Effort Certification in the Kuali Financial System Office of Research Administration Indiana University 509 E. 3rd Street Bloomington, IN 47401-3654 January.

Effort Certification in the Kuali Financial System

Office of Research AdministrationIndiana University509 E. 3rd Street

Bloomington, IN 47401-3654

January 2015

Why and How of Effort Certification Effort Management and Certification KFS Highlights

Project Director and Fiscal Officer Routing Federal Effort Reports Why and How of Effort Certification

Cost Share Subaccounts NIH Salary Cap Frequently Asked Questions

Why we Certify Effort

Uniform Guidance

Effective December 26, 2014

No changes to the current effort certification process at Indiana University for Fiscal Year 2015.

IU Policy – Effort Certification Documents Employees with regular pay Effort certification documents are issued to certify

effort

How we Certify Effort“After the Fact” effort certification

Payroll data is gathered from the Kuali Financial System (KFS) labor ledger on a periodic basis to determine 100% of each employee’s regular compensation, (i.e. Institutional Base Salary)

The KFS Labor Ledger reflects the specific buckets to which labor was allocated. These entries will not reflect the General Ledger entries if salary has been reallocated.

The Labor Ledger Effort A21 View (Example:M01 – Monthly Fall)

The Labor Ledger General Ledger View (Example:M01 – Monthly Fall)

Sometimes the GL and Effort Labor Ledger Match…

Effort Labor Ledger

General Ledger

Sometimes they don’t…

Effort Labor Ledger

General Ledger

Labor Ledger data is compiled and distributed through the Effort Certification Documents in the KFS

Only employees with pay on federal or federal pass through accounts

100% of Institutional Base Salary is reported

Salary transfer generation is stopped and all en route salary transfers are auto-disapproved prior to effort report distribution

If changes have been made to an effort document, upon final approval an auto-generated salary transfer is completed

Effort Report Generation

30 Days Prior to salary

transfer deadline

Effort Certification Deadline – Documents

disapproved and all federal effort

administratively removed

End of Effort Period

Notification: 30-day notice of Salary Transfer Deadline and Effort Report Generation

15-day reminder of Salary Transfer Deadline and Effort Report Generation

Spring Period A02 – (Jan-May)B02 – (Jan-Jun)M02 (Jan-Jun)Period cut-off June 30th Salary Transfer Cutoff July 31st

Effort Communication Timeline

15 Days Prior to salary

transfer deadline

Salary Transfer Deadline (reminder of Pay Obj Codes)

Effort Report Generation: Notification sent regarding generation and certification deadline

30 Days Prior to Certification Deadline – Notification of deadline sent

Weekly follow up within last 30 days of effort certification deadline

30 Days after effort report generation

60 Days after effort report generation

Summer Period A03 – (May - Aug)

Period cut-off August 31st Salary Transfer Cutoff September 30th

Fall Period A01 – (Aug - Dec)B01 – (Jul-Dec)M01 - (Jul-Dec)Period cut-off Dec 31st Salary Transfer Cutoff Jan 31st

Report Prep

Process

Effort Reporting Periods

Effort Reporting Periods

Effort Reporting Periods

Effort ManagementEffort Management should be conducted throughout the effort period

Monthly Account ReconciliationIU Policy - FIN-ACC-I-1 - Role of Fiscal Officer, Account Manager and Account

Supervisor

Communication

Effort Certification Documents are intended to certify payroll on all Federal and Fed Pass-Through sponsored projects

Effort documents should only be modified when errors in effort allocations are discovered

Financial Reports

All costs should be booked to accounts before account expiration

All costs MUST be booked to accounts before the final report is sent

Final Financial Reports will be sent even if effort reports are not approved

Account Close

Effort should not be reallocated after account expiration

Importance of Effort Management

The Policy

All Reports Certified within 60 Days past issuance

The Consequence

All effort will be removed from federal and federal pass

through projects

Effort Certification Deadline

Effort Recertification

Effort RecertificationOffice of Research Administration Cost Exception Committee

Only on an Exception Basis

Move effort to Federal Cost Reimbursable project

Recertifications requested after account expiration

We look for an “audit proof” justification

What should your justifications include?

What do you know now that you didn’t know when the original effort was applied?

How was the incorrect effort distribution determined?

What is being done to prevent similar occurrences in the future?

How did the effort being allocated benefit the project?

Focus on monthly account reconciliation to avoid the need for effort changes.

Justifying Changes on Effort Certification Documents

The KFS Effort

Certification Documents

ACTION LIST EXAMPLE

KFS Effort Document Fiscal Officer View

KFS Effort Document Project Director View

Document Routing

Cost share sub-accounts are entered on a separate

line to allow users to identify the departmental

source accounts.

Expense subaccounts are aggregated to report at the main account.

Effort is managed at the account level for effort reporting.

Subaccounts on Effort Reports

Example of Expense Sub account

KFS Labor Ledger View

Cost Share Subaccounts on Effort Reports

The NIH limits the amount of salary which may be reimbursed to universities for salaries charged to DHHS projects. In recent years, the salary limitation has been tied to the federal government’s Executive Level II salary rate.

NIH Salary Cap

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I modify small dollar amounts without changing the effort percentage?

Account PI vs. Award PI

What if a Fiscal Officer or PI leave the University?

Ad Hoc Routing

How do I modify small dollar amounts without changing the effort percentage?

When the Integer Percentage does not match the Derived Percentage, effort modifications may require an additional adjustment to salary dollars.

How do I modify small dollar amounts without changing the effort percentage?

1. Decrease Line 1 under Federal and Federal Pass Through Accounts to match the 2% reduction in effort. ($119.34)

2. Click “Save”3. Increase Line 1 under Other Sponsored and Non-Sponsored Accounts to

match the 2% increase in effort. ($95.91)4. Click “Save”

How do I modify small dollar amounts without changing the effort percentage?

The Account PI and Effort Document Routing

The Account PI and Effort Document Routing

Routing Issue Being Addressed

If a Project Director makes an edit on an effort document following the Fiscal Officer approval, the document currently will not route back to

the Fiscal Officer.

When the document is finalized, the auto generated salary transfer will route an FYI to

notify the Fiscal Officer of the adjustment.

Approvers No Longer at IU

Update accounts for new responsibilities

Request an update of both Award and Account PI

If an effort report is in routing to a terminated employee, contact Tim Burris at thburris@iu.edu or Rayna Amerine at ramerine@iu.edu

Ad Hoc Routing: Rules and Constraints

Effort documents may be routed for: Approval Acknowledgement FYI

No changes are allowed

With ad hoc routing, the document routing progression stops

Effort Reports are only generated if effort is on federal or federal pass through accounts

Manage effort activity regularly (at least monthly)

Effort Recertifications are Exception Only (Audit Proof Justification)

Salary transfers are generated when effort documents are changed. The ST will lump sum post to the last fiscal period of the Effort period.

Effort Certification Points to Remember

Documents may only be modified from the Action List

Cost Share subaccounts are reported on a separate line on effort reports

Effort Recertifications are Exception Only

Expense subaccounts roll up to the main account

Effort Certification Points to Remember

IU Policy link: policies.iu.edu/policies/categories/research/Sponsored-Programs-Administration/Effort_Certification_under_OMB_%20A21.shtml

Role of Fiscal Officer, Account Manager and Account Supervisor: FIN-ACC-I-1-role-of-fiscal-officer-account-manager-and-account-supervisor.shtml

Effort Certification on the ORA Web: researchadmin.iu.edu/GrantContract/gc-gfo/gfo_effort.html

KFS Effort Certification Training and Guidance for KFS A21 Effort PresentationKFS A21 Effort Certification – Guidance for Document Routing and

ApprovalSearch for A21 Effort Documents in KFS

http://www.researchadmin.iu.edu/GrantContract/gc-gfo/gfo_effort.html

Questions & Additional Assistance

Tim BurrisFinancial Compliance ManagerOffice of Research AdministrationIndiana University509 E. 3rd St.Bloomington, IN 47401-3654

Phone: (812) 855-0185Email: thburris@indiana.edu

Rayna AmerineFinancial Compliance AssociateOffice of Research AdministrationIndiana University509 E. 3rd St.Bloomington, IN 47401-3654

Phone: (812) 855-1516Email: ramerine@iu.edu