Business and Fiscal OfficersMeeting – 3/16/10

Presented By:Glen Jones, Director Post Award

Research and Sponsored Programs

What is a cost Transfer?Any adjustment or transfer of expenditures

to/from a grant, or cost share FOAPSalaries (& benefits)

A transfer is done via a salary redistribution for expenses already incurred.

A transfer is done via a PAF when redistributing future salaries for employees.

A superseding GRA agreement is done for redistributing future stipends for GRAs.

Non-Salaries A transfer is done via a journal entry.

Reasons for Cost TransfersAllow for the reassignment of cost to a grant

To reallocate an expense or a partial expenseTo correct or assign an identifying number to the

transaction i.e. Activity Code to designate cost share expense

To reclass an expenditure type i.e. from office supplies to research supplies

To post internal chargebacks by cost centers i.e. Printing Services and Lab Animals (LAR)

To reallocate effort to reflect actual effort on a grant by an employee

Invalid Reasons for Cost TransfersTo compensate for a cost overrun on another

grantOMB Circular A-21 C. 4. b.

To avoid restrictions imposed by law or terms of the sponsored agreement.OMB Circular A-21 C. 4. b.

To transfer for convenienceOMB Circular A-21 C. 4. b.

To fund another projectTo use up funds

Guidelines for Cost TransfersTiming

Corrections should be made within 90 days of when an error or misclassification is discovered.

Assumption is that all grants are reconciled monthly, so errors and misclassifications of costs are corrected within 120 days of the initial expense. Any corrections made to grants after 120 days must

be approved by both RSP and the University Controller, regardless of the amount.

Any corrections made to grants more than 60 days after the end date of a grant must be approved by both RSP and the University Controller, regardless of the amount.

Guidelines for Cost TransfersDocumentation

Documentation must be adequate to justify the charge to a grant. Provide grant purpose of expense.

Expense Transfer must reference source document of expense being transferred Date of original transaction Vendor name Source document # (i.e. PO#, JV#, etc.) Amount – especially if multiple expenses are being

transferred.

Guidelines for Cost TransfersCosts that benefit two or more grants

Allocated costs based on benefit Assumes basis for allocation will not be difficult to

ascertainAllocate on a reasonable basis

Assumes that costs for two or more projects cannot be determined because of interrelationship of work involved

Possible “Red Flags”Transferring expenses to a grant with a large

balance available toward the end of the grantTransfers made after the end date of grant

from/to another grantCharged to another grant to expedite an orderExpense transfers that do not fully explain the

appropriateness of the transfer, and do not adequately document the transfer for audit purposes

Examples – Travel ExpenseDocument Text

Transfer department pro-card expense of $250 on 2/16/10 for Southwest Airlines airfare for Dr. Smith to attend Semantic Computing Conf. in Atlanta related to grant 669999 (T999999)

Transaction DescriptionCorrect PRoooo1 for T999999

Transaction200001-190000-200001-749850-10005 $

250.00 -669999-669999-200002-746800-20001 $

250.00 +

Examples – Research SuppliesDocument Text

Transfer department pro-card expense of $315 on 2/10/10 for pocket folders purchased at Office Depot for packets to pass out to study participants for grant 669999.

Transaction DescriptionCorrect PRoooo1 – Office Depot 2/10/10

Transaction200001-190000-200001-739850-10005

$315.00 -669999-669999-200002-731200-20001 $315.00 +

Example – Transfer EquipmentDocument Text

Transfer PO# P011111 for equipment purchased for $5100.00 from ABC Scientific on 2/3/10, with tag# T000009 to be used by grant 669999.

Transaction DescriptionCorrect P011111 Equipment Tooooo9

Transaction200001-190000-200001-794500-10005

$5100.00 -669999-669999-200002-794500-20001 $5100.00

+

Example – Participant Gift CardsDocument Text

Transfer department pro-card expense of $500 on 2/6/10 for 50 $10 gift cards from Walmart to be given to research participants after each visit, per Human Subjects Protocol # HSP9999 0n grant669999.

Transaction DescriptionCorrect PRoooo1 – Walmart 2/6/10

Transaction200001-190000-200001-739850-10005

$500.00 -669999-669999-200002-717305-20001 $500.00 +

Salary ReallocationReason – To reallocate salaries for December 2009

to reflect Dr. Smith’s effort on grant (both direct and cost share).

Information needed – UID, Name, PayID and Period

AccountingFrom 200001-190000-200001-614100-10005 - $4200To 2oooo1-190000-200001-614100-10005 – $3000

200001-190000-200001-614100-20001-669999 – $600

669999-669999-200002-614100-20001 - $600

Questions

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