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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