Departments are responsible for reviewing charges posted to sponsored project funds. There are two main aspects to monitoring expenses:
- Monthly: Determine if charges are appropriate and allowable.
- Make sure expense transactions and amounts posted are correct.
- Review encumbrance balances. If there are no outstanding obligations, you should lift the encumbrances.
- Make sure expenses comply with applicable agency, UC, and federal guidelines.
- Research questionable charges and correct errors:
- Process timely expense transfers to move expenses incorrectly posted.
- Resolve incorrect recharges with the department that originated the charge (Bookstore, Imprints, Animal Resources, Telecommunications, etc.).
- Remove overdrafts.
- Periodically: Make sure that expenses fit within required categories and budget amounts. Most awards restrict spending to the categories and amounts budgeted as well as the amount authorized to spend in an annual period.
- Review expense categories.
- Compare the approved award budget to cumulative expenses for each expense category.
- Determine the current ending budget balance for each expense category.
- Determine or estimate future expense requirements for each budgeted category.
- Determine which budgeted categories will be overspent per your projections.
- Rebudget or transfer expenses as needed.
- Rebudgeting: In the event of a budget overdraft (expense categories will be overspent, but the total awarded amount will not be exceeded), request a revision to the award budget per agency guidelines. If the request is denied by the agency, remove the expense from the fund.
Note: Timely approval from the agency is important! Otherwise, rebudgeted expenses could be disallowed by the agency.
- Expense transfers: In the event of an award overdraft, process expense transfers to move the overdraft from the fund.
Note: Be sure to review overdrafts for each expense category, keeping in mind not only the approved budget but also expense limitations and items that may not be allowed. Move unallowable or questionable expenses first when clearing an overdraft. Do not transfer expenses that would have been allowed by the agency or reported as subsequent expenses on the final report.
- Determine if the award will be underspent at the end of the budget or project period.
If the principal investigator (PI) wants to use the available balance past the period termination date, review agency guidelines for options and instructions, including:
- No-cost extension: If approval is required to continue the project and spend beyond the termination date, request an extension to the budget or project termination date.
- Carryover: If approval is required to spend the balance in a separately funded period or transfer the balance to an award continuation, process a request to carryover the balance to the new period.
Questions? Please see OPAFS Contacts.
|
At Your Service Online
