Congressional authorization of federal assistance to state and local governments can be traced as far back as 1808, when the first federal grant program was adopted to provide funds to states to support the National Guard. Since that time, there has been significant growth in the number of federal assistance programs to state and local government. There are currently over 2,321 congressionally authorized federal assistance programs. The growing number, perceived fragmentation, and complexity of these programs create challenges for federal agencies and congressional stakeholders in standardizing various financial and administrative aspects of federal grant program management. Federal agencies administering grant programs face challenges in providing timely, accurate, and detailed information on federal grant awards. This can be attributed, in part, to the way grant funds are distributed from the federal to the local level. This may also be attributed to the limitations of the databases used to track the distribution of federal grant funds. These limitations include questions regarding the validity of the data, and the limited ability to track the distribution of grant funds to the subgrant recipient level. Without complete and valid information about the distribution of federal grant funds, Congress may have a diminished capacity to engage in effective oversight of federal grants. Federal grant recipients are currently required to report grant project related information to federal agencies. This information is contained within a number of federal grant databases with limited public accessibility. The information reported by grant recipients varies depending on the federal program and the individual grant award. Federal grants are available for a variety of purposes. Federally funded grant projects may include purchasing fire and police equipment, constructing housing for low-income populations, providing disaster recovery assistance and other social services, and funding educational activities. Organizations generally coordinate the application and administration of federal grants, and individuals are beneficiaries of the grant projects and services provided by organizations. Organizations seeking federal grant funds are required to register in federal grant systems prior to applying for federal grants. Once grant funds are awarded, recipients are required to report information to federal agencies regarding the use of the federal grant funds. The information provided to the federal government by federal grant recipients is contained in several different federal databases. The general public has access to selected information contained in these databases. This report provides an introduction to reporting requirements placed on federal grant recipients, including requirements that must be met to seek federal grant funds. It also describes the types of information collected on grant recipients, the databases containing information about grant awards, and the availability of that information to the public. The reporting requirements discussed in this report are financial reporting requirements for grant recipients and do not include performance related reporting. To comply with guidance issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), federal agencies that administer federal grant programs must collect and report financial grant data to federal grant databases. Federal agencies collect the grant data by requiring federal grant recipients to submit financial and performance data to the federal agency administering the grant program. These reporting requirements are set forth in the authorizing statutes and regulations for each individual grant program. Some reporting requirements, such as post-award audit requirements, are set forth in legislation that applies to almost every federal grant program. A federal grant seeker must provide information about their organization when they obtain a DUNS number and register with SAM. Grant seekers must provide the following information to obtain a DUNS number: legal name of the company, organization, or entity; entity headquarters name and address; secondary, or tradestyle, name of the company or the "Doing Business As" (DBA) name; physical address of the entity including city, street, and zip code; mailing address; telephone number; point of contact name and title; and, number of employees at the physical location. To register with SAM, grant seekers must provide the following information: DUNS number; business information, including the taxpayer identification number (TIN); Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code; business type and organization structure; financial information including electronic funds transfer (EFT) information for federal government payment purposes; answers to executive compensation questions; and, Point of Contact (POC) information including name, title, physical address, and email address. Federal agencies use a number of systems to track federal grant recipient data. Before a federal grant is awarded, officials seeking federal grants for their organization are required by law to obtain a unique identifier assigned and maintained by Dun and Bradstreet (D&B). This unique identifier is known as a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. Federal agencies use the DUNS number to identify federal grant applicants. Once a grant seeker obtains a DUNS number, the organization must register in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to be eligible to apply for federal grants. Federal agencies use SAM to collect additional information on potential federal grant recipients. Each federal grant award is assigned a number that is then associated with the grant recipient. Federal agencies use the award number to track grant data in agency grant management and financial management systems. When Congress authorizes a federal grant program, the federal agency administering the grant program reports grant program information to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). After a federal grant award is made, the federal agency that made the award collects information about the grant recipient and the grant project. The information provided in a federal grant application is inputted by the federal agency into the grant management system within the agency and a unique grant award number is created. A single entity who has received more than one award under the same grant program may have several grant award numbers. Additionally, a federal agency may have a separate grant management system for each grant program it administers. When the grant agreement is executed, the federal agency also creates a grant account in the agency's cash management system for each individual grant award, which may mean that a single entity that receives more than one grant award by an agency may have several different grant account numbers. Federal grant recipients are required to report financial information pursuant to the conditions contained in the grant agreement executed at the time of the grant award. This information includes financial information, such as expenditures, about the project or services funded by the federal grant award. The financial information is reported periodically to the federal agency administering the grant program. Financial data on the grant award are reported into several federal grant databases, including the following: federal agency cash management systems; Federal Assistance Award Data System PLUS (FAADS-PLUS); Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act Subaward Reporting System (FSRS); USAspending.gov; and, Federal Audit Clearinghouse (FAC). As detailed in Figure 1 , federal grant data are located in several databases at both the grant recipient and federal government level. A Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number is a unique nine-digit identifier for each government contractor and federal grant applicant. The federal government has contracted with D&B since 1978 to provide proprietary DUNS numbers for use in government-wide data systems, and since October 1, 2003, the OMB policy requires the use of a DUNS number on any application for federal grants or cooperative agreements. DUNS numbers are associated with contractor and grant recipient information and are required for each listed organization address. The System for Award Management (SAM) is the federal government's primary contractor and federal grant applicant database used by agencies to validate grantee information. Current and potential government contractors and grant applicants are required to register with SAM in order to be awarded federal government contracts or grants. SAM requires a one-time registration from each potential government vendor, and collects basic procurement and financial information from contractors and grant applicants. SAM consolidates government-wide acquisition and grant award support systems into one new system. The consolidation is planned for four phases. In 2012 the first phase of SAM was launched and phase one systems continue to be consolidated. The first phase of the consolidation included nine information databases: Central Contractor Registration (CCR), Federal Agency Registration (FedReg), Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA), and Excluded Parties List System (EPLS). Once completed, the consolidation will also include: Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System (eSRS); FFATA Sub-award Reporting System (FSRS); Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA); FedBizOpps.gov (FBO); Wage Determination Online (WDOL); Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG); Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS); Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting Systems; and Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS). Some of the systems that will be consolidated by SAM include data on federal contractors and may not necessarily contain information on federal grant recipients. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) is a publicly searchable reference source for federal grants and nonfinancial assistance programs. The CFDA lists and describes over 2,300 federal programs and includes program-specific information such as program objectives, eligibility requirements, application and award processes, program contact information, and related CFDA assistance programs. CFDA is continuously updated and enables information seekers to search assistance programs by keyword, subject, funding department or agency, and other criteria. Additionally, CFDA provides sources of information on developing and writing grant applications, guidance to review processes, and links to agency and department websites for more in-depth program information and eligibility explanations. The CFDA is maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA) pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act. However, OMB is responsible for the collection of assistance program information from federal agencies. OMB also issues guidance to federal agencies for establishing procedures to ensure accurate and timely data is contained within CFDA. Cash management in this context refers to the methods and procedures used by grant recipients and federal agencies to transfer grant funds. Financial management systems of federal agencies and grant recipients are payment and cash management systems used to track the flow of cash between the federal government and primary grant recipients and sub-grant recipients. As detailed in Figure 1 , each federal agency and each grant recipient may have separate cash management systems, resulting in limited interoperability between cash management systems.