Faculty and Staff

Sponsored Project Award Allocations: Special Cases

Last updated September 9, 2009 11:49:22 AM PDT
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Find out how to process special cases when allocating funds from sponsored projects.

For standard sponsored project allocations, please read How to Prepare a Sponsored Project Award Allocation.

To process special cases, see these specific instructions:

Allocating to sub-funds

Follow the same procedures as when allocating to the initial (A) fund. Remember that IFIS treats a sub-fund as a separate fund. Therefore, an allocation for each sub-fund should include a:

  • Debit to a revenue account (increase/ +)
  • Credit to the expenditure and indirect cost (IDC) accounts (increase/ +)

Note: The sum of the revenue in all sub-funds should equal the total award amount.

Allocating to specific accounts

To track an allocation at a specific expense account level, you can allocate to specific expense accounts rather than the high-level budget account.

Note: Do this only when absolutely necessary to manage expenses at a detailed level. Allocating to specific accounts increases ledger detail and pages, and isn't useful in most circumstances.

Allocating incremental funding

Sponsored project awards funded incrementally include special terms regarding the amount legally obligated by the agency. For example, a granting agency may agree to the entire proposed project cost but legally commit to funding only one year or one phase of the project at a time. The allocation process depends on whether the contract language requires an amendment to activate future legal committments.

  • If a formal amendment to the award is required to activate subsequent funding:
    • Allocate only the amount legally obligated for the current budget period.
  • If no formal amendment is required:
    • Allocate the amount legally obligated for the current budget period to the expenditure accounts and the subsequent period commitments to expenditure account 680000 (unallocated).
    • When the next increment of the subsequent funding becomes active, rebudget funding from account 680000 to the expenditure accounts.

Allocating per payment received

If you can't determine the exact amount to be paid during the term of an award, allocate per payment received. For example, exchange rates and handling fees may affect the payments of awards funded in foreign currency. In another example, payment may be based on completed tests or phases and may vary from what was proposed in the award.

Note: Clinical trial awards (CTAs) have special allocation procedures.

See OPAFS Contacts.

Finance

Sponsored Project Award Allocations

Departments

Office of Post Award Financial Services