Fiscal Intermediary

What Is A Fiscal Intermediary?

A Fiscal Intermediary (FI) is an organization that assists organizations or individuals in implementing and administering the funds from their funding source and manages financial accountability and employer responsibilities.

For organizations, this means that Metro Solutions handles the financial operations necessary to fulfill the standards and guidelines of a grant or other funding program.

For individual employers in a self directed program, this means that Metro Solutions is responsible for the financial and employer administrative responsibilities. 

FI's are Administrative and Fiscal Agents, not Service Providers.  FI's are not able to make decisions about the amount or type of services individuals receive or how organizations implement their programs. The FI helps to manage the supports that have already been identified in the plan and budget. FI's help ensure that funds are well spent and effectively managed.

What does a Fiscal Intermediary Do?

Fiscal Intermediaries work with the service providers organizations or individuals choose. FI's help you to manage the paperwork responsibilities that come with being an employer. The FI will assist individuals in self-directed programs to complete employment forms, pay staff, and ensure tax compliance according to the budget that is approved by the program. The FI pays providers and vendors on behalf of organizations according to the budget approved by the funding source, prepare year-end reports for funders and will supply monthly financial reports to let organizations know if they are staying within the budget or need to make adjustments. 

What Makes Metro Solutions Different?

For organizational clients, Metro Solutions establishes a separate bank account and accounting record for each client or award. All transactions and financial activity are conducted exclusively from that account, which ensures transparency and accuracy. Hard copy records are securely maintained for a minimum of seven years and are then archived. All documentation and accounting records are backed-up electronically on a daily basis. Clients are provided access to all of their records upon request and receive copies of their bank statements along with their monthly financial records for cross-check. Accounting staff double-check invoicing, and alert clients to errors. Metro Solutions contracts for an annual certified financial audit and shares copies with all clients. Clients are welcomed to attend Metro Solutions’s Board of Directors meetings and Metro Solutions’s leadership attends the Board meetings of its clients to ensure mutual understanding and provide support. Metro Solutions’s leadership gains a unique understanding of the work that clients do, their needs, and their opportunities for growth, which allows Metro Solutions to foster additional links for clients to potential partners, collaborators, and funders. Metro is then able to expand its role with clients to play a part with any expansion.

For individual employers in a self-directed program, Metro Solutions establishes separate accounting records and maintains extensive employment, payment, and tax files to ensure that payments are accurate and follow appropriate programmatic, local, state and federal guidelines. Hard copy files are maintained for seven years and are stored in locked filing cabinets to protect client information. Electronic records are protected through extensive security measures. Metro Solutions is committed to excellent customer service and is accessible with dedicated accounting and program staff to answer client calls and respond to questions.