Current Procedure: The F&A job runs in CUFS on a weekly basis. This job uses a Series Code to charge F&A to a sponsored project. The Series Code is set up on the GDES table. It lets CUFS know the appropriate F&A rate to use and the base (the set of object codes) against which the rate should be applied. When this job is run, F&A charges are incurred based on the eligible expenses that have posted to the project since the last time the F&A job ran. A lump sum transaction credits the Central F&A Pool using Revenue Code 4350-00 and debits Object Code 8500-00 on the sponsored project. Twice a year, staff in the Budget Office process transactions to transfer the F&A recovery dollars to the Resource Responsibility Centers (RRCs) associated with the academic departments that generated the F&A.
Procedure change with implementation of the EFS: The F&A process in PeopleSoft will run on a nightly basis beginning in early July. Although there will not be a Series Code in PeopleSoft, the new process will use a rate and a base that have been established in the Projects Module by the Grant Administrator during award set up. When the F&A process runs overnight it will charge F&A to the Project based on the expenses that have posted to the project during the previous day. Each eligible expense transaction will result in a corresponding F&A transaction. The F&A transaction will debit the Project using Account Code 810501 and will credit the designated DeptID and Program UM003 using Account Code 460101. The designated DeptID will normally be that of the Resource Responsibility Center associated with the Project’s department.
PeopleSoft can also accommodate F&A revenue sharing agreements. These agreements are often handled at the department level today. In the future, the Grant Administrator may use the Projects Module to designate the department(s) that should receive the F&A revenue. The department to which the grant belongs will normally be the default recipient of F&A revenue. However, projects can also be set up with F&A revenue distributions going to multiple departments by percentage. The percentage distribution must be communicated to the SPA Grant Administrator. This communication should happen at some time prior to acceptance of the award. Complete the Establishing or Modifying F&A Allocations form on the EFS-SP web site, and submit to your SPA Grant Administrator. The EFS friendly budget form will also include a field to request F&A split. All participating departments on that project must agree to the change, and the change will be effective only for future F&A allocations (any past adjustments must be done via journal entry among the impacted units).
What does that really mean for academic departments?
(1) Departments and Principal Investigators will be able to view up to date project spending and unspent balances (no more waiting a week for F&A to hit) and be in a better position to make project spending decisions. (2) Resource Responsibility Centers will see their F&A allocations nightly! (3) The F&A allocations can be split systematically between multiple DeptIDs. For example, if the department wants 75% of all F&A recovery to go to Department A and 25% to go to Department B, this can be indicated within the Projects module. The Department should notify the SPA Grant Administrator of any F&A sharing agreements prior to the award being set up. NOTE: Colleges and Departments handle their F&A reallocations differently. It is the responsibility of RRC managers and Department Administrators to determine the extent and frequency of F&A reallocations (if any) within their Colleges or Departments. Contact your RRC Manager or Department Administrator if you are unsure of how the process is handled in your area.
|
