2019 Western/Southern Section Meeting

Time: 9:00am to 5:00pm

Content level: Basic

This workshop examines key issues related to budget development, review and monitoring, and explores the research administrator's role in service to the sponsor, institution and investigator. Special attention will be paid to assessing project costs, including personnel, consultants, equipment, supplies, travel, subcontracts, total direct cost, income, F&A, MTDC vs. salary and wage base, and cost sharing.  In addition, sponsor guidelines, institutional policies and the financial precepts of 2 CFR 200 will be covered. "Why do we have to do this?' and "Where are the guidelines that say that?" are key questions that will be answered throughout the workshop.  

Learning objectives:

1. Identify the core cost related compliance expectations associated with federal funding.
2. Support proposal and award management activities consistent with federal regulations.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Kris Rhodes, MS, Managing Director, ATM Grants | About the Money

Time: 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Basic

The world of research administration is constantly evolving and technology plays an important role in that evolution. The fairly recent audit approach called "Data Analytics" requires we take a deeper dive into our internal policies, procedures, processes, controls and systems of record to establish what is adequate "source documentation" for the various transactions we review and approve. Does your signature constitute your confirmation that your institution has adequate internal controls in place? Where have we come from and where are we headed? This session will look at the importance of establishing, implementing and assessing your internal controls as they relate to the transactional level detail and philosophical approaches to meeting the reasonableness, allowability and allocability tests, as well as research administration as a whole. Internal controls, who is in control and what are the ramifications for lack of controls? explore this with me!

Learning objectives:

1. Enumerate the tangible versus intangible aspects of internal controls.
2. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of source documentation.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Denise Clark, Associate Vice President, University of Maryland

Time: 11:00am to 2:15pm

Content level: Basic

Cost transfers are our friends. Cost transfers help “keep us on our toes”. During this presentation, we will build the base of knowledge that we need to determine whether a cost transfer is needed. We will explore several examples and talk about language usage in a cost transfer. The way the words flow can make or break our cost transfer and our patience if we let it. Finally, an exchange of ideas between colleagues is always the best way to learn and not reinvent the wheel. We will explore how in our various spheres we have managed to “tame the dragon” and come out stronger for it.


Learning objectives:

1. Identify basic knowledge.
2. Identify good language to write a good cost transfer. 

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Paulette T. Jones, Administrator, University of Montana

Time: 2:15pm to 3:30pm

Content level: Basic

From the first day we entered the field of research administration, we’ve had the importance of facilities and administrative costs (aka F&A or indirect costs) drilled into us. We’ve heard words and phrases such as F&A rates, facilities and administrative costs, cognitive agencies, cost pools, cost share undermines the F&A rate, MTDC, recovered F&A … We know that facilities and administrative costs are an integral part of an institution’s funding profile and that these funds are needed to support the research infrastructure of our institution. We’ve undoubtedly been told that F&A represents costs that cannot be directly attributed to a specific project, but are incurred by the institution in the support of research. However, how much detail do we know about the negotiation of our institution’s F&A rate?  In this session, we will dive into the details of the all-important F&A rate. We will explore how to balance sponsor requirements and institutional costs.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify the cognizant agencies, to describe the formula for the F&A rate development, to detail the pools for the categories of facilities costs and administrative costs, and to list the types of F&A rates.
2. Evaluate the impact to institution’s F&A rate and, thus, the support of the research enterprise by factors such as the cost accounting standards and other regulatory agencies, waivers, unrecovered F&A, and cost sharing.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Kimberly Read, PhD, CRA, Assistant Director, University of South Florida

Time: 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Content level: Intermediate

Essential elements to set up a successful statewide and multi-campus department-level financial management system include logical financial structure, compliance oversight, department level evaluation and understanding, and professional communication. Determine how to create a logical financial management structure that allows for compliance oversight, evaluation of department capacities, and lines of accessible professional communication at each campus in each department that you work with on a statewide level.

Learning objectives:

1. Participants will be able to create a multi-campus departmental financial structure.
2. Participants will be able to identify multi-campus capacities for financial compliance and evaluate how to increase departmental capacities.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Jennifer Redmond, Fiscal Officer, University of Alaska

Time: 9:30am to 10:45am

Content level: Intermediate

A summary of recently released audit findings from NSF, HHS, and other major federal agencies. The session will primarily focus on educational institution findings, but it is also important to know about some of the other major findings that have fiscal, criminal, and civil implications. We will talk about what led to these findings and how to prevent and manage the associated risk.

Learning objectives:

1. To be able to mitigate and apply lessons learned from recent audit findings to an individual’s home organization.
2. To remain current on risk issues that are at the forefront of our profession.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Kris Rhodes, MS, Managing Director, ATM Grants | About the Money

Time: 11:00am to 12:15pm

Content level: Basic

As a research administrator, you are often faced with difficult decisions as to what purchases are allowable on a grant, no matter how unique. Making determinations on these purchases often requires a positive working relationship between the central office, the Principle Investigator (PI), and yourself. Also, ensuring all purchases are allowable, allocable, and appropriate during the management of an award prevents you from becoming a headline in the newspaper, or used as an example at a conference as to what is an inappropriate use of funds.

Learning objectives:

1. Make informed purchasing decisions based on sponsor's intended use of the funding.
2. Understanding your role and responsibilities in navigating the relationships between the department, central office and PI.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Daysi Ardon, Business Operations Supervisor; Billie Cruz, Business Operations Specialist; Rachel Hayes, Business Operations Manager; Zachary Wicklund, Fiscal Specialist, Arizona State University

Time: 2:15pm to 3:30pm

Content level: Intermediate

Attendees will receive tools and concepts to provide Researchers with accurate and understandable reports in Excel from raw data. These tools provide:

• An increase in transparency by allowing Researchers to make informed financial decisions,
• A reduction in reporting errors by eliminating and/or reducing manual entry and,
• A reduction in time taken to generate reports by increasing automation through the use of formulas.

The tools that participants will be able to identify include:

• Reporting Structure, Formulas,
• Conditional Formatting and Data Validation

Learning objectives:

1. Identify tools in Excel that aid Researchers in making informed financial decisions.
2. Identify the benefits of using a standard format (Excel) to provide information to Researchers.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Ross Babinec, MSA, Budget Analyst, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Time: 3:45pm to 5:00pm

Content level: Basic

This session offers a lively discussion of Uniform Guidance, the over-arching regulation governing federal grant administration. The presentation provides a condensed overview of the Uniform Guidance, and highlights the changes from the previous Office of Management & Budget grant Circular directives.

Learning objectives:

1. Identify the origins and structure of the Uniform Guidance document.
2. Understand and navigate the UG regulations.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Amy Roberts, BS, CRA, Associate Controller, Special Funds, Appalachian State University

Time: 9:15am to 10:30am

Content level: Basic

This presentation is designed for a new project administrator or for those not so new who are seeking advice on how to better do their work. It provides information on what to do when you recieve a new grant award, what you should look for in a proposal, grant award document and budget.

It describes the importance of knowing the regulations that apply, the importance of a good "checkbook" to efficiently manage the awarded funds, and how to prepare for audits and close-outs. It will provide examples of the different documents involved to help them identify the important parts. We will talk about sub-awards and the importance of the monitoring process. The topics discussed will be approved proposal, grant award and budget, applicable regulations, sub-awards, financial management, cost sharing, T&E Reporting, preparing for close-outs, audits and reporting.

Learning objectives:

1. Know what to do once they receive a new grant award, how to better manage the awarded funds and be in compliance.
2. Know to to prepare for audits and close-out process.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

Ana Feliciano, BAdmin, Post Award Coordinator, University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Campus Article edited with the online wysiwyg HTML editor . Subscribe for a HTMLG membership to stop adding promotional messages to your documents.

Time: 10:45am to 12:00pm

Content level: Basic

A pass-through entity is responsible for monitoring the programmatic and financial activities of its subrecipients to ensure proper stewardship of sponsor funds. Failure to perform this requirement may lead to audit findings which may jeopardize current and future funding for the pass-through entity. This session will provide information and guidance regarding a holistic review of all phases of interactions with a subrecipient from proposal submission to closeout. This will include determination of the relationship regarding subrecipient versus contractors, the pass-through entities responsibilities, a review of roles and responsibilities of individuals and offices as the pass-through entity, conducting a risk assessment and options regarding how to manage those subrecipients that are not low risk as well as ongoing monitoring throughout the life of the subaward and closeout processes.

Learning objectives:

1. Learn best practices for conducting risk assessments for subrecipients and how to manage risk mitigation.
2. Recognize the required actions needed to adequately monitor your institutions sub-recipients.

Prerequisites: None

Speaker(s):

John Sites, CRA, Higher Education Manager, Huron Consulting