Note: The information below is for trained users of the ECERT system. For information on ECERT training, see:

• Online training materials
• Staff Education classes for security administrators, assigned reviewers, and effort certifiers

Learn about ECERT best practices

Certification of effort charged to federal awards is a critical compliance area with significant risk potential to the university and its federally-funded research.

The Office of Post Award Financial Services (OPAFS) has provided a list of best practices to help ensure accuracy and timeliness during the certification process of employees paid through federal research awards.

To learn about ECERT best practices, click the links below:

• Recommended distribution of labor within your business office
• Best practices for implementation within your business office
• Best practices for reviewing reports
• Best practices for implementation with principal investigators
• Best practices for staying in compliance

Recommended distribution of labor within your business office
Distribute labor between these 3 staff roles:

1. The intended certifier is the principal investigator (PI). The PI will certify effort for all members paid on his/her indexes.
2. Identify who will have the role of preparer. This can be the fund manager(s) or other appointees. The preparer will do the following:
   • Preview PI certification lists on MyProjects
   • Perform adjustments for payroll expense transfers (PETs) and chart of accounts (COA) errors
   • Train PIs on how to use ECERT
   • Monitor the status of certifications for individual PIs
3. Identify a primary preparer. This can be the management service officer (MSO), department business officer (DBO), or other appointee. The primary preparer will:
   • Monitor certifications for the whole department
   • Provide statistical progress reports within the department

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Best practices for implementation within your business office

• Introduce ECERT to all business office staff and explain the transition from the paper personal activity report (PAR) process. Address their concerns about process changes.
• Train fund managers thoroughly.  (OPAFS will come out to departments to train groups, or individuals can attend Staff Education courses.)
• Review chart of accounts and determine where COA overrides are needed to correct fund manager/ PI assignments.
• Encourage all preparers to "subscribe" to their researchers in order to view what the PIs view.
• Ensure that fund managers have a thorough understanding of ECERT data, how data is gathered, and how it is affected by PETs.

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Best practices for reviewing reports

• Review ECERT data for completeness as soon as it becomes available:
  • Ensure that all participants on federal awards have effort reports.
  • Verify that all PET/ COA adjustments are reflected.
  • Notify the faculty/ researchers when you are ready for them to certify.
• If a PET is necessary, adjust the payroll percentages in ECERT for the anticipated payroll change prior to PI certification, if possible.
• Identify areas of concern and, if necessary, contact the ECERT Help Desk.

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Best practices for implementation with principal investigators

• Ask the director or chair to speak at a faculty meeting about the importance of effort reporting.
• Develop PI training strategies. (For example, target the PIs with the most employees to certify first, or PIs who are the most technologically savvy.)
• If a PI is unfamiliar with Single Sign-on, enter their UCSD e-mail address as their username and choose "Reset your password." The researcher will receive a password via e-mail to access ECERT.
• Meet with principal investigators individually, especially the first time you ask them to certify.
• Point the PIs to the Quick Reference Guide for Certifiers.
• Establish internal deadlines for the PIs. (Certification is due 120 days after the end of the quarter.)
• Develop e-mail templates for future communication with PIs.

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Best practices for staying in compliance

• Appoint a primary preparer who will review ECERT status regularly to identify problem areas.
• Alert fund managers to situations of noncompliance and remind them to communicate directly with their respective PIs to address any actions required for compliance.
• Hold biweekly meetings between fiscal managers, fund managers, and other fiscal staff to discuss ECERT compliance and other key issues.
• Set up an appointment with the PI to certify in person if an e-mail notification is not sufficient.
• Communicate with other departments to facilitate the capture of multiple certifications, if necessary.
• Establish an internal accountability plan for your department.

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Questions? Contact Bronwen Halacy, (858) 534-9607.