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University of North Carolina - Charlotte

NCURA REGION III Spring Meeting May 13, 2008. University of North Carolina - Charlotte. Implementing a New Effort Reporting System at a Non-Medical School University. Presentation by: Stephen E. Selby – Director, Office of Sponsored Programs Karen J. Farley – Manager Cost Analysis.

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University of North Carolina - Charlotte

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  1. NCURA REGION III Spring Meeting May 13, 2008 University of North Carolina - Charlotte Implementing a New Effort Reporting System at a Non-Medical School University Presentation by: Stephen E. Selby – Director, Office of Sponsored Programs Karen J. Farley – Manager Cost Analysis

  2. UNC Charlotte is one of 16 campuses that comprise the University of North Carolina’s public state higher education system. • In 2000, UNC Charlotte met the criteria for Doctoral/ Research Intensive Carnegie classification. UNC Charlotte offers a wide and diverse array of liberal arts and professional programs to support baccalaureate and masters degree programs as well as a number of doctoral programs. UNC Charlotte does not currently have a medical school. UNC Charlotte forecasts FY09 student enrollment of approximately 23,200 students. • In FY08, UNC Charlotte had 64% or 850 of total 1,327 Faculty/EPA employees on 9 month salary appointment. In FY08, UNC Charlotte had 2,604 total employees. • UNC Charlotte forecasts FY09 sponsored project expenditures of $35 million, a 17% increase over FY08 sponsored project expenditures of $30 million. UNC Charlotte currently has a Long Form F & A Rate negotiated with the Department of Health & Human Services until the end of FY09.

  3. Motivation to Change Effort Reporting System • One of our sister campuses – Eastern Carolina University (ECU) had an audit on 8/3/2004 by the National Library of Medicine (NML) that resulted in disallowed charges of $565,820 to the grant. There was also a large set aside of $1,786,568 for adjudication by MLS officials. Audit findings were that ECU had inadequate internal and management controls over effort reporting. Auditors concluded ECU had not implemented an effort reporting system adequate to comply with the requirements of OMB Circular A-21. • UNC Charlotte transitioned from SCT’s Financial Reporting System (FRS Plus) and implemented SCT Banner Finance as it’s new enterprise reporting software application system in FY 2005. On January 1, 2006, UNC Charlotte implemented Banner Human Resources Module. UNC Charlotte is currently operating on Banner Version 7.3.

  4. Motivation to Change Effort Reporting System • The January 1, 2006 Banner HR module implementation required UNC Charlotte to update and replace our former custom, ITS programmed Effort Reporting System. SCT/Banner did not offer a functioning Time & Effort Reporting System Module available for January, 2006 implementation. • UNC Charlotte wanted to make sure that the former, 18 year old ITS custom paper Effort Reporting System was replaced with a continuously updated, compliant, online Web based effort system with written, well communicated, and enforced effort reporting procedures. • Internal work processes required revamping to ensure accurate, timely effort reports were issued based on consistent calculation methods for timely certification within federal regulatory time requirement of 90 days.

  5. Decision to purchase Maximus Effort Reporting System as a Sole Source • A sole source purchase of the Maximus Effort Reporting System (ERS) was justified and approved on March, 2006 because due to our knowledge UNC Charlotte’s requirements for effort reporting could only be met by one vendor - Maximus Inc., for the following three reasons:

  6. Decision to purchase Maximus Effort Reporting System as a Sole Source • Software Complies with Federal Requirements (see ECU Audit report by DHHS August 2004 which approves Maximus ERS on page 5.) • Software had to be ready to implement for immediate use without major customization in March 2006. • Software must be able to interface with Banner Human Resources Software Module.

  7. Major Issues in Implementation • Reporting Frequency • Employee Groups to include/exclude in Effort Reporting System • What Effort is Reported • Cost Sharing • ERS Cost Transfers • RCT revised effort forms • 9/12 conversion for 9 month paid employees in Maximus Effort Reporting System (ERS)

  8. Solutions to Major issues • Reporting Frequency: • UNC Charlotte reviewed the effort reporting best practices of major universities in US. We found universities were certifying Faculty/EPA, Graduate Assistants, and SPA employees on either a monthly, quarterly, or semester basis within their automated, on-line effort reporting systems like Maximus ERS. • We found most major research universities modified their hourly employees timecard to include an effort certification statement. The monthly paper time card submitted to payroll office served as the effort certification form for hourly paid temporary employees. Hourly employees were segregated and not included in their automated effort reporting systems which often were on a longer quarterly or semester reporting cycle. • UNC Charlotte received approval from NC State auditors and DHHS Division of Cost Allocation to change to quarterly certification from monthly certification for employees groups included in Maximus ERS. • UNC Charlotte aligned the effort reporting quarters to coincide with Faculty’s academic working year instead of the University’s fiscal financial reporting year. • UNC Charlotte revised the hourly and temporary monthly time card to include an effort certification statement and all sources of the employee institutional funding.

  9. Solutions to Major issues • Reporting Frequency – (Quarterly) • 4 quarterly certifications versus 12 monthly certifications an academic year for Faculty. Tried to reduce certification administrative burden for busy faculty Certifiers as much as possible. • 4 quarterly certifications a year versus 2 semester certifications a year helps ensure all Faculty changes in certification are reviewed and cost transfers are exported from ERS into Banner HR within 90 days of charge to sponsored funds. We felt certification on semester basis may result in non-timely cost transfers being recorded outside of regulatory 90 day window. • Quarterly certifications has helped us achieve 100% certification of issued effort forms from campus Certifiers by effort reporting deadlines. • Quarterly certification has focused more attention on accuracy of forms as the forms more closely correlate with their research and teaching calendar activities versus the institution’s fiscal accounting year calendar. • The following Effort Reporting Calendar is posted and updated each year online in WEB Maximus ERS under Help Tab and online under OSP Effort Reporting Procedures for campus community reference.

  10. Solutions to Major issues • Employee Groups included/excluded in Effort Reporting System: • Included all permanent, professional SPA & EPA employees; 9 & 12 month Faculty; Post-Doctoral, & Graduate Assistants • Excluded all hourly, non-professional SPA ; temporary and student employees

  11. Solutions to Major issues • What Effort is Reported: • OSP reviewed University’s Policy #99 Additional Compensation for Professional Services to the University • Policy defines what constitutes “Institutional Base Salary” for Faculty when working on sponsored activities within 9 month contract period and outside 9 month contract period (summer). • Policy #99 defines what constitutes Base Compensation; Supplemental Compensation (Summer); and Incidental Compensation. • OSP mapped all salary account codes for correct inclusion or exclusion as Institutional Base Salary on effort forms. These inclusion/exclusion rules change for 9 month Faculty depending on whether they are working on sponsored activities insidethe contract period or outside the contract period. We now joke these rules are the “Rosetta Stone” to 9 month effort reporting.

  12. Solutions to Major issues • Cost Sharing: • Maximus ERS reports committed salary cost share on a separate column on the employee’s effort form. • Mandatory or Voluntary Committed Cost Share can be imported into ERS to automatically populate the cost share column on the effort form if budget data is available at the beginning of each effort reporting period. • Cost share can also be added on to an employee’s effort form by the Department Administrator in online Pre –Review process, or by the Certifier as part of the on line Certification process in ERS. • An automated ERS Salary Cost Share Summary Report is run by Central Administrator at the end of each effort reporting cycle for export to Contract & Grant’s Office to consolidate with non-salary and third party cost share fiscal year to date expenses in cost share data base.

  13. Solutions to Major issues • CostTransfers exported from ERS: • At the end of each reporting quarter, ERS Central Administrator runs the automated ERS Cost Transfer Summary Report in Export Function • The ERS Cost Transfer Summary Report is reviewed and approved by the Cost Analysis Manager & the Contracts & Grants Manager and then sent to Budget Office to record in Banner HR. • An ERS salary redistribution Banner audit report is run after ERS Cost Transfers are posted in Banner HR by Budget Office. The Banner audit report is returned to Cost Analysis Manager to confirm 100% of Cost Transfers are booked in Banner. ERS Central Administrator runs Accept function in Cost Transfer Export in ERS. • Slide examples of ERS Cost Transfer Summary Report and Effort Form with a Cost Transfer certification change follow.

  14. ERS COST TRANSFER SUMMARY REPORT $8,463.19 Total Debit to 101XXX $8,463.19 Total Credit to 5XXXXX’s Reduction in effort to sponsored fund from Budget Personnel Action Form.

  15. Solutions to Major issues • RCT Revised Effort Forms: • RCT Feature in ERS imports retroactive payroll adjustments made in Banner HR so an employee’s current or prior certified effort form can be revised if the impact on the effort form is material (>1%). • ERS Central Administrator imports the RCT file into Maximus ERS from Banner HR with retro pay transactions on a weekly basis. Each institution determines own schedule (daily, weekly, etc) depending on volume of retro pay transactions made by Payroll Office. • ERS Central Administrator then issues RCT revised effort form and sends to Department Administrator (DA) to complete online PreReview. DA notifies Certifier to recertify effort form due to retro pay adjustments.

  16. Solutions to Major issues • 9/12 conversion for 9 month paid employees in effort reporting: • In FY08, UNC Charlotte had 64% or 850 of total 1,327 Faculty/EPA employees on 9 month salary appointment • 9 month Faculty employees are paid on 12 month or 12/12 basis via 24 semi-monthly pay periods at UNC Charlotte • However, Sponsored Awards budget salary dollar amounts and effort % on a 9 month or 9/12 basis to conform with these employees academic year appointment period. • Therefore, payroll dollar amounts imported into ERS from Banner HR must be converted from 12/12 cash basis to 9/12 (aka as accrual basis) for certification on effort forms. This is necessary to achieve consistency in certification of actual effort % compared to budgeted effort % for the sponsored fund activity for 9 month employees paid on a 12 month basis.

  17. Other Issues in Implementation • Assigning Department Administration and Faculty Roles within Effort Reporting System • Determination of who is allowed to certify effort forms at UNC Charlotte • Training on transition from paper based effort certification and reporting to online, WEB based effort reporting system • UNC Charlotte ERS Help Desk for Password resets, training and online assistance.

  18. QUESTIONS ? CONTACT INFORMATION: • STEVE SELBY EMAIL: seselby@uncc.edu • KAREN FARLEY EMAIL: kjfarley@uncc.edu

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