Financial Management Training
Research Finance
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Post-award finance administration
Focus on Research Grants
Lifecycle post-award
Post-award finance administration
Project set-up
Prepare claims
Audit and
vouching, credit
control
Final claim and
project closure
Agree budget
Financial Management
Research and Output
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Project set-up
R code
All information relating to finance
and administration sent to RFO
RFO will liaise with PI to ensure
appropriate administrative
arrangements are put in place
Trigger for QFIS project set up –
R code
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Agreeing the budget
Where the money goes
pay
nonpay
o/heads
5
Managing your research budgets
Who does what?
RFO
• Ongoing monitoring of costs compared with budget
• Monitoring cash position in parallel (income received from funder)
• Finance dashboard summary report for each R project updated on monthly basis
• RFO’s provide written commentary on R projects in School on quarterly basis
Head of School/School manager
• Review budgets for their area on regular basis, following up on areas of concern
PI
• Review budget on a regular basis
• Ongoing access to live reports through QOL
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How to manage your research budgets
What reports are available?
Head of
School
PI
• Reports that show all R projects
within the School, giving summary
information
• Via QOL and PURE can see reports
for projects that you are named on
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Sample reports
Research Management
8
Sample reports
Research Management
9
Claims process
How is income profiled?
• There are a number of ways that sponsors can profile income….
All upfront
Split evenly over the
life of the project
Initial large advance
instalment, then split
over life of project
To match expenditure
incurred on project
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Claims process
Audit and vouching
• Typically RFO need to prepare claims or issue invoices to the
sponsor
• Sponsor needs to confirm that costs are real, actual and relevant
to the project
• The level of audit and vouching of claims depends on the sponsor,
ranging from
– Visiting University every 3-4 years for ~1 week to test
systems etc., looking for evidence that well equipped to
manage funds
– Requiring an independent audit on each claim which is then
verified by the sponsor and may be subject to further audit
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