managing international projects neraoc 2015• do you have a plan on how to evacuate your university...
TRANSCRIPT
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Business Services
Managing
International
Projects
NERAOC 2015
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Business Services
Presenters:
Matt Clawson
Assistant Director of Financial Affairs
College of Agriculture
Beth Siple
Assistant Director of Financial Affairs
College of Agriculture
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Business Services
Introduction
• Historically Purdue Agriculture has been very active in
international project activity, study abroad and hosting
international visitors
• Areas of focus include Afghanistan and many countries in Africa
• Sponsors include USAID, Gates Foundation, Foreign
Government, USDA
• The intent of today’s session is to give you ideas of things to
think about when working with global projects and share with
you experiences and practices
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Business Services
Managing International Projects
• Study abroad
• Bringing International Visitors to Your Home Campus
• Hiring and Retaining Staff to Work Abroad
• Risk Management/Security
• Global Resource Committee/Purdue International Inc.
• Paying In-Country Foreign Nationals
• Cash/Banking
• International Subcontracts
• Disposition of Assets at Project Close out
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Business Services
Study Abroad
• College of Agriculture
– 18 different programs running year around
• Programs in: Zambia, Colombia, Brazil, Ireland and New Zealand
• Purdue incentives to study abroad
– Dependent on length of program scholarships available from $1,000 to
$3,000 offered by the university. Scholarships also available from
College of Agriculture to Freshman.
• Challenges
– Safety- starts with selection of location
– Cost of program
– Support for program (Departmental, College and University)
– Accidents or health issues that arise
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Business Services
Bringing International Visitors to Your Home Campus
• What are some things to consider when hosting foreign nationals on your campus:
– What type of position are you inviting them for: Visiting scholar, visiting faculty or visiting students
– Do you have a process to screen visitors/institutions before they are invited?
• Vetting visitors through proper databases
• Invitation letter, are the terms of visit clear
– Ex Intellectual property or access to campus resources
– Who else on campus is aware of the visitors in your unit
– Individual visa type may dictate whether they are eligible to be paid or non-paid
– If non-paid staff, determine what insurance coverage may exist for them while visiting your campus?
• Do you require short term visiting scholars to carry their own medical insurance?
– Often times these individuals may have very little cash on hand to pre-pay their own living expenses?
• Should you consider providing them with a monthly living allowance stipend?
• Does your University have a mechanism to do so?
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Business Services International Visitor Appointment and Process
• Visiting Scholar – A visiting scholar appointee is an individual who is not appointed to an academic
rank…A visiting scholar may be invited by a faculty member, after specific approval…to engage in scholarly activities for the academic enrichment of the individual and the department. A visiting scholar is not an employee of the University and therefore receives no direct compensation from the University.
• College of Agriculture: Active 177 Visiting Scholars
• Purdue University invitation approval process (revised 2015) – All international scholars/students will be screened against government check lists prior
to sending offer letter.
– Visitors arriving on a J1 will be subject confirmation of English ability form (Must be completed to process DS2019). The completion of the form comes with an interview of invitee.
– Offer letter sent to scholar includes links to appointment type and explanation of Purdue Intellectual property guidelines.
• Why are these precautions necessary?
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Business Services Hiring and Retaining Staff to Work Abroad
• How do we make an overseas appointment in potential danger zones
attractive to applicants?
– Have an attractive compensation package (base pay and additional pay allowances)
– Competitive leave policy (vacation, sick and supplemental leaves)
– Support from the home campus
• While interviewing take an approach that centers on core benefits that would
be applicable to the international work location and not home campus
specific.
– What benefits does this position have that are in country specific?
• Example: danger pay
• Having some flexibility into benefit and leave policies are key. Many staff
may compare benefit packages to NGO’s or State Department benefit
packages they have had in the past.
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Business Services
Hiring and Retaining Staff to Work Abroad
• Many variations to leave policies have been adapted from leaves similar to
the State Department in order to allow for additional leave time.
– Example; Home leave.
– Staff in countries with high risk tend to look to leave country every 3 months
• Ensure in country staff are aware of equal opportunity policies on your
campus.
– What happens if an employee relation situation occurs in country?
– American workers employed by U.S. companies overseas enjoy the same broad
protections as workers in the U.S. That means protection under the anti-
discrimination laws travels with the employee, so long as the employee is a
U.S. citizen working for a U.S. company.
Source: EEOC website, 2015
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Business Services
Hiring and Retaining staff to Work Abroad
• Some examples of benefits we have adapted for staff with off campus duty stations
– Holidays: adapted the practice of flexible holidays for recognized university holidays that would not be recognized in country.
– Additional leave allowances including home leave (staff reaches one year at post), regional rest break and rest and recuperation leaves.
– Housing allowances, living allowances and paying some expenses on behalf of the employee (consider the potential tax issues).
– Variations to university pay practices- danger pay, post differential pay and maintenances allowances (many of these may be project and site specific).
– Consider the additional cost associated with these pay practices.
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Business Services
Risk Management/Security
• Do you have a plan on how to evacuate your university staff stationed overseas in the case of an emergency?
– Example: Virus outbreak in country • Plan for staff who return from countries with past outbreaks (Guinea Ebola outbreak)
– Example: Voluntary evacuation due to potential political unrest (extraction vs evacuation)
• In country activity safety and security plan in place (Ex. Does your location employ guards or security when traveling?)
• Do you have a good system in place to know where your staff are located at all times, either permanently or while in travel status?
– Systems in place at hiring to identify duty station
– Travel to countries under warning (who is aware)
• Health safety plan – does acting in country leadership have information needed if a
serious health issues arises.
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Business Services
Global Resource Committee
Purpose:
• To assist with International activities in which Purdue’s faculty and
staff are involved via a standing committee with an experienced set
of resources and specialized knowledge.
Membership: • Comptroller’s Office, Treasury Operations, Accounting Services,
Sponsored Programs, Business Office, Human Resources, Legal
Counsel
Staff Liaison Position to provide oversight
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Business Services
Purdue International Inc. (PII)
• Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization launched in Summer 2014
• Flagship entity for Purdue’s global affairs programs
• As a nonprofit corporation, PII will be utilized to obtain legal status in foreign countries when required
• Actively pursuing registration in two countries under PII name
• Currently working to define relationship with the University
• Tracking activity for PII within existing University general ledger
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Business Services
Defined Legal Presence in a Foreign Country
• Depending on the level of activity and length of time spent in a country, you may
want to consider establishing a legal presence
• Do the local host country laws require some form of legal registration to do business?
– Such requirements may vary significantly from country to country
– How many calendar days/year will you have staff permanently located in-country?
• What factors could “trigger” a requirement for legal registration?
– Opening a foreign institutional bank account for host country expenses
– Employment of foreign nationals
– Executing a lease for host country office space
– Purchasing host country goods and services
– Employees who are present in the country for more than 183 days
• Some institutions may choose to establish a separate legal entity to operate their in-country activities
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Business Services
Paying In-Country Foreign Nationals
• Do you intend to hire in-country national staff as independent contractors vs. actual employees?
• Another option might be to hire them through a separate in-country H/R or payroll entity that your institution contracts with?
• Will cash payments be made to individuals in-country or wired from your home institution?
– Remember to account for banking wire/transaction fees if applicable
• Payroll tax obligations should be considered depending on local country tax laws.
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Business Services
Tips on Hiring Foreign Nationals as a Contractor
• Pay for milestones or tasks vs. worked – Paid a flat fixed amount rather than based on hours worked.
– Avoid paying for “overtime”
• Avoid offering them “employee” benefits if possible – Paid leave, vacation, etc.
• Enter into a defined contract with specific terms identified – How often should the contract be reviewed/renewed?
– What are the termination clauses?
• Best practice would be that Contractor has flexibility to set his/her own hours vs. direct daily supervision with defined schedule.
– Appears less like an employer/employee situation
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Business Services
Cash/Banking
• If there is going to be a lot of in-country activity over an extended period of time,
there will likely be a need to establish a local bank account
• The process for setting up a local bank account will be handled differently depending on the country and could take a significant amount of time
• Involve University Treasury Office (could be a different department depending on the university). This department can help locate a credible bank
• A bank with on-line banking and account information is important
• Signature Authority for the bank account will need discussed
• Dollar amount and reconciliation process needs established
– Daily reconciliation report sent to home campus (daily, weekly, etc.)
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Business Services
Cash/Banking
• Cash is the main form of currency in many countries – Expenses need outlined up front justifying the amount.
– Expenses typically include lodging, paying drivers, research supplies, phone cards, etc.
– Proactively estimating project needs can help in determining appropriate cash flow
• Depending on the length of the stay and the banking options, it could make more sense to send cash with an employee – Western Union Quick Cash also an option
• Research cash advance could be an option – Employee must keep receipts and the advance must be reconciled
– May be requested as part of travel request, or done separately
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Business Services
International Subcontracts
• Many international subcontractors have cash flow issues – Payment schedule may need to be milestone based versus cost
reimbursement
• US dollars should be the form of currency used in the subcontract agreement
• When funds are transferred, the dollars will be converted. The currency exchange will need reconciled
• Wiring money is the best option, however wires have to be constantly tracked to make sure the funds got to the correct entity
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Business Services
Disposition of Assets at Project Close Out
• What sponsor or Federal requirements exist? – Some sponsors may have very defined property management guidelines
– Guidelines could be different for sensitive data or IT equipment
• Assets must be turned over to host country? – Does your university have a preferred mechanism to document that assets have been
properly transferred to a 3rd party? What documents are required to transfer ownership?
• What threshold is determined? – Do you have an inventory management system in place for “in-country” activities that
could easily identify capital assets, etc.?
• Costs of shipping items back to your home country? – Do you have adequate funds available at the end of the project to cover these costs?
– Shipping only relevant program and financial files/records could be a considerable amount.
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Business Services
Summary
• Many things to consider when engaging in international activities
• Can involve a significant amount of time and resources
• Rules, regulations, and best practices vary from country to country
• Consider engaging legal counsel early