»Project Reporting and Closeout

Purpose:
To comply with the federal Office of Management and Budget Circular A-21 (Cost principles for Educational Institutions) for documenting salary expenses charged directly or indirectly against federal sponsored projects.

Policy Statement:
The time and effort reporting system addresses employees funded by or cost shared on sponsored programs at Chapman University. Individual effort reports are required for all employees who are directly charged or cost shared on sponsored research projects.

The Time and Effort report must represent - in percentages totaling 100% - a reasonable estimate of an employee's compensated effort for the period being reported. Effort reports must be completed and signed by either the employee or Principal Investigator/Project Manager. The Principal Investigator/Project Manager shall review and certify all Time and Effort reports associated with the sponsored project using suitable means of verification that the reported work was performed.

The Grants Administrator is responsible for the collection, review, and retention of all Time and Effort reports. The Grants Administrator will make individually reported data available only to authorized auditors.

Time and Effort reports must be completed and signed following the end of a reporting period.

In certain circumstances, a charge may be posted to an incorrect project code. When this happens, a correcting journal entry is required to move the cost to the correct project code. Contact us for explanations for how the need for a cost transfer arises, the requirements of a cost transfer journal entry, and the method for processing cost transfers through the accounting systems.

Cost Transfer Policy and Procedures

This policy has been established to aid Principal Investigators (PIs) and departments in closing sponsored projects upon project expiration. Chapman University is responsible for meeting reporting deadlines established by an awarding sponsor and, consequently, it is important to conclude certain program activities in order to generate the final closing documents. Failure to do so can result in negative consequences to the Principal Investigator and/or the University.

Award Closeout Checklist

Costing guidance provided in the OMB circulars, including the federal Cost Principles and OMB Circular A-21, generally does not apply to non-federal sponsored awards. Non-federal sponsors may have their own expenditure policies; however, in the absence of such policies, award recipients adhere to federal regulations and guidelines, as these establish uniform administrative, cost principles, and audit requirements.

Guideline on Residual Balance Amounts on Fixed Price Sponsored Agreements and Residual Balance Transfer Form

Background:

A Fixed Price Sponsored Agreement is a formal contract in which Chapman University commits to delivering a clearly defined set of outcomes in exchange for a specified and fixed amount of compensation. Typically, sponsors approve the scope of work and its associated value but do not provide specific guidelines on how the funds should be allocated. Upon completion, such agreements may result in either a residual amount (where the payment for the deliverables exceeds the incurred expenses) or a deficit amount (where the expenses exceed the agreed-upon payment).

It is essential that the project code used to record payments and expenses accurately reflect the genuine costs associated with the deliverables.

 

Review of Residual Amounts:

Upon completion of the agreement, receipt of concurrence from the sponsor, and charging all project expenses to the award, Sponsored Projects Services will conduct a review to determine the amount of unused funds and the sponsor’s requirement for the unspent funds. This review will ensure that all project costs have been accurately charged, including the full federally negotiated research Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate.

• If the residual balance exceeds 25% of the awarded amount, an explanation is required. This may indicate a change in scope and is subject to review by the Sponsored Projects Services. Following the review, Sponsored Projects Services will determine whether the residual balance will be transferred to the PI, the unit, or the VPR IDC accounts.
• If the residual balance is less than 25% of the awarded amount, the balance will be transferred to an unrestricted account (usually the PI’s IDC account).

 

All the correspondence regarding the transfer of the Residual Balance should be saved in the project folder.

 

If Costs Exceed the Sponsor’s Funding at Project Completion

In the event that project costs exceed the sponsor’s funding upon completion, Sponsored Projects Services will undertake one or more of the following measures until all project costs are fully addressed:

• Request an alternative unrestricted funding source to cover the overrun from the department administrator or the PI.
• Transfer the excess costs to the unrestricted account/s, provided that sufficient funds are available.

 

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

The Residual Balance Transfer Form

Project Code: _____________ Sponsored by: _______________________________

I certify that:

• All the work on the project has been completed
• No outstanding items remain open or in question with the sponsor
• All reports have been received an accepted by the sponsor
• All costs for the project are applied to the project’s accounting code
• All payments for the project have been received from the sponsor

 

Total Budget: _______________________

Total Expenditures: __________________________

Residual Amount: ____________________________

Project code to transfer residual amount to: ________

Is residual amount greater than 25% of the budgeted amount? (circle one) YES NO

If yes, please explain the residual balance

 

 

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Principal Investigator                                                                                                                     Date

 

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Dean/Chair                                                                                                                                              Date