Daily Management of Awards Tamara Hill Hill Manager

Daily Management of Awards Tamara Hill, Hill Manager, Office of Grants and Contracts Administration, University of North Carolina Charlotte Jennifer Crockett, Crockett Director, Sponsored Projects Finance, Columbia University 1

Overview • Best Practices for Managing Awards • Pre-Award • Post-Award • Close-Out • Ongoing Compliance Concerns • Tips and Tools • Training 2

Pre-Award Receipt of Award Proposal Preparation Project Budget Award Negotiation Audit Compliance with terms & conditions, Federal regulations Set up Account Notify Faculty Award Cycle Post Award Project accounting Transaction review Cash Advances Billing Reimbursements Receivables/Collections Financial Reporting Project Close-out Terminate account Submit final reports 3

Institution Policies and Procedures Roles and Responsibilities 4

Pre-Award • Proposal Preparation • Deadlines (RFA, RFP, PA, Non-Solicited) • Agency Guidelines • Budget Projections • Negotiations 5

Receipt of Award • Review Awarding Instrument • Prior-Approval Requirements • Budget Restrictions • Carry-over limitations • Establish Account • Notify all Involved Parties 6

Managing the Award • Spending • Personnel • Cost Sharing • Allowable vs. Unallowable (OMB Circulars) • Subcontracts • Procurement Cards 7

Managing the Award • Monitoring Subcontractors • Approving Invoices • Prime is responsible for the subcontractors performance • PI MUST approve the payment • Verify the Math • Look for Obvious Errors • Site Visits 8

Managing the Award • Procurement Cards • • • Enforce Written Policy Documentation Using Sponsored Projects Account as Default Set Dollar Limits Audit Frequently 9

Managing the Award • • Verifying Expenditures Documentation Cost Transfers Grant Reports (to Faculty) 10

Project Close-Out • Terminate Spending • Final Reconciliations • Submission of Reports • • Financial Technical Invention Statements Property Reports 11

On-Going Concerns • • • Foreign Travel Budget Reallocations Supplemental Request to Awards Cost Sharing Documentation *Effort Reporting *Audits 12

On-Going Concerns Effort Reporting • • Importance in Audits Accurate the first time PI’s Review Signed and Reported Timely 13

On-Going Concerns Audits ØAuditors test for: • Unallowable Costs (focus on cost transfers) • Documentation to Support the Charges to the Award • Reasonableness and Allocability of the charge • Program Income • Timeliness of Reports 14

On-Going Concerns Audits ØKeys to a Successful Audit • • • Organized Files Documentation for Expenses Appropriate Approvals Audit Trails Knowledge of Policies and Procedures 15

On-Going Concerns Audits ØAuditor Management • Don’t Ramble or provide additional information – give short, concise answers • Always accompany the auditors when they visit the PI • Keep track of all questions and responses 16

Training Ø The key to ensure proper management of sponsored projects is training of all personnel • At minimum topics should include Circulars and Institutional Policies & Procedures • Should be Offered Consistently and Frequently • Can be formal and informal (i. e. brown bags vs. workshops) • External training opportunities (i. e. NCURA, Sponsor offerings) 17

QUESTIONS? ? 18

Contact Information: Jennifer Crockett Columbia University jcrockett@columbia. edu Tamara Hill University of North Carolina Charlotte thill 55@uncc. edu 19