PROGRAM IDENTIFICATION
Purple Sheep CPE™
Post-Award Financial Stewardship (Post-Award) Series™
6.0 CPE Contact Hours | Self-Paced Professional Education
SERIES OVERVIEW
Post-award activity is not financial processing. It is the sustained execution of institutional accountability.
Institutions operating within sponsored environments are responsible for ensuring that financial activity, documentation, reporting, and compliance obligations remain aligned with regulatory requirements and sponsor expectations throughout the award lifecycle. This responsibility extends beyond transactional execution into governance, fiduciary oversight, and control system integrity.
This series provides a structured, risk-based examination of post-award financial stewardship as an institutional function. It focuses on how institutions design, sustain, and validate control systems that govern financial activity, monitor risk, and support audit defensibility.
Institutional exposure rises when post-award operations are fragmented, reactive, or dependent on individual effort rather than structured systems. These weaknesses create recurring risk because compliance cannot be sustained without consistent oversight, documentation, and governance accountability.
KEY AREAS OF FOCUS
Across six modules, this series examines:
• Institutional stewardship doctrine and accountability frameworks
• Cost principles as enforceable control systems
• Financial monitoring architecture and active oversight design
• Effort certification and labor-related compliance controls
• Award modification governance and change management
• Closeout as control verification and institutional validation
These areas represent the points at which institutional risk must be actively managed, monitored, and validated.
PROGRAM EMPHASIS
This series emphasizes:
• Institutional exposure identification and mitigation
• Internal control system design and sustainability
• Governance accountability across financial environments
• Documentation defensibility under audit conditions
• Regulatory and operational alignment
These weaknesses create recurring risk because post-award systems often rely on execution rather than structured control frameworks.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE & INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
This series is structured as six standalone modules that function as an integrated system of institutional oversight.
Each module includes:
• Governance-level instructional content aligned to institutional operations
• Scenario-based analysis reflecting real financial and compliance risk conditions
• Applied learning activities designed to test control system thinking
• Knowledge validation through structured assessment
Topic structure is standardized across all modules to reinforce continuity and audit defensibility, including required engagement activities and formal knowledge assessments.
Each module is designed to stand alone while contributing to a comprehensive institutional control framework.
REGULATORY & COMPLIANCE ALIGNMENT
This series aligns with established regulatory and control frameworks, including:
• 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance)
• ICH Good Clinical Practice (E6)
• Applicable FDA regulations for sponsored and clinical environments
• COSO Internal Control Framework principles
Content reflects both regulatory requirements and operational realities within higher education, academic medical centers, and research-intensive institutions.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this series, participants will be able to:
• Evaluate institutional exposure across post-award financial environments
• Assess the strength and sustainability of internal control systems
• Identify breakdowns in governance accountability and oversight structures
• Determine whether documentation practices meet audit defensibility standards
• Analyze financial and compliance risk within ongoing sponsored activity
• Apply structured approaches to strengthening institutional stewardship systems
COMPLETION & AUDIT VERIFICATION
Completion of this series requires:
• Full review of all instructional content across six modules
• Completion of required engagement activities within each module
• Successful completion of knowledge assessments
Participant activity, progression, and completion records are maintained to support audit verification and institutional documentation requirements.
SERIES CONTINUITY
The Post-Award Financial Stewardship (Post-Award) Series™ functions as a core component within the Purple Sheep CPE™ ecosystem.
It builds on pre-award institutional commitments and supports:
• Audit readiness and institutional control validation
• Financial compliance sustainability across the award lifecycle
• Advanced governance and risk management frameworks
Participants may complete modules individually or as a full series depending on institutional need and role alignment.
APPROPRIATE FOR
This series is designed for:
• Experienced research administrators
• Departmental and central office financial professionals
• Sponsored programs and grants management leaders
• Institutional compliance and audit personnel
• Individuals responsible for financial oversight and stewardship
It is structured for professionals operating within complex institutional environments where accountability, monitoring, and control systems are critical.
CREDENTIAL ALIGNMENT
This series is designed to support continuing education and professional development aligned with:
• Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) expectations (CRA, CPRA, CFRA)
• Clinical research compliance and certification domains, including the Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP) credential administered by the Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA)
• Clinical research competencies aligned with ACRP certification frameworks
• Internal audit and compliance competencies aligned with CIA principles
CPE DOCUMENTATION STATEMENT
This half-series, when completed, represents 6.0 CPE contact hours.
Access & Content Standards
Access to this program is provided for 12 months from the date of enrollment.
Purple Sheep CPE™ content is reviewed and updated annually to reflect evolving federal regulations, institutional requirements, and compliance expectations. This ensures all learning remains current, relevant, and audit-defensible.
Access beyond the initial 12-month period requires continued enrollment to maintain alignment with updated content and compliance standards.
Purple Sheep CPE™ programs are designed to meet the expectations of institutions operating within regulated and compliance-driven environments.
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