Managing Up When the Stakes Are High: What Leadership Needs to Hear (and How to Say It)

Session Snapshot

Course Length & Format: 1-hour live, interactive online training (Group Internet Based)

CPE Credits: 1.0 CPE (Communications and Marketing)

Delivery Method: Group Internet Based

Field of Study: Communications and Marketing

Prerequisites: None

Knowledge Level: Basic

Advance Preparation: None

Target Audience: Grants managers, compliance officers, grant auditors, and program administrators at all levels.

Attendance and CPE Credit Requirements: To receive CPE credit, participants must attend the full session, respond to all required attendance monitoring prompts, and complete any required evaluation or attendance verification steps communicated during the program.

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Event Details

Date: May 13, 2026

Time: 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Central Time

Location: Live, Online, via Zoom

Cost: Free (registration required)

Session Description

This course is designed for grants managers, compliance officers, auditors, and other professionals responsible for ensuring grant compliance. Effective compliance communication is not only about meeting requirements — it is about building trust, demonstrating transparency, and aligning stakeholders at every level of the organization.

Participants will learn how to clearly convey the importance of compliance to diverse audiences, from executives and board members to program staff, recipients, community partners, and the public. The session explores practical communication frameworks and stakeholder-specific messaging strategies that help compliance professionals prepare for difficult conversations before problems escalate.

Participants Will Gain Practical Tools To

• Deliver compliance messages that inspire confidence and action.
• Foster a proactive compliance mindset across the organization.
• Use dashboards, templates, FAQs, and other tools to support consistency and clarity.
• Navigate challenging conversations while maintaining professionalism and credibility.

Learning Objectives

• Attendees will describe the importance of compliance communication.
• Attendees will identify potential stakeholders and their perspectives and concerns.
• Attendees will select communication methods that strengthen trust and support transparency.
• Attendees will evaluate proactive approaches to better prepare for potential future funding challenges.

Presented By

National speakers and experts in federal fiscal compliance, indirect cost rates, 2 CFR 200, monitoring, internal controls, and public-sector compliance implementation.

 

Mara Ash, CIA, CGFM, CICA, CRMA, CGAP

CEO, BFS Strategic Partners

Mara Ash is the CEO of BFS Strategic Partners and a nationally recognized public-sector compliance and accountability professional with more than 28 years of experience in financial management, audit, internal controls, federal assistance compliance, and grants management. Her work focuses on helping public-sector organizations translate complex requirements into practical, defensible systems that strengthen accountability, transparency, and operational performance.

Mara develops and delivers professional education for external public-sector, grants management, audit, and compliance audiences through BFS Strategic Partners and DECODED®. She is the author of the 2 CFR 200 Federal Assistance Guidance Series and founder of DECODED® Academy.

 

Cindy Watson, CICA

Managing Director, BFS Strategic Partners

Cindy Watson is the Managing Director of BFS Strategic Partners and a senior compliance and financial management professional with more than 25 years of experience in accounting, federal and state grant compliance, internal controls, audit readiness, monitoring, and corrective action. She helps organizations build practical processes, improve documentation, and prepare for state and federal oversight.

Cindy’s expertise includes 2 CFR Part 200, EDGAR, subrecipient monitoring, program and fiscal testing, indirect cost rates, cost allowability, procurement compliance, maintenance of effort, excess cost, audit procedures, policy analysis, automated reporting, and corrective action implementation. She is the co-author of the 2 CFR 200 Federal Assistance Guidance Series.

Call to Action

Click here to Register Now!

Advance registration is required.

CPE Statement

This program is designed to support continuing professional education for government accountability and technical training purposes. Participants should confirm acceptance with their licensing body, employer, or audit organization.

This class is designed to meet 1.0 hours of the 24-hour governmental CPE requirement under Government Auditing Standards (Yellow Book), in most cases.

Policies

Refund Policy

DECODED® offers both free and paid Group Internet Based programs. For paid live Group Internet Based programs, cancellations made at least seven (7) calendar days prior to the scheduled program are eligible for a full refund. Cancellations made three (3) to six (6) calendar days prior to the scheduled program may incur a 30% cancellation fee. Cancellations made within forty-eight (48) hours of the scheduled program may incur a 50% cancellation fee.

For free Group Internet Based programs, no refund applies.

To request a refund or ask questions about a registration, please contact Cindy Watson, Managing Director, at stickguys@decoded.expert or 512-945-0144.

Program Cancellation Policy

If DECODED® cancels a Group Internet Based program, registered participants will be notified by email no later than twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled program start time, unless an emergency or other unforeseen circumstance requires shorter notice.

When applicable, DECODED® will provide additional information regarding rescheduling options or refunds for paid registrations.

Complaint Resolution Policy

DECODED® is committed to addressing participant concerns in a timely and professional manner. Participants who wish to report a complaint or concern regarding a Group Internet Based program should contact Cindy Watson, Managing Director, at stickguys@decoded.expert or 512-945-0144.

Complaints will be reviewed by the appropriate DECODED® representative, and DECODED® will make a reasonable effort to respond in a timely manner.