Effort Reporting: Who, What, When, Where, Why And How 121509

1
Effort Reporting Who, What, When, Where, Why
And How12/15/09
2
Agenda

• Definition of Effort
• Definition OMB Circular A-21
• The Cycle of Effort Reporting
• Difference between Effort Reporting and Payroll
  Distribution
• Overview of Reporting Requirements
• Who, What, When, Where, Why (but not in that
  order)
• Important Things to Consider

3
Definition Of Effort

• effort (n.) - the proportion of time spent on
  any activity and expressed as a percentage of the
  total professional activity for which an
  individual is employed by the institution

4
(No Transcript)
5
Why Is Effort Reporting Required?

• Effort reporting is a Federal requirement. It is
  mandated by the Office of Management and Budget
  (OMB) in regulation OMB Circular A-21
• Requires a confirmation of effort of all
  individuals performing services on a sponsored
  project when all or a portion of their salary is
  charged to the sponsored project
• After-the-fact Activity Records is the method NYU
  uses to demonstrate that individuals who are paid
  on federal funds have contributed the required
  effort

6
The Cycle For Effort Reporting

• A grant is awarded with specified level of effort
  to perform the Research
• Investigator/ Department Administrator
  establishes payroll distribution based on
  estimated effort
• If estimated effort changes
• Process payroll adjustments for prior pay period
• Change salary distributions for future pay
  periods
• End of the semester effort reports are produced
  based on the salary distributions

7
WHAT Is The Difference Between Effort Reporting
And Payroll Distribution?

• Payroll distributions and effort reports are not
  the same thing
• Payroll distributions are the distribution of an
  individuals salary
• Effort reports describe the allocation of an
  individual's actual effort spent for specific
  projects, whether or not reimbursed by the
  sponsor. Thus, effort reporting is separate from
  and can be independent of salary charges
• Effort is not just a verification of the salary
  or payroll distribution.
• Cost sharing must be included in effort reports

8
WHAT Types Of Costs Are Included?

• Includes
• Mandatory Cost Sharing
• Voluntary Committed Cost Sharing
• Does Not Include
• Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing
• Any Effort Not Contained in IBS

9
WHAT Is The Difference Between Effort Reporting
And Payroll Distribution?

• Salary serves as the proxy for calculating effort
• Significant differences between SWs and effort
  should be addressed in ERS. Correct effort
  should be certified to in the cases of
  significant pay differentials among functions.
• This must be done through Notes to the
  certification record
• SW adjustments cannot be made for this purpose
• For account codes 51131 and 51141
• Under FAR IV funding, 100 effort charged to
  research means that there cannot be any funded
  teaching effort for that individual

10
WHO Has To Certify Effort?

• Any NYU employee (e.g. Faculty, Administrative,
  Staff, Temporary) who works any portion of
  his/her time on sponsored projects or activities
  (Fund 25) whether compensated or uncompensated by
  that project
• Principal Investigators are required to certify
  to their effort and any other non-faculty effort
  contributed on their sponsored projects

11
WHEN Should One Certify?

• THREE TIMES PER YEAR
• At the end of each semester
• FALL
• SPRING
• SUMMER
• We are investigating floating academic
  semesters for the December 31, 2009 certification

12
3 Types Of Cost-Sharing

• Mandatory cost sharing that is required by the
  sponsor, documented in the proposal and agreed to
  in the sponsors awarding documents. This cost
  sharing must be reported to the sponsoring
  agency.
• Voluntary Committed cost sharing that the
  sponsor did not require, but the proposal
  nonetheless included, and subsequently became a
  condition of the award. This cost sharing must
  be documented but not reported to the agency,
  unless requested.
• Voluntary Uncommitted cost sharing that the
  University expended on the project, but was not
  required by the sponsor nor included in the
  proposal document. No documentation or reporting
  is necessary.

13
Effort Reporting A Reasonable Estimate

• Exact Assessment Activities that comprise an
  individuals total effort (teaching, research,
  service, administration, etc) are often difficult
  to separate and that an exact assessment of
  factors that contribute to costs is not always
  feasible, nor is it expected
• Degree of Tolerance Certification must rely on a
  reasonable estimate of effort during a specified
  time period, and when estimating, a degree of
  tolerance is acceptable and appropriate. NYU
  recognizes this degree of tolerance to be no more
  than /- 5
• Payroll Adjustment Anytime that payroll does not
  accurately reflect how the employee spent his/her
  time on the certified effort report by a margin
  of /- 5, a payroll transfer request is
  necessary, except in the case of significant pay
  rate discrepancies for certain graduate students.

14
Effort Reporting A Reasonable Estimate

• Total Effort must equal 100. The total effort
  expended cannot be more than or less than 100
  regardless of the FTE
• Total effort is not based on the number of hours
  worked

15
Managing Effort Commitments

• Key personnel usually may reduce their effort on
  sponsored programs by less than 25 without
  sponsor approval
• Sponsor guidelines may be more restrictive and
  will be signaled in the award terms and
  conditions

16
Faculty Function Distribution one model
17
Summer Effort On Sponsored Projects

• Summer salary on sponsored projects is allowable
  subject to regulations of the funding agency and
  the Universitys policies
• Faculty who receive summer salary must expend
  effort during the summer period
• No more than 95 effort may be charged in any
  summer month to any sponsored project

18
Summer Salary Funding

• Maximum monthly PI summer salary on sponsored
  project is 95
• Additional 5 may be charged to project during AY
  with release time approval of Chair Dean
• 5 AY salary savings for release time will need
  to be charged in the Summer or be transferred to
  a designated Fund 20 research account
• Fund 20 research account serves as PI
  discretionary funding

19
For example

• Dr. X has an academic year salary of
  135,000 in a department where 3 courses per year
  is the norm and where the default distribution of
  time is 45 for research, 45 for teaching and
  10 for service. X serves on the tenure and
  promotion committee of the department. X is
  granted permission to buy out of one course and X
  also devotes the summer to a research grant. In
  addition, X will charge academic year research
  time to the grant. The time distribution during
  the academic year is thus 60 research (of which
  43.44 is paid by NYU and 16.66 by a grant), 30
  teaching and 10 service, and during the summer,
  95 research, 0 teaching and 5 service.
• Buy out 1/3 x 45 15 x 135,000 during the
  academic year (or 30 for one semester) 20,250
• Summer 135,000 x 3/9 x 95 45,000 x 95
  42,750 (charged to grant)
• Additional academic year research time 135,000
  x 1.66 2,250 (charged to grant)
• A research account gets established in the amount
  of 2,250 which X may use for the remaining 5 of
  summer salary or for other research expenses.

20
Faculty AY distribution, inc. buyout (15
time)16.6 charged to grant1.66 goes to
research account
21
Fund 20 Research Account

• Procedures
• Forms Instructions available at
• http//www.nyu.edu/financial.services/cdv/pdf/MDP
  1000.pdf
• http//www.nyu.edu/financial.services/cdv/pdf/Fun
  d20ReqInst.pdf
• Email completed Fund 20 request form to
• BudgetOffice.fund20_at_nyu.edu

22
Effort Certification Process
23
Effort Certification Process - Adjustments

• Excerpt from the TE Policy
• Effective 9/1/09, once effort has been certified
  on a sponsored program, it may not be recertified
  without explicit permission from the Chair, Dean
  and a designated official in the Controllers
  Division. Substantive changes in certification
  may not be implemented by a charge to the Federal
  government. The term recertification does not
  include the correction of failures to implement
  the original certification, e.g., paperwork
  errors or payroll adjustments which were
  requested, but not enacted. Requests for such
  corrections must be accompanied by documentation
  substantiating the claim.

24
Effort Reporting Must Completed In A Timely Manner

• Employee certifications must be submitted to the
  Contract Office within 30 days of the initial
  opening of the ERS system for any reporting
  period
• PI is responsible certifying their effort
• ERS will keep the Certifier and the Departmental
  Coordinator apprised of any delinquent effort
  reports

25
Related References

• Office of Management and Budget, Circular A-21
  found online http//www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circul
  ars/a021/a21_2004.html
• (1) Council on Government Relations March 1, 2007
  Recent COGR News http//www.cogr.edu/
• Office of Management and Budget, Memorandum
  M-01-06, Clarification of OMB A-21 Treatment of
  Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing and Tuition
  Remission Costs (January 5, 2001) found online
  http//www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/m01-06.htm
  l
• (1) Council on Government Relations March 1, 2007
  Recent COGR News http//www.cogr.edu/

26
New York University Related Policies

• CDV Website
• http//www.nyu.edu/financial.services/cdv/
• Cost Transfers on Sponsored Projects
  http//www.nyu.edu/financial.services/cdv/pdf/COST
  _TRANSFER_INTERIM_GUIDELINES.pdf
• TE Faculty Announcement
• http//www.nyu.edu/financial.services/cdv/restric
  ted/pdf/TE_Faculty_Announcement.pdf
• Policy on Effort Reporting for Sponsored Programs
  at Washington Square (PDF 969kB)
• http//www.nyu.edu/financial.services/cdv/restric
  ted/pdf/TE_Policy.pdf
• Faculty Effort Guidelines (PDF 143kB)
• http//www.nyu.edu/financial.services/cdv/restric
  ted/pdf/Faculty_Effort_Guidelines.pdf

27
When In Doubt?

• Teresa Maryniak
• ERS Central Administrator
• Email teresa.maryniak_at_nyu.edu
• Phone [phone]
• Ken Heck
• Assistant Controller for Research
• Email ken.heck_at_nyu.edu
• Phone [phone]

28
When In Doubt?

• Joanne Goldstein
• Assistant Controller Sponsored Programs
  Accounting
• Email joanne.goldstein_at_nyu.edu
• Phone [phone]
• Michael Miller
• Senior Financial Analyst - SPA
• Email michael.miller_at_nyu.edu
• Phone [phone]

29
When In Doubt?

• Marti Dunne
• Associate Vice Provost for Research Compliance
  and Administration
• Email marti.dunne_at_nyu.edu
• Phone [phone]
• Pierre Hohenberg
• Senior Vice Provost for Academic Policies
• Email pierre.hohenberg_at_nyu.edu
• Phone [phone]

30
Questions?