Financial Reporting & Award Setup and Closeout

The goal of the SPFA Financial Reporting group is to provide Principal Investigators and department business office administrators with quality support services and financial compliance guidance along with effective stewardship of sponsored awards. The financial reporting groups primary responsibilities are Workday Award Setup, Financial Reporting and Award Closeout.

The award setup analyst will create new sponsored awards in Workday based on the sponsor documents and the ABS form completed by the DBO. In addition, they are responsible for all updates to the Workday record throughout the life of the grant or contract, such as adding new funding or a No Cost Extension.

Most sponsors require financial reporting to determine the use of sponsored funds on either a monthly, quarterly, annual, or other reporting basis. The reporting group’s main responsibility is to ensure that the deadlines for financial reporting are met and that we are in compliance with the federal, state, sponsor specific and/or Yale University’s policies and procedures depending on the type of award. Yale University shall submit timely financial reports to the sponsors of research and other scholarly activity that:

  • Accurately reflect the actual use of sponsored funds as recorded in the financial records of the University.
  • Ensure that all reports are in compliance with the sponsor’s terms and conditions.

Each department is assigned a post award analyst from the reporting group that will provide guidance and assistance as well as answer any questions that may arise on a day-to-day basis.

At the conclusion of the award, after the financial report is filed with the sponsor, and all financial obligations are satisfied, the reporting group is responsible for closing the award within the University’s financial system.

Roles and Responsibilities

The responsibility for accepting awards and the successful administration of awards is a shared responsibility. It includes the Principal Investigator (PI), Department Business Office (DBO), Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) and Sponsored Projects Financial Administration (SPFA).

In order to satisfy the terms and conditions required by most awards, Yale University must ensure all reporting requirements are met, both financial and non-financial.

The Principal Investigator (PI) must furnish the Sponsor with a final technical report at the end of the project period. Funding agencies consider the technical report to be a useful tool in monitoring and evaluation of the research project.

Timely submission of these reports is an important responsibility of the Principal Investigator, the DBO, and SPFA. Failure to do so could result in the agency withholding new funding for Yale University and could jeopardize the PI’s ability to obtain future awards from this sponsor as generally agencies will not make a new award unless all previous awards are in compliance. It is important to review the terms and conditions of your award notice to understand your reporting requirements.

Financial Reporting

The University must complete all sponsored required financial reporting in compliance with the sponsor’s terms and conditions. Financial reports must accurately reflect the actual use of sponsored funds as reflected in the University’s financial records. SPFA works closely with the Departmental Business Office to obtain the required financial packet and then will submit the financial report in the format required to the sponsor by the due date required.

Related Information Regarding Financial Reporting