With State and Local Governments
- A-133 Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations
- A-50 Audit Followup
- A-89 Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
This is a major reform of how the federal government provides assistance awards (e.g., grants and cooperative agreements) with the goal of increasing accountability and transparency while reducing the administrative burden on non-federal entities receiving federal awards.