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Handbook for Principal InvestigatorsPERSONAL SERVICESEffort Reporting Background Federal cost principles allow the direct charging of personal services to project accounts, provided that the following requirements are met. (1) The employee's effort directly benefits the project. The important point is that the salaries and wages charged to a project must represent the proportionate share of effort that directly benefits the project. It is recognized that in an academic setting, teaching, research, service, and administration are often inextricably intermingled. A precise assessment of factors that contribute to costs is not always feasible, nor is it expected. Therefore, it is acceptable to rely on estimates in determining the allocable effort to be charged to a project. Charges to sponsored agreements may include reasonable amounts for closely-related activities contributing to work under the agreements, such as delivering lectures about specific aspects of the ongoing activity, writing reports and articles, participating in appropriate seminars, consulting with colleagues and graduate students, and attending meetings and conferences. Method of Payroll Distribution The distribution of salaries and wages of professorial or professional staff applicable to sponsored agreements is based on budgeted, planned, or assigned work activity, updated to reflect any significant changes in work distribution. At The University of Arizona, the distribution plan for each employee (account, percent distribution of effort, and time period) is recorded on the Personnel Control Form, which feeds the University's payroll system. The biweekly payroll time roster is preprinted according to each employee's distribution plan, and, unless the payroll representative adjusts the time roster, the employee will be paid and the accounts will be charged according to the plan. The salary distribution plan must be modified if there is a significant change in the employee's work activity, i.e., change in distribution of effort to one or more sponsored accounts. As a rule of thumb, a "significant" change is defined as 5 percent or more of an employee's total UA compensated effort. Short-term (such as one or two months) fluctuation between workload categories need not be considered as long as the distribution of salaries and wages is reasonable over the longer term, such as an academic period. It is the principal investigator’s responsibility to recognize significant changes in workload activity for the employees assigned to their accounts and to initiate action to change the Position Control Forms to modify the workload plan in the payroll system. Where changes are made in an employee's work assignment, it is important to check that funds are available in the account to be charged. These guidelines do not authorize charges to accounts where funds are not available. The bi-weekly payroll time rosters serve as the official "effort reports" required by Federal auditors. The departmental payroll representative prepares the time roster for approval of the departmental authorized signer. In departments with a large number of employees, the payroll representative coordinates the payroll process with payroll representatives from sections of the department. The departmental payroll representative adjusts the salary roster for changes, as appropriate. The authorized signer who approves the biweekly payroll time roster must have either first-hand knowledge or a suitable means of verification of the work performed for all the employees appearing on the time roster. Approval by the authorized signer on the biweekly payroll time roster satisfies the Federal requirement for after-the-fact confirmation that the costs distributed represent actual costs. Confirmation by the employee is not a requirement for either direct or indirect cost activities if other responsible persons make appropriate confirmations. As stated above, only UA compensated effort is covered by the effort reporting process. For purposes of A-21 effort reporting, salaried employees are certified on a percentage of UA compensated effort, and wage employees are certified on UA hours worked. For wage employees, the payroll representative is required to enter the number of hours worked on the payroll time roster. The Employee Time Record is the University’s official, auditable subsidiary record for all wage employees, whether the employee’s work schedule remains constant or varies, and must be maintained from pay period to pay period. The Employee Time Record is not designed for employees funded by multiple accounts, so it may be appropriate to use an alternate form unique to the situation. The principal investigators are responsible for all financial activity charged to their sponsored projects accounts. The University produces the Payroll Expenditure Listing report after each pay period, showing the names of the employees and amounts charged to each account. After each pay period, the payroll representatives distribute the Payroll Expenditure Listing reports to the principal investigators for review. This is an important internal control step and should not be overlooked. The principal investigators or their business representatives will immediately notify their payroll representatives of errors. The payroll representatives may correct account distribution errors by initiating a Payroll Expense Transfer. Procedures for documenting the payroll vary from department to department, depending on the number of employees, accounts, and complexity of employees' workloads. The Employee Time Record, which is the official University document for recording vacation leave, sick leave, and regular time, is adequate supporting documentation for employees assigned to only one account over a long period of time. A subsidiary record is recommended for employees with a more complicated workload distribution. The subsidiary record should be designed to provide the payroll authorized signer with "suitable means of verification" that the work was performed and that the charges to the sponsored accounts are reasonable in relation to the work performed. The Payroll Section of Financial Services is available to answer questions regarding subsidiary methods of recordkeeping. The bi-weekly payroll time roster is the official, auditable University record of effort reporting, even in those circumstances where the payroll representative uses a subsidiary recordkeeping system. It is the department head's responsibility to implement procedures within the academic department that adequately meet University and Federal requirements, as outlined in the FRS Departmental Manual and in this document. It may be appropriate to implement supplemental recordkeeping procedures for research programs with a complex distribution of effort or special sponsor requirements. Supplemental Compensation Overtime Compassionate Transfer of Leave Fringe Benefits Graduate Research Assistants Other avenues may be available for covering "fringe benefits"
for research assistants. The investigator is free to raise the employee’s
hourly wage, within the limits of the employee’s pay grade. Check
with your department head for the eligibility requirements for a graduate
tuition fee waiver. Further, some departments charge registration fees
for research assistants to departmental discretionary funds as part of
a departmental scholarship program. Personal costs may not be charged
to any University funds. |
Sponsored Projects Services is a unit of the Office of the Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies and Economic Development |
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Phone: (520) 626-6000 |
The University of Arizona |
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