1. TOP Practices in Post Award Administration
Leading Excellence in Research Costing Practices
November 3, 2016

2. Best of the Best: TOP Practices in Post Award Administration
Marisa Zuskar, Huron Consulting Group

3. Agenda Overview of 2013 Study of Post-Award Best Practices Outcomes:
General
Overdraft Monitoring
Invoicing
Accounts Receivable
Financial Reporting
Closeout

4. Overview of 2013 Study of Post-Award Best Practices

5. Broad Objectives: Minimize overdrafts and material write-offs
Support compliance with sponsor reporting requirements and sponsor regulations
Improve transparency in management of awards
Develop appropriate metrics around sponsored project management
Identify analytical tools to support management, oversight and reporting
Improve cash flow

6. Peer Review & Analysis:
Identify a set of top research institution peers
Conduct an initial survey to identify effective post-award processes based on high-level performance metrics
Issue a preliminary data request
Conduct site visits and interviews:
Processes
Technology
Enabling organizational infrastructure
Consolidate findings and Huron’s industry perspective into best practices for business process efficiency

7. General: Document processes and procedures
Emphasize performance management
Elevate the role of the “supervisor”
Define and document service level agreements
Demonstrate performance in line with SLAs via dashboard reporting
Use dashboards to facilitate department accountability and responsiveness

8. General:
Decouple the non-final invoicing function from reconciliation/financial reporting function
Integrate financial reporting with the customer service/direct research administration assistance
Consolidate all award set-up functions
Build award set-up “account templates”
Mandatory quarterly review process for PIs and Award Administrators
Defined timeframe for review & resolution
Document that the review occurred
Track and monitor review status
Conduct post-audit sampling

9. Overdraft Monitoring:
Report on specialized types of overdrafts (Pre-Award/Accelerated Spending vs. true-overdraft)
Focus overdraft monitoring resources on resolution and mitigation efforts (not just dept. follow-up)

10. Invoicing:
Build an invoicing “Worklist” including useful data(status!) made available via a dashboard
Formalize invoicing (based of posted expenditures) as a back-office function
Flag invoices requiring departmental preparation and require completed invoices be distributed by central units
Designate signature authority to billing staff
Use technology to automate the invoice process and stakeholder alerts

11. Accounts Receivable:
Define AR escalation procedures including department representatives and investigators
Incorporate “low overhead” steps into the receivables follow-up procedures (balance forward)
Systematically track the status/state of collection efforts
Include outstanding payment amount in communications to the PI regarding technical deliverables

12. Financial Reporting:
Build a reporting “Worklist” including useful data(status!) made available via a dashboard
Document a consistent financial reporting “order of events”
Prepare and provide a preliminary financial reconciliation of an award account to department administrators
Define a timeframe by which all allowable transactions must post to the GL (i.e. 5 days prior to the sponsor due date)
Establish “exception circumstances”

13. Financial Reporting:
Without department concurrence, submit financial reports with only those allowable expenditures posted to the ledger
Leverage well trained and educated staff to generate, sign and submit financial reports

14. Closeout: Include a Closeout transaction to the Worklist
Eliminate “pushed” notification in favor of the use of a dashboard
Expand the “At-Risk” Pre-Award Account process to amendments or No Cost Extensions
Systematically prevent the posting of payroll after the award end date by pay period date
Develop a department AND the central unit Closeout Checklist
Build a department-focused Closeout Reconciliation Tool

15. Closeout:
Establish milestones/deliverables on the Worklist for Patent/Invention Reporting and other deliverables
Clarify that technical deliverables are the responsibility of the Principal Investigator and central units do not have oversight or monitoring responsibility
Decouple the expenditure closeout tasks from the revenue closeout tasks
Centrally document and track record retention periods

16. Next Steps

17. Next Steps for Implementation:
Determine options that might work for you
And congratulate yourself on wat you already are doing!
Obtain consensus on a prioritized list
Consider what else is going on….
Communicate the priorities and encourage feedback
Develop individual project plans
Develop a master workplan