1304 PR.01 Award Set-Up Process for Sponsored Accounts

Contents

1.      Purpose

2.      Terminology

3.      Sponsored Account Workflow and Set-Up

4.      Requesting New or Correcting Existing Grants

5.      Roles and Responsibilities

6.      Additional Information

This procedure addresses the proper account set-up and maintenance of sponsored accounts.

To better understand this procedure, the reader must have a sufficient understanding of the Chart of Accounts (“COA”) at Yale.  For detailed information regarding Yale’s COA, refer to the COA Website.   

At-Risk Account

An At-Risk Account may be requested and set-up to assist in the initiation of a research project.  There are two situations that may warrant the request of an At-Risk Account:

• Late Award:  Permits the charging of expenses during the anticipated period of the sponsored award prior to the receipt of the award document (e.g., fully executed agreement) but not before the anticipated start date of the sponsored award.
• Pre-award:  Permits the charging of expenses to an award prior to the start date of the award.  Most federal granting agencies and some non-federal sponsors permit such expenses up to 90 days prior to the start date of the grant. 

In both of the situations described above, an At-Risk Account Request form, Form 1304 FR.01 At-Risk Account Request, must be completed and submitted to the Office of Sponsored Projects (“OSP”).   In addition, all required compliance reviews must be satisfied in order for OSP to approve the Request.  It should be noted that the Principal Investigator (“PI”)/PI’s department requesting an At-Risk Account assumes responsibility for all costs that are not funded by the sponsor.

Regulatory Form or Transmittal Summary (“TranSum”) Form

When a proposal is submitted through IRES’ Proposal Development (“PD”) module, regulatory compliance information (e.g., Human Subject or Animal Research) as well as necessary approvals are captured electronically via the routing feature and certifications are captured utilizing the Regulatory form.  When a proposal is submitted through the IRES PD module, a TranSum is not required.  

The TranSum is utilized for non-PD submissions.  This form accompanies a proposal summarizing the proposal, budget and regulatory aspects of the project and requires certain certifications necessary for approval of the submission of the proposal by Yale to an external sponsor.  The TranSum, along with the proposal, is submitted to OSP.

Sponsored Projects

Sponsored projects are activities such as research, funded by an external entity through a sponsored agreement such as a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.  (In this case, the word “project” does not reference a specific COA segment.)

Workday Grant Number

The Grant (GRXXXXXX) enables departments to track work activities from budget set-up through completion of the activity.  Each Grant has a unique two letter, 6-digit number that is automatically assigned by the Workday system.  The Grant is an essential segment in the COA and captures all financial transactions.  The duration of a Grant is usually limited to the funding period of the associated Award Line on the Sponsored Award.  Grant duration can vary based on the type of sponsored project.  For example, some awards have one grant for the life of the sponsored project, while others may have a different grant for each budget period within the sponsored award.  This determination is made at time of account set-up.

There are several steps and processes that occur in both IRES’ Proposal Development (“PD”) or Proposal Tracking (“PT”) modules and Workday prior, during, and after a sponsored account is set up.  The following steps illustrate the tasks performed within the set-up process.  

In normal (non-peak) operational periods, the average set-up of an Award from beginning to end (Steps 4 through 10, IRES’ PT to Workday) takes approximately 5-7 business days when all documents are complete and no regulatory compliance holds are present.  Peak periods are experienced due to the volume of receipt of new and continuing awards during May through September.  During that period delays may be experienced.

Steps 1 & 2:  Department Prepares PD Record or TranSum and Cost Sharing Approval Request (if applicable)

Proposals are either developed directly in the IRES PD module or outside of IRES’ PD module and submitted to OSP with a TranSum.

Proposals submitted to OSP not using PD must be accompanied by a TranSum.  For assistance in completing the TranSum, departments should refer to Form 1304 FR.03 Transmittal Summary (TranSum) Form - Instructions.

Submitting a proposal using IRES’ PD module requires the completion of PD Training prior to receiving access to IRES.  Once access is granted, if the department administrator needs assistance in submitting a proposal through PD, s/he can refer to the PD Quick Guides located on the OSP Website.

Cost Sharing Approval Request:  When appropriate, Form 1306 FR.01 Cost Sharing Approval Request must be uploaded into the IRES PD module, or accompany the TranSum, to document the cost sharing type, dollar amount, and other COA segments (YD/Gift, Cost Center, etc.) supporting any cost share commitment.  This form also provides approval for the cost sharing which is required before a proposal is submitted.

Step 3:  OSP Reviews/Approves Proposal and Submits to Sponsor

OSP reviews, approves, and submits all proposals according to University policy.  For information about the proposal review and submission process, visit Preparing and Submitting a Proposal.

Steps 4 & 5:  OSP Receives and Reviews Award Document or At-Risk Account Requests

The receipt of one of the following two documents will initiate the set-up of a sponsored account:

• Award Document - Upon receipt of the award document, OSP will review the terms and conditions and any other supporting documentation.  Proper set-up is reliant upon the terms and conditions of the award, sponsor’s funding announcement, the proposal, and any other relevant documentation. 
• At-Risk Document - Upon receipt of the At-Risk Account Request form, OSP will review the request and, if appropriate, process the set-up of an At-Risk account. 

Step 6: Department Business Office Notification

At the time an award is received, OSP notifies the Department Business Office (“DBO”) of the receipt.  At that time, it is the responsibility of the DBO to provide guidance for the setup of the award in the Workday Financial System.  This is captured by using Form 1304 FR.04 Award Budget Setup (“ABS”) Form, located on the OSP Website.  Receipt of this form is required in order to complete the award set-up in Workday.

When completing Form 1304 FR.04 Award Budget Setup (“ABS”) Form, the DBO identifies additional COA segments used as “default” related worktags on the Grant:

• Cost Center – specified by the DBO.
• Program – specified by the DBO.  (Please be aware the Programs support the mission-based reporting of the University and are required to be accurate at the Program Summary level.  See more details on Program Summary on the COA website.)
• Project – specified by the DBO – should default to PJ000001, if additional granularity of activity is not required.
• Assignee – specified by the DBO.
• Fund – assigned by OSP based on the type of Award according to guidelines established by COA.

In the event that a new COA segment is required, these should be requested from the COA team prior to the use of Form 1304 FR.04 Award Budget Setup (“ABS”) Form.  Please send the appropriate COA request forms to coa@yale.edu.

Steps 7, 8 & 9:  OSP Checks Compliance Requirements and Enters Award into IRES

The OSP Award Set-Up Unit will ensure that all necessary compliance approvals are in place and, if so, enter the award into IRES’ PT module.  The status in IRES is then set to ‘QA Complete’ which indicates the award is ready for setup in Workday.

The OSP Award Set-Up Unit forwards the documentation to the Financial Management Group for set-up in Workday.

Note:  When necessary, compliance offices such as the Human Research Protections Program (“HRPP”), Office of Animal Research Support (“OARS”), and/or Conflict of Interest (“COI”) may be consulted in determining the appropriateness of setting up an award.

Steps 10, 11 & 12:  OSP Creates the Sponsored Account in Workday

OSP Financial Management reviews the award and any other documentation supporting the set-up in order to properly set-up the sponsored account in Workday.  The OSP Accountant may request additional information from the department when necessary, if not provided in the Workday Award Setup Webform, such as budget worksheets for non-standard F&A base or rate calculation.

A new Award is then created in Workday along with one or more grant tags.  

Once the Award and associated Grant(s) are established in Workday, the Workday system will notify the Grant Manager and Cost Center Budget Analyst through the Workday Notification.

Step 13:  Department Reviews New Account Set-Up 

Once the sponsored account is established, the department can begin charging expenditures in accordance with the sponsor’s terms and conditions and University policies.  It is important that the DBO review the Workday Award and Grants for accuracy and initiates a meeting with the PI to review the approved budget, discuss a spending plan, and establish or update payroll costing immediately following the receipt of the award set-up documents.  It is recommended as best practice for the DBO to enter their budget into Workday for monitoring and forecasting.

After the initial account set-up has occurred, if additional Grants or other changes (including updating the Grant to default different related COA segments) are required for management of the award activities, the department should contact OSP Financial via email at osp.financial@yale.edu.

Department Business Office – (Specific to account set-up)

• The submission of a proposal via IRES PD or to OSP through the appropriate GCAT mailbox (a fully completed TranSum must accompany the proposal).
• Determining an appropriate source of funds to support cost sharing and submitting a fully completed/approved Cost Sharing form with the proposal
• Determining if a PI’s request for an At-Risk Account is appropriate, and if so, submitting all associated account set-up information to OSP in a timely manner. 
• Submitting the Workday Webform to OSP for new sponsored award setups.
• Requesting a new or modifying a Grant to an existing sponsored account.
• Reviewing the completed Sponsored Award set-up in Workday for completeness and accuracy.
• Creating labor schedules.    

Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP)

• Steps 3 through 10 of the above workflow, with assistance from other compliance offices such as COI, IACUC, and HRPP.

Chart of Accounts (COA) Department

• Overall governance of the University’s chart of accounts and the related COA segments, including Grants. 

Documentation that is required for the proper set-up and management of a sponsored award includes the terms and conditions of the sponsored agreement, sponsor’s funding announcement, the proposal with accompanying documentation, as well as COA guidance and Yale policies and procedures.

• If a DBO is unsure if certain funds should be treated as a gift or as a sponsored award, consult with OSP.  (See Procedure 1304 PR.02 Distinguishing Between Gifts and Sponsored Awards for further guidance.)
• If the DBO is unsure of the policy and procedure for overall financial management, review the Financial Management University-Wide Policy documents for further guidance.
• If the department administrator or PI is informed or notified by the sponsor of any changes to a sponsored award by, for example, the Grants Management Specialist, Technical/Program Officer, or Authorized Official (including the Principal Investigator or Pre-Award Office of another entity when Yale is a subawardee), this information should be immediately communicated to your OSP Award or Contract Manager.