RAISE Training Research Funds

Management

Challenges to Grant Administration

1. Every granting agency has its own set of spending rules, reporting requirements, and fiscal years. Furthermore, a single granting agency can have many different programs within it. NSERC has over 40 unique programs!

= MANY DIFFERENT POTS OF MONEY

2. A single Research Fund has a number of people posting expenses to it, ie. HR payments, expense claims, purchase orders, debit

memos, and revenues.= MANY DIFFERENT HANDS IN EACH POT

3. Sponsors are expecting an ever-growing level of accountability from grantees:

- More comprehensive application processes- Increased monitoring visits- Greater reporting detail required- Intensifying research ethics rules concerning human/animal subjects and hazardous materials

= THE HEAT ON THE POTS IS RISING

4. Research, by its very nature, is constantly evolving.

Thus, the management of grantsmust adapt to accommodate those shifts:

-Extended end dates-Budget revisions-Personnel changes -Technological advancements

= THE POTS THEMSELVES ARE ALWAYS CHANGING

Common Fund Problem #1

Fund Overdrawn due to Payroll posting

Common Fund Problem #2Payroll posting to incorrect CFC/Fund combination:

Common Fund Problem #3

Actuals exceed Revenue, w/ no further Revenue to be received

To help solve these problems, two new automated processes are being instituted in AMS:

#1. Automated Fund Closeout

#2. Payroll Redirect

#1. Automated Fund CloseoutThe Closeout runs against a Fund two years after the Grant End Date, or earlier if all revenues are received and reports are finalized.

What happens when a Fund is Closed Out: - Any Commitments are released - A “Fund Inactive” status is placed - Most importantly, the Fund is adjusted so that Revenue=Expenses=Budget

THE 1ST AUTO FUND CLOSEOUT RAN ON MARCH 1st, 2011

*for now, Tri-Council grants (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) are exempt from the Rev=Exp=Bud auto-correction due to the unique way in which revenues are posted to these accounts

Revenue = Expenses = BudgetThe Automated Fund Closeout will take the $174,663 of Expenses in excess of Revenue ($232,402.13 - $57,739.13) out of Fund 404079 and charge it to the PI CFC holding the Fund.

The $174,633 will be charged to the Target CFC 200432.It will be charged against a new GL#, 891315, with text reading:

“Overdraft transfer from CFC xxxxxx/Fund xxxxxx”

#2. Payroll RedirectAny HR payment assigned to a:

- a Fund with an insufficient balance, OR - an incorrect CFC/Fund combination, OR

- a Fund with a NO POST applied to itwill be RE-DIRECTED TO THE CFC specified in the HRIS entry

THESE PROBLEMS WILL NO LONGER OCCUR:

Common Problem #1 – Fund Overdrawn due to Payroll posting

Common Problem #2 – Payroll posting to incorrect CFC/Fund combination

NO POSTS – The Full Definition

A No Post blocks any expenses/revenues from posting against a Fund.

However, it is equally important that researchers are not to engage in the research activities associated with the ethics protocol in question.

NO POST = NO RESEARCH

When a Payroll Reject occurs because of a No Post, you can’t just wait until the No Post lifts and then retroactively assign the previous months’ pay to that same Fund.

You must first consider in what period that salary was incurred!

Research Fund Summary ReportThe new Research Fund Summary Report simplifies the process of tracking a unit’s entire Research Fund portfolio by combining functionalities from a number of other reports, including:

- Funding: Fund Centre or Fund- Fund Balance Listing Report- Display FReD- FReD Batch Report

Running this Report on a regular basis allows you to easily see Funds of all statuses, including two new ones: Final Report Submitted and Final Payment Received.

Research Fund Summary Report: 4 Screens1. Selection Screen

FILTERS Narrow down the data, use “AND” functionality, not

“OR”

SEARCHCRITERIAAuto Closeout Date: use 01.01.0001 to 28.02.2011to see all Funds AutoClosing at the Feb 28th deadline

2. Summary Report – View by Fund Total

FC Count: # of Fund Centres associated with the Fund

Exception (Traffic light): indicates risk level of Fund

Note that this field only shows one message at a time.

It shows the message with the highest level of risk or urgency.

See the “Ranking of Messages” handout.

3. Summary Report – View by Fund and FC

Now we see the FC and FC Name instead of FC Count

Multi-FC Funds show up once for every FC linked to the Fund

- See Fund 411699

4. Simulation Report – what would happen if Auto Closeout ran today, on all Funds regardless of status (Balanced/Overdrawn)?

Why run the Simulation?

- shows outstanding Commitments on all Funds

- the Excess Expenditure column shows all Funds where Revenues have not yet caught up to Expenses = AMOUNT YOUR FUNDS ARE CURRENTLY LEVERAGED BY ADVANCED BUDGETS

- by using the Auto Closeout Date search criteria in the Selection Screen, you can limit your Simulation to only those Funds that are actually Auto Closing in the near future

How to Track Payroll RedirectsFI Line Item Report (to see Redirects)

Redirected Pays will have:

1. REJECT in Assignment field2. One of the following texts (identifies intended Fund and reason for redirect): Postings from Payroll Accounting-Reject 410199NoPo Postings from Payroll Accounting-Reject 452123Ended

Postings from Payroll Accounting-Reject 408144NSF

Payroll Distribution Report (to see payees’ names)

Consequences of the Automated Processes Going Forward...

The two new processes, Automated Fund Closeout and Payroll Redirect, will reduce the administrative workload on Financial Officers and significantly improve the financial integrity of U of T Research Funds.

However, both processes also result in the PI CFCs getting debited by charges now moved away from Funds.

FUNDS ARE MORE PROTECTED CFCs ARE MORE VULNERABLE

These CFCs are very important to Researchers, as they hold valuable unrestricted Funds.

The challenge going forward is to ensure that CFC balances are not being spent on otherwise-eligible grant expenses.

Effective Research Fund Administration

• Run the Research Fund Summary Report on a routine basis! (and send copies to your Chairs to keep them in the loop)

• Monitor the PI CFCs – will be hit with Payroll Redirects and Auto Closeout of Funds where final Expenses > Budget/Revenue

• Strongly encourage all of your PIs to use MROL regularly

• Lastly, remember that the process demands a joint effort between the Sponsor, the Central Research Office, the Divisional Office, and the PI.

We’re all in this together!