GRANTS
Tracy Reda and Katie Johnson are the grants management leads in the REBO. All questions concerning grant accounting should be directed to Tracy.
Training for grants accounting or standard and custom reports are available upon request.
- Instructions for Submitting a Proposal
- Grant Set-up
- Verbal Approval
- No-Cost Extensions
- Monitoring the Grant
- Grant Closing Check List
- Instructions for depositing Research Corporation Program Income
Useful Links:
The Office of Sponsored Programs
Federal Regulations ? OMB Circulars ? Direct Link
Grants Management Procedures
Grants Accounting in MAP
Instructions for Submitting a Proposal
All proposals with blue sheet and supplemental forms B and C attached should be routed through the REBO Grants Management Lead prior to submission to the Office of Sponsored Programs. If the proposal is initiated from one of the Research Departments at the Chestnut Ridge Professional Building, or the Regional Research Institute, fax a copy of the blue sheet and budget pages to Tracy/Katie for review. A copy of the entire proposal can sent to Tracy/Katie in the campus mail.
Quick checklist for proposal submission:
- Work closely w/ REBO GML in establishing budgets and task set-ups
- All supplemental forms are attached
- All signatures acquired
- Check OSP website for helpful information
Blue Sheet, Supplement Form B and C and other Forms ? Direct Link
Current F&A and Benefits Rates ? Direct Link
Listed below are important things to check prior to the proposal submission:
- Have the correct fringe and F&A rates been applied?
- Are budgets correct and F&A applied only where applicable
- Have signatures been obtained from all interested parties listed on the blue sheet
- Have necessary initials been obtained in relation to cost-share obligations as outlined on page one of blue sheet?
- REBO is the Financial Administrative Unit for proposals w/in the Research Office
- Mary T. Reda is the Business Office Award manager for proposals w/in the Research Office
- Check OSP website for more helpful hints
Grant Set-up
Prior to proposal, indirect cost rates are approved by a Cognizant Auditing Agency. Using the approved indirect cost rates, a proposal is submitted to the Grantor through the Research Expert Business Office (REBO) and then to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). The Grantor sends written award notification to the department through OSP. OSP sends award notification (green sheet) and attachments to Sponsored Research Accounting, the REBO, to the Department Director, and to the PI’s. Tracy/Katie works with the PI in the proposal stage to assure that the budget breakdown is clear and appropriate.
At the award stage, Tracy/Katie and the PI work together to make sure all grant tasks and cost share accounts are divided appropriately. Tracy/Katie then works with the OSP grant specialists to assure that the grant is appropriately set up in Oracle.
Once a grant is awarded, OSP works w/ the grants management lead in getting the award established properly in Oracle. Therefore, it is imperative that the grants management lead work closely with the departments at the proposal stage, in addition to receiving a copy of the proposal, once submitted to OSP. In the most optimal scenario, the grants management lead has already created the ?task set-up? for budgets that have been included in the proposal. Thus, OSP need only look at the proper documentation in the proposal for establishing task budgets w/in Oracle. It is requested that departments do not work alone w/ OSP in getting the grant established in Oracle, instead working through the REBO.
NOTE: VERBAL APPROVAL
It is the PI and REBO?s goal to make sure the grant is received in time to be processed prior to payroll timelines for employees who are to be paid from the grant funds. If this cannot be done, the PI can follow the procedures to obtain 25% of the grant from verbal approval.
Contact Tracy/Katie for more information.
NO-COST EXTENSIONS
It is the PI?s responsibility to apply for a no-cost extension with the sponsoring agency through the REBO and OSP if the grant?s objectives are not going to be fulfilled by the end of the grant period. If payroll is dependent upon receiving the no-cost extension, it is imperative that the green sheet that reflects the extension be received by the payroll timeline.
Contact Tracy/Katie for more information.
Grant Monitoring
It is the responsibility of the grants management lead, as well as the liaisons and PIs, to monitor the activity on grants received. The responsibility of the GML in monitoring is ascertaining that expenditures billed to the grant are applicable to the award, that expenditures do not outweigh budgets and that all invoices are paid in a timely manner. As a general rule of thumb, there is a 90-day window of opportunity to pay outstanding invoices and make payment adjustments on an expiring grant, and a 120-day window for non-expiring grants.
Grant Closing Checklist
The financial close-out of a sponsored award is a combined effort between the PI, the departmental support staff, the Research Expert Business Office (REBO), the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), and the Controller?s Office of Sponsored Research Accounting (SRA). The checklist below should serve as a timeline and to assist you in ensuring that the federal and institutional requirements for your sponsored award are met. The time line is based on the federal regulation that requires financial close out to be completed 90 days after the end date of the sponsored award. Please note that some award documents require close out to be completed in a shorter time frame.
Three Months Prior to Award Expiration Date:- Determine if sponsored activity can be completed by expiration date of the award. If not, contact OSP to request a no-cost extension.
- Confirm that cost-sharing expenditures are being made according to the budget and will fulfill the award requirement by the expiration date (both internal and external cost-share). Contact REBO for cost-share concerns.
- Determine if any additional purchases are required for your sponsored award. All goods and services must be received and completed by the end date of the award.
- Limit the use of purchase orders and credit card purchases to those items that can be received prior to the award expiration date as well as invoiced within 30 days.
- Correct any over-expenditure conditions that exist or are anticipated.
- The PI should complete and file technical reports
- Ensure that no over-expenditures have occurred on the sponsored award
- Ensure that all cost-sharing has occurred, been appropriately documented, and been communicated to REBO (both external and internal cost-share).
- Ensure that all effort reports have been signed and returned.
- Obtain and process all final vendor invoices directly related to goods and services directly charged to the sponsored award.
- Process all cost-transfers/expenditure reductions necessary to appropriately allocate expenditures to the sponsored award and to correct any clerical errors
- Cancel or assign to alternative funding:
- all personnel costs
- all long distance telephone access accounts (TIDs), and other telephone related charges
- all postage accounts
- all outstanding purchase orders
- For fixed price awards, drug studies, and clinical trials only, forward completed form letter to REBO for validation directing Sponsored Research Accounting regarding disposition of any positive cash residual.
- Assist all parties in the closeout process
- The REBO and Sponsored Research Accounting will work together
- close any outstanding purchase orders
- verify that no further liabilities are recorded in the institutional accounting system.
- review fringe charges through life of award and make any necessary corrections
- review indirect cost charges through life of award and make any necessary corrections
- document cost-sharing and verify that cost-sharing requirement has been met.
- verify that award budget has been spent appropriately
- prepare final invoice (SRA)
- prepare final financial report (SRA)
- perform UBIT analysis, if appropriate (SRA)
- transfer or return to agency any positive cash residual as appropriate (SRA).
Instructions for depositing WVURC Program Income (See Accounts Receivable Page)