Division of Finance and Support Services (FSS)

601 University Drive
JCK-920
San Marcos, TX 78666
Ph: 512-245-2244
Fax: 512-245-2033
vpfss@txstate.edu

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Texas State > Division of Finance and Support Services (FSS) > Policy and Procedure Statements > Effort Reporting on Sponsored Programs

Effort Reporting on Sponsored Programs

FSS/PPS 03.04.07
Issue No. 1
Reviewer: Director, Grants & Contracts Administration
Effective Date: 03/25/05 (E4Y)
Review Date: 04/09

01. PURPOSE

01.01

To provide an acceptable method to document the distribution of charges for personal services on sponsored research projects in compliance with OMB Circular A-21 and other regulations. Certification of effort is one of the financial management responsibilities that a Project Director accepts when he or she accepts a sponsored research project. By certifying effort, the project director or a designated knowledgeable individual verifies that the amount of compensation received by those working on the project is reasonable in relation to the effort expended on behalf of the project.

02. DEFINITIONS

02.01	Effort is represented by time worked on a project
02.02	Effort is represented by funds paid for service
02.03	Reasonable shall mean within plus or minus 5% of actual effort.

03. POLICY

03.01	Certification of effort on federally-sponsored awards is required under the terms of Office of Management and Budget Circular A-21, section J.10 and by other sponsors,
03.02	Certification of effort on state-sponsored awards is required under the terms of Uniform Grant Management Standards and by other sponsors,
03.03	The University's paper-based system of certifying employee effort needs to provide an accurate and complete record of employee effort on sponsored projects.
03.04	The University's paper-based system of certifying employee effort needs to provide an accurate and complete record of employee effort on sponsored projects.

04. PROCEDURE

04.01

Grants and Contracts Administration shall prepare an effort report for each employee who has received compensation for services on a sponsored project. The effort report will be prepared on a monthly basis for most employees. The effort report shall contain the following:

1)	Sponsored Program account number
2)	Name of employee
3)	Period of effort
4)	Percent of effort
5)	Certification: "I certify that the above percentages constitute a reasonable estimate of the effort expended during the period covered by the report."
6)	Signature space and date

Grants and Contracts Administration personnel shall submit effort reports to the project director each semester.

04.02

Upon receipt of the effort report from Grants and Contracts Administration, the project director or a designated knowledgeable individual verifies that the amount of compensation received by those working on the project is reasonable in relation to the effort expended on behalf of the project. This certification should be completed in a reasonable time (within 21 days of receipt) and returned to Grants and Contracts Administration.

04.03

If effort varies by an unreasonable amount (>5%), the project director or a designated knowledgeable individual shall effect the necessary adjustments for salary and fringe benefit costs that have been charged or not charged to sponsored programs when those costs are less than/greater than the allowed reasonable variation of <5%. The project director or a designated knowledgeable individual shall prepare, approve and submit for processing those forms that will correct the compensation to effort inequity. Those forms should be submitted for processing when the certified effort reports are returned to Grants and Contracts Administration.

04.04

Standardized directions for completing the effort report:

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Please fill in the Sponsored Research column of the report for the percentage of research effort during the months of _______________________.
2.	Please fill in the Instruction column of the report for the percentage of instruction effort during the months of _______________________.
3.	Please fill in the Administrative column of the report for the percentage of administrative effort during the months of _____________________. NOTE: All effort reported should add to 100%
4.	Sign and date the signature line and return the completed form back to the office of Grants Administration.
__	If the report indicates that you are being paid from a sponsored agreement and your effort is LESS than what you are being paid; a payroll adjustment must be made.
__	If the report indicates that you are being paid from a sponsored agreement and your effort is GREATER than what you are being paid and if the effort is from a departmental account, no payroll adjustment will need to be made. If the effort is from a non-departmental account; a payroll adjustment must be made.
__	The preprinted percentages on the Effort Report form represent the percentages of the individual's salary (PCR) that have been charged to those activities during the report period.
__	This information is loaded from the payroll system for the certification period.
__	In some cases, these charges may not reflect the individual's actual effort. The charges are based on before-the-fact projections of the level of effort the individual was expected to expend on each project.
__	If these preprinted percentages differ by more than 5% of the actual effort, a payroll allocation adjustment may need to be made that correctly reflects effort by funds source.
__	The federal regulations on effort reporting recognize that in an academic setting, teaching, research, service, and administration are often inextricably intermingled.
__	Use reasonable estimates and allocations of effort among closely related activities.
__	COST-SHARING - If a staff or faculty member expends effort on a sponsored research project but does not charge the project for all (or any) of his or her salary for that effort, the effort expended on the project must still be allocated to the project. The unfunded effort is generally considered cost sharing and must be recorded in the Sponsored Research Column of the Effort Report form.
__	PLEASE NOTE: You must write in the account number of the grant on which you are reporting cost sharing in addition to the account number of the cost sharing account.
__	To prepare for the time when you may not be available to make your effort certification in the appropriate time frame, you should designate a delegate for signing.
__	This delegate should be someone who, according to Federal guidelines, "has suitable means of verification" of the effort on the program.
__	Typically that person would be your direct supervisor such as your department chair. It should not be your subordinate.
__	Typically that person would be your direct supervisor such as your department chair. It should not be your subordinate.

Thank you for your attention to this very important compliance matter. We can be reached at 245-2102 or grants@txstate.edu for assistance.

05. MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PPS

Major responsibilities for routine assignments associated with this PPS include the following:

Positions	Section	Date
Director, Grants & Contracts Admin.	Review	April E4Y-05
Assoc. VP, Financial Serv./Treasurer	Review	April E4Y-05

05. CERTIFICATION OF STATEMENT

This FSS/PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities, and represents FSS policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

Mr. W. Scott Erwin, Director, Grants & Contracts Administration, Reviewer

Dr. Carolyn Conn, Associate VP, Financial Services/Treasurer

Mr. William A. Nance, Vice President for Finance and Support Services

Approved:	____________________________ Reviewer
Approved:	____________________________ Reviewer
Approved:	____________________________ Vice President for Finance and Support Services