Financial reports detailing expenses and the budget status of the grant are available on-line SAP and may be accessed at the user’s convenience. It is very important for PI’s to routinely monitor this information for accuracy and to ensure that corrections and/or budget revisions have been completed. The on-line information is updated and available daily.
You can request an SAP ID through Firefly. SAP Financial Reporting classes are available for assistance in generating and interpreting the on-line financial reports. Upcoming classes are listed on the Training Registration website.
All grants are awarded to the University of Nebraska at Kearney and not to the individual Principal Investigator of the grant. Thus equipment purchased with grant funds remains the property of the University unless otherwise indicated in the grant award document. The grant funded equipment is not the personal property of the Principal Investigator.
The Finance Office is responsible for maintaining the accounting and financial records for additions, disposals, transfers and sales of all real and personal property. The Asset Records Manager works closely with the faculty and staff as well as with the Asset Disposal Manager in the Facilities Department to ensure that property and equipment are safeguarded, values are recorded appropriately in the University's financial statements and that transfers and disposals of surplus property are accommodated in compliance with State and University policies and procedures.
Before disposing of or transferring equipment purchased with grant funds, please contact the Grants Manager for assistance.
Granting agencies regard expense transfers as red flag items. Every effort should be made to charge expenditures directly to the correct WBS Element. Transfers are highly scrutinized by auditors. If a transfer (journal entry or payroll expense transfer) is necessary, it must include detailed documentation of the reason for the transfer.
The explanation on a journal entry or payroll transfer involving a WBS Element must include a reason why the original entry was made to the wrong cost object and why it should be charged to the new cost object. “To correct an error” or “to move expenses” are not sufficient explanations.
The G/L Account Posting Form or payroll document requesting the transfer must include this explanation along with the reference information (document number of the transaction, posting date, vendor name) of the expense, so that there is an audit trail for the transaction. Transfer requests received without all required information will not be entered until all data is obtained.
Expense transfers on grants and contracts should be made within 90 days of the original expense.
Additional pay from grants whose agreements cover the cost of benefits including medical and life insurance will have a proportionate amount of the university’s medical and life insurance charged to the grant.
Additional pay from other outside sources whose agreement does not include the cost of benefits will have medical and life insurance charged back to the employee’s base salary cost center. The cost of retirement and social security must remain with the outside source of funding, as these costs must follow the pay.
Faculty who apply for outside funding are required to meet with John Falconer in the Office of Sponsored Programs before applying for funding. This will ensure that the proposal will include all applicable grant costs.
The Principal Investigator is responsible for monitoring their budget to ensure that actual expenses do not exceed the budget. If LTD actual expenditures in SAP are greater than budget on the total direct cost line, an e-mail notification is generated and sent to the Grant Accountant, Principal Investigator and their secretary. This situation may occur if the WBS has a cost overrun, or if the WBS has receipted additional revenue and a budget increase was not executed.
If the WBS has a cost overrun, the Principal Investigator should submit a G/L Account Posting Form to the Grant Accountant detailing which expense(s) should be transferred out of the over-expended WBS and into another cost center. The Grant Accountant will enter the expense transfer into SAP.
If the WBS has receipted additional revenue, the Grant Accountant will enter a budget revision to increase the budget. The WBS element will be removed from the notification process once the balance on the direct cost line becomes positive.
WBS elements that have no budget data entered (i.e. 57's such as Foundation Reimbursement WBS) are ignored.
The Grant Accountant reviews WBS cash balances subsequent to the close of each calendar quarter. Upon this review, each WBS is examined individually to determine the billing and reporting status of the project. The Grant Accountant bills the granting agency and/or submits any required financial reports. Any cost overruns are identified at this time and the Principal Investigator is contacted to determine resolution.
Grant revenues may be received by the following methods:
Advance: The grantor may send 100% of the grant proceeds to UNK at the time of award.
Letter of Credit: For certain direct federal grants, revenues are drawn down electronically as expenditures are posted at the State level.
Reimbursement: The grantor reimburses UNK for expenditures incurred after expense reports have been submitted and reviewed.
Payment Schedule: Payments may be made on a schedule usually documented in the grant agreement.
Payments may be made in the following forms:
Wire transfer: Contact the Finance Office for arrangements.
Check: Must be made out to the University of Nebraska Kearney.
Intrastate Billing Transaction (IBT): Revenue received from another State of Nebraska agency.
Journal Entry: Revenue received from another University of Nebraska campus
When it has been determined that all revenue and expense transactions have been posted to the WBS, all technical and program reports have been submitted by the Principal Investigator, and all financial reports have been submitted by the Grant Accountant, the WBS may be closed. The PI shall send an e-mail to the Grant Accountant requesting that the WBS be closed. Once a WBS has been closed, expenditures can no longer be posted to it.
If an occasion arises where the project has been completed and an unexpended cash balance remains in the WBS, the unexpended balance will be remitted back to the granting agency. In some cases, the granting agency will allow the University to expend the remaining funds on a similar project. The granting agency’s prior written approval is required for such arrangements.
A grant file will be maintained in the Grant Accountant’s office for each WBS. Federal OMB Circular A-110, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations, Section_.53 states that “Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to an award shall be retained for a period of three years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report . . .” However, some granting agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education require that records and supporting documentation be maintained for five years from the date of submission of the final expenditure report. Therefore, it is the UNK’s policy to maintain all grant records in the Finance Office and the PI’s department for five years from the close of the WBS.
Complete University Record Retention Policy