Quality Assurance Programs Flashcards
7 cards from real CRA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Quality Assurance Programs flashcards as text
A QA review of payroll charges reveals that an employee's effort on a federal grant exceeded 100% of total institutional effort when combined with other commitments. Which regulation is most directly implicated?
Answer: 2 CFR 200.430 standards for compensation—personal services
2 CFR 200.430 requires that the total compensation charged across all activities cannot exceed 100% of an individual's institutional base salary and effort.
Which metric is most useful for evaluating the effectiveness of a post-award QA monitoring program over time?
Answer: Trend data on the rate and type of findings across successive review cycles
Tracking finding trends across cycles reveals whether corrective actions are working and whether new risk areas are emerging.
Under the Uniform Guidance, a program-specific audit is conducted when an auditee expends federal awards under only one federal program. What is the dollar threshold that triggers any Single Audit requirement?
Answer: $750,000 in federal expenditures per year
2 CFR 200.501 establishes $750,000 as the annual federal expenditure threshold above which a Single Audit or program-specific audit is required.
A CRA is training department administrators on recognizing conflicts of interest in procurement. Which scenario presents the clearest COI risk on a federally funded project?
Answer: A PI recommending a sole-source vendor in which the PI's family member holds a financial interest
A financial interest held by an immediate family member of the decision-maker constitutes a direct conflict of interest that must be disclosed and managed.
What is the primary purpose of conducting a 'root cause analysis' after identifying a QA finding?
Answer: To determine the underlying systemic reason for the deficiency so it can be permanently corrected
Root cause analysis identifies why a control failed, not just what failed, enabling corrective actions that address the source rather than the symptom.
Which approach best supports a 'culture of compliance' in research administration?
Answer: Integrating compliance training, transparent reporting channels, and leadership accountability into daily operations
A compliance culture requires ongoing education, open communication, and visible commitment from leadership across all levels of the organization.
A research institution's QA team uses data analytics to flag grant accounts with expenditure rates below 10% in the final 90 days before project end. What compliance risk does this pattern most likely signal?
Answer: Potential end-of-grant spending that may include unallowable costs rushed to liquidate balances
Low spend rates followed by rapid end-of-grant spending are a known risk indicator for potentially unallowable or improperly allocated costs.