»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

Background:

A Fixed Price Sponsored Agreement is an agreement where Chapman University agrees to perform an agreed upon set of specified deliverables in exchange for a set (fixed) amount of compensation. Typically, the sponsors agree to the scope of the work to be performed, with an agreed upon value, but provide no details of how the funds are to be spent. Such agreements may result in a situation where a residual amount (payment for the specified deliverables exceeds expenses) or a deficit amount (expenses exceed the agreed upon payment amount) exists upon the fulfillment of the agreement.

It is important that the project code used to collect payments and record costs accurately reflect the true costs of the deliverables. In addition, costs used directly in support of fulfilling the agreed upon terms, are subject to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions.

Review of Residual Amounts:

When work is completed on the agreement, concurrence with sponsor has been received, and all project expenses have been charged to the award, Sponsored Projects Services will review for the amount of unused funds. This review will ensure that all costs of the projects have been charged including full federally-negotiated research Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate.

1. If the residual balance is greater than 25% of the awarded amount, an explanation of the amount is required. A residual of this amount may signify a change in scope and is subject to review by the sponsor and Sponsored Projects Services.

2. If the residual balance is less than 25% of the awarded amount, the balance will be transferred to an unrestricted account.

 

In order for the transfer to be performed, the Residual Balance Transfer Form must be completed by the Principal Investigator and signed by the Department Chair or Dean. The following items must be confirmed or provided:

1. All the work on the project has been completed

2. No outstanding items remain open or in question with the sponsor

3. All reports have been received and accepted by the sponsor

4. All costs for the project applied to the project

5. All payments for the project have been received from the sponsor

6. Project code where the residual will be transferred to

 

If Costs Exceed the Sponsor’s Funding at Project Completion

If costs exceed the sponsor’s funding at project completion, the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects Services will take one or more of the following steps until all project costs are covered:

1. Write a memo to the principal investigator requesting an alternative unrestricted fund source to absorb the overrun;

2. Move the excess costs to the principal investigators unrestricted accounts under control of the investigator, if funds are available;

3. Contact the Department Chair, Director, Dean, or other contact person at the college level for an unrestricted account to absorb the cost overruns.

 

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

CERTIFICATION OF FIXED PRICE PROJECT COMPLETION 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

_________________________ __________ _____________________________ ________

Principal Investigator Date Dean/Chair Date

Submit form to: Office of Research (sps@chapman.edu)