NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting

NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting
3/21/2017 PARs and Effort Reporting NURAMP Spring 2017

3/21/2017 Workshop Objectives By the end of this workshop, you will be able to: Understand UNL’s Personnel Activity Report (PAR) form Identify all parts of a PAR Name the reasons for completing a PAR consistently and accurately Complete an example PAR

3/21/2017 Objectives, continued Accurately certify expended effort on federally and some non-federally funded projects under a cost share agreement Develop a system for efficiently completing and certifying a PAR Coach others (faculty, students and staff) about how to complete a PAR

3/21/2017 Main Workshop Topics About PARs and effort reporting Certification steps Reporting cost share Reporting for 9/12 employees

About PARs and Effort Reporting
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 About PARs and Effort Reporting The mechanism used to confirm that salaries charged to each sponsored agreement are reasonable in relation to the actual work performed. UNL has chosen the “after-the-fact” activity records methodology. At UNL, known as PARs (Personnel Activity Reports).

Reasons for Effort Reporting
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Reasons for Effort Reporting Federal regulations (Uniform Guidance 2CFR§ ) require institutions that receive federal funds to maintain systems that accurately reflect the work performed and provide reasonable assurance the charges are accurate, allowable and properly allocated. Reporting is required for all employees paid from federal or federal flow-through projects and/or under a cost sharing agreement.

3/21/2017 When is a PAR created? When salary is from a federal or federal pass-through source (salary certification) 24-XXXX-XXXX-XXX 25-XXXX-XXXX-XXX Some 26-XXXX-XXXX-XXX When cost share is required - quantifiable For IANR Hatch/Smith-Lever cost objects 21-62DD-0762 federal funds 21-62DD-0862 state match 21-63DD-0763 federal funds 21-63DD-0863 state match

How often are PARs generated?
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 How often are PARs generated? Three times a year: June distribution For the spring period: January through May September distribution For the summer period: June through August: January distribution For the fall period: September through December

3/21/2017 Who certifies the PAR? A person with first-hand knowledge of the effort: Employee Supervisor Principal Investigator Employees should report their own effort Or effort may be reported by a responsible person using suitable means of verification that the work was performed

Why accurate and on-time PARs matter
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Why accurate and on-time PARs matter UNL must comply with Uniform Guidance 2CFR§ to avoid: Loss of federal funds Debarment list Inability to receive future federal funds Disallowance of items of expense upon audit

Parts of a PAR Form Your identifying information appears on the top left side of the form. On the right, you’ll see the reporting period and the name of the responsible person. Typically, this will be the PI on the first federally sponsored project listed. Along the left side are listed 9 activity categories. In some cases (usually when the funding source is federal, federal flow-through, or cost share), you’ll see a preprinted cost object in one or more categories. You’ll have to show where all your effort went by entering a % of effort figure for the appropriate categories. Just remember – total effort must add up to 100% – no more, no less. The only exception is if you are the responsible person certifying for someone whose effort was divided between two or more departments – we’ll explain more later. Here’s a brief explanation of the nine categories listed on the PAR form.

3/21/2017 Categories of effort Instruction Teaching, training and direct administration activities, including departmental research. All research and development activities that ARE NOT separately budgeted and accounted for as organized research. Research Includes organized research, except Ag Experiment Station All research and development activities that ARE separately budgeted and accounted for

3/21/2017 Categories of effort Public Service: Public Service related programs and projects Financed by federal and non-federal agencies Not instruction or organized research (excludes cooperative extension) Other Sponsored Activities: Public Service activities, except cooperative extension Funded by federal and non-federal agencies.

3/21/2017 Categories of effort Agricultural Experiment Station: All research activities separately budgeted and accounted for Administered by the Agricultural Experiment Station All Agricultural Experiment Station research activities included, whether funded from university, Hatch, or any other federal or non-federal funds.

3/21/2017 Categories of effort Cooperative Extension Service: All extension service activities administered by the Cooperative Extension Service Division of the Institute for Agriculture & Natural Resources (IANR). Patient Care Services .

3/21/2017 Categories of effort Administration (all administrative effort) Student administration Advising and counseling; student affairs and service activities Departmental administration Administrative and supporting activities Benefit an academic department’s common or joint departmental objectives Sponsored project administration Effort to develop and administer sponsored projects College/school administration Supervisory, managerial, or administrative duties in dean’s office General administration University-wide general executive and administrative activities or committee efforts

3/21/2017 Categories of effort Other Institutional Activities Public/community service activities and extension services Funded by institutional funds: e.g., State Museum, University Television Plus UNL’s auxiliary operations Resident halls, unions, libraries, or athletics.

Parts of a PAR Form, continued
Now let’s get back to the remaining parts of the PAR form. On the left, next to the list of activity categories, is a column for you to fill in percentage amounts that reflect the amount of effort you gave in each relevant activity category. On the right side, you’ll see a list of all work periods covered by the reporting period – in this case, the PAR applies to a monthly paid employee for the fall reporting period, so you see four months of salary information. Salary is broken into increments by cost object, and the description column identifies the source of the funds for each cost object. The account column is not used in effort calculations. The actual salary amount is listed for each cost object. Benefits are not included in effort calculations. You’ll note that on this PAR form, two cost objects are already entered in the activity column – under research and public service. These are federally funded projects – in each case, the “25” at the beginning of the cost object indicates that the fund are paid from a federal source. Note, however, that the cost objects for federally funded work may not ALWAYS preprint in the activity column. In such cases, you’ll need to write in the cost object. The total effort is filled in for you – reminding you that all numbers in the percent of effort column must add up to 100 percent. There is a box for remarks – we’ll talk more about how to use this box most effectively in a few minutes. The final – and most critical – area of the form is space for you to PRINT your name, sign the form, and note the date. Print Your Name Sign Your Name Date

Steps for the Certification
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Steps for the Certification Ignore cost objects and other items if no effort is associated with the payment (e.g.,fellowships, professorships, workstudy, stipends, cell phone charges, federal retirement, WBS #s from other campuses, negative amounts). Identify cost objects under your department’s scope. Calculate the % for each cost object and handwrite it on the left hand side of the form under the correct category.

Steps for the Certification, continued
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Steps for the Certification, continued Use “remarks” if needed to: Explain why some cost objects were ignored Indicate that just a portion of the 100% was certified Indicate that the cost share was modified Indicate 9/12 appointment Alert Sponsored Programs that other action is required. Print name and date. Sign the form. Return to Sponsored Programs before due date (45 days from date PAR was received).

3/21/2017 Try It! Using the handout, work alone or in pairs to complete a basic PAR form.

3/21/2017 Return to: Post Award Admin 151 Prem S. Paul Research Center 0861 Jane Jones 10 20 40 30 : $4,000/$20,000 = 20% : $8,000/$20,000 = 40% : $6,000/$20,000 = 30% : $2,000/$20,000 = 10% Jane Jones Jane Jones 1/15/2014

3/21/2017 Common Odd Scenarios Items to ignore: professorships, fellowships, workstudy, stipends, cell phone charges, federal retirement, WBS’s from other campuses PAFs / Retros: Affecting same period & previous periods More than one department involved

3/21/2017 Fellowship Professorship Work study

PAFs / Retros: Same period
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 PAFs / Retros: Same period 80 4 16 Return to: Post Award Admin 151 Prem S. Paul Research Center 0861 313 $487 was incorrectly charged to the cost object

Retros: Different periods
Summer 2012 100 Re: retros, it’s very important to go back and review all of the PARs that are affected. If a PAR was already certified and a retro is made after the certification, then the PAR needs to be REVISED. Revised Spring 2012 The process is a little more cumbersome if the correction occurs in a subsequent reporting period. In this case, you need to make corrections on both the current PAR and any previous PARs associated with the error. In this example, the current PAR shows a negative amount for an NSF project, and because no other funds on this PAR are related to that project, we know that this amount was incorrectly charged to this project on a previous PAR. Find the PAR from the period (or periods) in which the error occurred. If you keep copies, it will be in your file. If you can’t find a copy, contact OSP and ask them to send it to you. In this case, the error occurred on the spring PAR, the period immediately before. To process the current PAR, strike through the negative amount, then calculate the percent of effort for the current PAR based on the new amount. SAP prefilled the cost object for the federally sponsored project, even though the salary amount was a negative number (all SAP knows is that salary is salary, no matter whether the salary amount is positive or negative). But no effort was actually devoted to that project in the reporting period, so we can cross off that number in the left hand column and proceed as usual. In this case, 100 percent of effort was devoted to the USDA –funded research project. Use the remarks box to explain that the amount 0f was incorrectly charged on the Spring 2012 PAR. On your copy of the spring PAR, cross out the item that was incorrectly paid, recalculate the totals, then correct the percent of effort for each project listed on the left side, based on new totals. Use the remarks box to explain why you made these changes, and note at the top of the form that it has been revised. Remember to make all changes and notations in red. 75 25 78.7 21.3 Remarks: Retro made on Summer PAR: $ was incorrectly charged to during May 2012

UNL Retroactive Payroll Justification Form
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 UNL Retroactive Payroll Justification Form Use this form for all retro adjustments older than 60 days. Go to the Sapphire website: Follow this path: Business Forms > UNL Business Forms > Human Resources > Forms (blank) > Retro PAF Instructions and Forms

More Than One Department Involved
145.00 54.40 JULIE JONES Department 2 Department 1 Department 2 Occasionally, a PAR will reflect effort given in more than one department. In this case, the PAR will be delivered to the primary department. If the person who actually gave the effort is the one who certifies the PAR, there’s no problem. But if someone else is certifying for the person (a student employee, perhaps), this example shows you what to do. In this case, the PAR is for a student who works for the Athletics Department, but a portion of his or her salary also is paid from Dr. Espy’s federal grant. The PAR form comes to Athletics first. In this case, if you know the student’s work and can certify for him or her, you first compute the total for each cost object and the overall salary total, as noted here; then calculate effort only for those activities under your department’s scope, and enter the effort percentage in the appropriate category – in this case, 4.1 percent. You sign the form, and make a notation in the Remarks box that you are certifying effort in Athletics only. Return the form to OSP, who will forward it to the other department. If you receive a form on which a portion of the effort has been certified by another department, follow the same procedure to calculate effort related to your department. OSP will have affixed a sticker to the form with your department’s name. This is where you sign to certify. In this case, OSP fprwards the form to Dr. Espy’s department and all she has to do is sign to certify that the preprinted effort percentage for the federally funded research project is correct. She signs the attached tag and returns the form to OSP. Dr. Jones Dr. Espy Department 1 notes: “Just Athletics effort” Department 1

3/21/2017 Reporting Cost Share Cost share is the portion of a project that is borne by the University If required as part of the project, UNL must document it was provided Items must conform with same rules/regulations as direct charges the award falls under Must support the work of the project Can include salary and non-salary items as well as third party

Some notes on cost share
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Some notes on cost share Cost share or matching funds must come from a valid source other than the sponsored project and are identified in the proposal/agreement/contract cannot come from another grant or sponsored project percentage cannot be greater than the portion of salary paid from non- grant funds There are two main types of cost share Mandatory Voluntary

Mandatory and Voluntary Definitions
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Mandatory and Voluntary Definitions Mandatory Required by sponsor as review criterion or condition of obtaining award Voluntary Resources offered when no requirement in the sponsor's funding announcement Nebraska strongly discourages voluntary cost sharing and it should not be offered or given for industry-sponsored projects Quantified voluntary cost sharing becomes a commitment if project funded, then it’s mandatory

Cost Share vs. Matching Funds
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Cost Share vs. Matching Funds Terms often used interchangeably Matching funds are specific type of cost share, where grantee “matches” sponsor funding according to sponsor-specified ratio Cost Share Matching

In-kind and Cash Definitions
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 In-kind and Cash Definitions In-kind Resources Nebraska already has available whether or not there are grant funds Examples: Existing state-funded faculty and staff time/effort that can be devoted specifically to project Waived or unrecovered indirect cost amount, if sponsor allows Cash New costs Nebraska would incur in support of the project – expenses wouldn’t exist if not for project Personnel to be hired by Nebraska specifically to help with project Project travel costs funded from a department account Registration fees Note: Not all sponsors define these terms the same. If a sponsor requires these costs to be identified separately, need to check definition they use for each.

Third-Party Cost Share
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Third-Party Cost Share DEFINITION: Contributions given to a specific grant or contract by individual or group from outside both university and sponsoring agency. This can be the most difficult form of cost share to document and track. Types of third-party contributions: In-kind Non-cash contribution, such as personnel time, supplies, materials, etc., provided by third-party Third-party responsible for adequately tracking and reporting to Nebraska their contributions Cash Cash commitment from non-Nebraska and non-project sponsor funding May come through a donation to the NU Foundation Note: Should the 3rd party fail to provide the promised match, Nebraska is responsible for providing it.

3/21/2017 Award with Cost Share When Nebraska accepts cost share as a condition of an award, Nebraska is required to maintain accurate records that are verifiable in our accounting system. The department is responsible for tracking and documenting non-personnel cost share. Details of documentation must be provided to OSP post-award for reporting.

Key Take-Away: Cost share expenditures can ONLY be used once
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Key Take-Away: Cost share expenditures can ONLY be used once Eligible costs can be allocated between multiple projects Example: You have 4 projects that all use a certain chemical, each project requires cost share. You have purchased $100 worth of the chemical. You can allocate an amount toward each project’s cost share requirement up to a total of $100. You must be able to justify the allocation just as you would for direct costs to the project.

3/21/2017

Reporting for 9/12 Employees
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Reporting for 9/12 Employees Salary for 9-month employees is paid over 12 months (9/12) A PAR may be issued when employee is not engaged in any work activities, but still receives a salary payment 9-month employees may be paid additional salary to teach or work on sponsored research in the summer

3/21/2017 Scenario 1: The employee gives no effort during the summer; the PAR form was generated only because the salary is split over 12 months Mark all percentages as 0. Cross out 100% total and write 0. Remarks box: Indicate that the employee is paid 9/12 and That all effort was expended during the academic year (September-May).

3/21/2017 Scenario 2: The employee gives effort during summer only to a sponsored project (no teaching) Cross off all instructional salary sources Record instructional effort as 0. Calculate effort for sponsored research (or other non-teaching activities) using funding sources for those projects. Remarks box: Indicate that the employee is paid 9/12 and All effort for the summer months was expended on the sponsored project(s).

Example, no instruction
NURAMP Elective: PARs and Effort Reporting 3/21/2017 Example, no instruction 0.0 74 26 REMARKS: 9/12 employee, no instruction given during summer

3/21/2017 PARs Guidebook Please access our Guidebook for Completing the Personnel Activity Reports. It can be found at: For Further Assistance . . . Contact the Office of Sponsored Programs Samantha Swanson

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