Accounting & Financial Services 1 Effort Reporting & Cost Sharing Systems November 8, 2004 Campus Council For Information Technology

Accounting & Financial Services 2 Supporting the Research Enterprise Effort Reporting –What is Effort Reporting? –How is Effort Defined? –Who cares? –UC Effort Reporting Initiative Cost Sharing –What is it? –Cost Shared Effort –UCD’s Cost Sharing Tracking System Overview of Presentation

Accounting & Financial Services 3 Providing an Effective Environment for Research Administration Enhance the infrastructure that supports the research enterprise –Training Certificate Series in Grants Administration Web based courses –Systems Electronic Research Administration (InfoEd) Effort Reporting Cost Sharing Tracking

Accounting & Financial Services 4 What is Effort Reporting? Effort reporting is the Federally mandated process for certifying to granting agencies that the effort charged or committed to each award has actually been met –Required when an individual is compensated by or has agreed to contribute time to a federally sponsored project OMB Circular A-21, section J.10 –Investigators on sponsored agreements are personally responsible for certifying their effort Condition of acceptance

Accounting & Financial Services 5 What is Effort Reporting? Effort Reports are generated by UC Personnel Activity Reports (PAR) System –Effort Reports or PAR Forms are generated and distributed after each quarter (~ 4,000 per quarter) –After the fact activity reporting Align salary with effort –Required to document effort commitments Certified PAR forms support salary charges, EBs and F&A recovery charged to sponsored projects Certified PAR forms are also required to document that specific voluntary commitments of time have been met

Accounting & Financial Services 6 How is Effort Defined? Institutional Base Salary (IBS) = 100% Effort –Regardless of % FTE appointment Effort is defined as the amount of time spent on a particular activity –Expressed as a percentage of time spent on work related activities for which an individual is compensated by the University –Includes the time spent working on a sponsored project in which salary is directly charged or voluntarily contributed (cost shared) to a sponsored project Instruction –Includes Departmental Research (per A-21) Organized Research Department Administration Patient Care

Accounting & Financial Services 7 Why Should PIs Care? Federal auditors are focusing on Effort Reporting & Cost Sharing compliance –Northwestern audit disallowance of $5.5 mm –USF paid back $4.1 mm –UC paid back $2.1 mm to NIH Failure to comply with Federal rules can result in: –Loss of funding and flexibility –Damage to UCD’s reputation –Fines and penalties

Accounting & Financial Services 8 Effort Reporting – Current Status Paper based system Based on 1980’s technology Not integrated with cost sharing data No history Gaps in PPS Does not support our compliance requirements

Accounting & Financial Services 9 Evaluating Options UC RFP Issued in 2002 –Only one viable vendor UC Effort Reporting Initiative –Collaborative project UCB, UCD, UCLA, UCSD, UCSF, UCOP –Consulted with key stakeholders including: Council of Vice Chancellors Administration, COVC, VC’s Research, Budget & Planning Officers, Controllers, IT Leadership Council –Project Team members from Campuses Management, Functional, Technical –Project funding in place - $2.1 mm –Requirements definition completed January 2004

Accounting & Financial Services 10 Effort Reporting – The Future Web-based system –Fully distributed –Online edits –Retain history –Fit to Campus standards Authentication, style & format Integrate with cost sharing data Available February 2006

Accounting & Financial Services 11 What is Cost Sharing? Cost sharing is defined in OMB Circular A-110 –“All contributions, including cash and in-kind, shall be accepted as part of the recipient's cost sharing or matching” that a recipient makes to an award Cash contributions In-kind contributions –That portion of a project or program cost that is not reimbursed by the sponsor

Accounting & Financial Services 12 Types of Cost Sharing Mandatory: Required by the sponsor as a condition of the award. Voluntary: Offered by the PI when no mandatory cost sharing requirements exist –Amounts in excess of mandatory cost sharing requirements Remember: Whether required by the sponsor or offered by the PI voluntarily in the proposal, once an award is made, all cost sharing proposed becomes a commitment under the terms of the award, and as such, represents a binding obligation of the University.

Accounting & Financial Services 13 Cost Shared Effort Committed Cost Sharing –Specifically identified or pledged in the proposal, proposal budget or award Mandatory Voluntary –Whether mandated by the sponsor or volunteered by the PI, commitments are a condition of the award and must be: Properly documented Captured in the accounting system –Project Overruns (intentional committed, unplanned not committed) Captured in the payroll distribution and/or effort reporting system

Accounting & Financial Services 14 Committed Effort Committed effort is effort explicitly offered in the proposal narrative, budget or budget justification –Commitments made to the sponsor must be honored Sponsor expects that effort commitments will be met Even if PI or Key Personnel salaries are not charged, effort commitment is expected to be met –Must be documented and certified to on the effort report –Proposed effort commitments can exceed 100% Must be reduced if more proposals awarded than expected

Accounting & Financial Services 15 Cost Shared Effort Uncommitted Cost Sharing –Faculty effort above and beyond that which is committed and budgeted for in the sponsored agreement Voluntary (donated) –Neither committed in the proposal nor required in the award –Faculty do not have to document uncommitted voluntary effort Not included in the organized research base for F&A purposes Cannot be used to meet the University’s cost sharing commitments –Amounts in excess of NIH Salary Cap Unallowable by Congress –UC Position: Not included in organized research base (OIA)

Accounting & Financial Services 16 UCD’s Cost Sharing Tracking System A&FS has developed a web-based system to track cost sharing –Must be implemented in order to support committed cost sharing in time for the University’s next F&A rate submission Base year –DaFIS transactions are identified by fund Accounted for over the life of the award –Deployment begins December 2004

Accounting & Financial Services 17 Main menu

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Accounting & Financial Services 20 Contribution Report