Passed a USAID compliance audit with zero questioned costs on a $12m grant portfolio
International Development NGO
- Duration
- 5 months, then ongoing grants desk
- Team
- Partner, grants manager, 2 fund accountants
- Scope
- 11 concurrent grants, $12m portfolio, 4 countries
- Region
- West Africa
Client challenge
A donor-funded NGO managing eleven concurrent grants had commingled restricted funds and could not produce grant-by-grant burn reports on demand. A pending USAID audit threatened future funding.
The starting position
Restricted funds were commingled in a single operating account and cost allocation relied on end-of-quarter estimates. With a USAID audit pending, the organisation could not produce grant-by-grant burn rates or defend how shared costs had been apportioned.
What we actually changed
The chart of accounts was rebuilt with grant, donor and project dimensions so that every transaction carries its funding source. Timesheet-based allocation replaced estimates, and an evidence library was assembled so that any expense could be traced to approval, procurement and payment within two clicks.
Why it stuck
Programme managers, not accountants, became responsible for their own burn reports — with the Soteria grants desk producing the monthly donor packs on a fixed calendar. Compliance became a routine output rather than an audit-season scramble.
Our solution
Rebuilt fund accounting with grant, donor and project dimensions. Instituted timesheet-based cost allocation and a monthly donor-report factory delivered by Soteria's virtual grants team.
Business outcome
USAID audit closed with zero questioned costs. The NGO won two additional grants totalling $7.4m within twelve months on the strength of its compliance record.
- 1
Grant portfolio diagnostic against OMB Uniform Guidance and donor agreements.
- 2
Chart of accounts rebuild with grant/donor/project analytics dimensions.
- 3
Deployed timesheet and allocation engine; retrained programme managers.
- 4
Monthly donor pack production and audit-ready evidence library.
full dimension mapping
audit-ready library
burn-rate ownership
delivered on schedule
versus prior cycle
won within 12 months
| Metric | Before Soteria | After Soteria |
|---|---|---|
| Questioned costs | $412k | $0 |
| Donor reports on-time | 58% | 100% |
| Allocation accuracy | 72% | 99.1% |
| Audit findings | 9 | 0 |
"Soteria turned compliance from a liability into a competitive advantage. Donors trust our numbers."
We can run this playbook for your ngos organisation.
In a 45-minute confidential briefing, the partner who led this engagement will benchmark your current numbers, identify the three fastest sources of value and give you a written scope with fixed fees — at no cost.
- Partner-led, not junior-staffed
- Fixed-fee scope before we start
- First results inside 90 days
- NDA signed before any data moves
From spreadsheet chaos to consolidated stewardship reporting in 90 days
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