USF College of Nursing
Office of Research Financial Management and Administrative Affairs
Standard Operating Procedures
The following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are designed to assist Principal Investigators (PI) with both
strategic planning and financial management of project award funds. Although this list is not comprehensive, it
provides ample information for the PI to work alongside the Unit Research Administrator (URA) to insure the
successful fiscal management of all project funds. The URA reports directly to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of
the College who is responsible for all fiscal and operational aspects of the college. A dotted line of reporting to the
Associate Dean of Research strengthens the research service and research infrastructure of the college.
The URA’s primary responsibility is to protect and preserve the fiscal and human resource assets of the college, in
the area of external funding, maintaining a strategic balance of service and compliance alongside the PI. The URA
works as an adjunct to the PI, while not responsible for making purchasing or hiring decisions, serves as an agent of
the university to assist the PI with adherence to federal and state laws, granting agency requirements, and university
policies and procedures. Ultimately, the sole responsibility of the project award is that of the PI.
The URA is especially trained and certified through advanced education and through the university as a financial
grants manager and can assist PIs not only in fiscal management, but with the proper pre-award budget proposal
setup, identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the project’s fiscal operations, development of cost
containment strategies, recommendation of purchasing and operational best practices, and provision of fiscal USF
system training. A financial professional, the URA should be considered as a dependable resource and ally in
meeting the PI’s daily, fiscal challenges.
Serving as the liaison with university research related offices, the URA performs a wide range of technical,
consulting, and practical needs for the PI. The objectives of the URA are integrated with those of the various USF
and external offices based on functionality. A comprehensive listing of those offices can be found below under the
resources section.
The best practice for the PI is to “ASK FIRST.”
The URA provides a variety of consultative and functional roles:
1.
PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT
Services for Pre-award Budget:
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Review program announcement/solicitation to ensure proposal compliance with sponsor and university
requirements.
Assist with budget development including:
o Calculation of direct costs, cost share, program income, and indirect costs,
o Assist in preparing and reviewing budget justifications,
o Review sub-recipient budgets, and
o Work with PI to review budgets and budget justifications based on the scope of work.
AWARD MANAGEMENT
Services for Award Management:
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Assist PI and University’s Division of Sponsored Research (DSR) with insuring that the project scope and
deliverables match the budget, invoicing and reporting requirements.
Review award document including terms and conditions for proper disposition of funds.
Schedules meeting to review the CON Checklist for New Grant Award. See Appendix A.
Prepare Grant Budget Release and Subaccount Establishment Forms to request project chartfields and
allocate funds to appropriate budget categories.
Assist PI with proper HR steps needed to hiring new project staff.
Assist PI with initial and subsequent adjustments to payroll distribution.
o PERT – effort reporting
Assist PI with budget transfers.
Assist PI with approvals.
o Change in PI or key personnel
o Budget revisions
o Extensions (cost and no-cost)
o Carryover requests
Assist PI and DSR with financial reports and award closeout reconciliation.
Assists new faculty with transfer of existing awards from current institution to USF.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Services for Financial Management:
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Set up and maintain new financial project files.
Prepare monthly reconciliation of ledgers for each project.
Perform quarterly projections (and as needed).
Troubleshoot FAST financial or GEMS employee system problems.
Review and monitor vendor invoices.
Review, prepare and/or approve travel authorization and expense reports.
Review purchase requisition request and P-card transactions.
Prepare payment request forms.
Monitor inter-departmental charges.
Track program generated income and/or cost share.
Perform financial compliance services on project expenditures.
Assist PI with financial reports to sponsor.
Assist COO with file management and audits.
3. COLLEGE SPECIFIC
The CON has two (2) URA positions that support faculty and student projects, externally funded
scholarships and traineeships, Research Incentive Accounts (RIA – or indirect account), Internal
USF and CON pilot awards, CON start-up commitments, Research Foundation, and USF
Foundation research-based concession accounts. For Division of Duties, please see Appendix B.
Project Ledgers/Reconciliation
University Ledgers are printed monthly on or around the 15th of the following month and raw
copies are provided to the PI within 10 business days of receipt. Ledgers are reconciled within
30 days of receipt by the URA and reviewed and approved by the college’s COO. The URA will
transform reconciled ledger data into the CON Reconciliation Report and will distribute a
reconciled copy of the report to the PI upon completion. See Appendix C. The PI is required to
sign for reports and ledgers which will be attempted twice prior to placing the documents in the
mail box. See Appendix D. RIA reports do not require signature will be placed in the PI mail box;
detail reports by request only.
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Project Projections
For most awards, projections will be run monthly along with the monthly ledger reconciliation
process. Additional projections may be requested and will be scheduled based on available time
and work priority; the COO will make the final determination. When an award enters the final
funding year, additional projections will be run based upon university best practices.
Project Research Advance
Funds for participant payments are the responsibility of the PI. The university preferred method
to administer research advances is through direct deposit to the PI’s banking institution. This is
the safest and most expedient way to ensure the success of the project and its activities.
Effective March 1, 2012, the URA and other business office staff will no longer be permitted to
pick up research advances for the PI, in order to ensure the appropriate level of separation of
duties. If a PI elects not to have an advance direct deposited to the banking facility, they may
have a paper check mailed to their home or pick up check at Comptroller’s office.
Office Supply Purchase
Purchases for all standard office equipment and supplies for grant awards will be once a week.
All supply purchase requests should be made by email to your URA by Wednesday evening to
insure Monday deliver.
Designated Work Times
In order to maintain an effective work environment and meet college and university deadlines,
your Unit Research Administrator has designated days for specific services.
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Appointments and Pre-Award Budget Preparation
Cathryn Branch – Monday
Janice Walker – Wednesday
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Closed Door
Cathryn Branch – Thursday
Janice Walker – Tuesday
For emergencies, the URA’s cover for absences or speak with the COO.
4. REFERENCE RESOURCES
FacultyOne-Stop is HIGHLY recommended for all Nursing faculty and provides USF Researchers with one-stop
quick references for each phase of the research administration life cycle with links to forms, tools and training.
http://www.research.usf.edu/train/facultyOne.asp
OMB Circular A-21 This federal circular establishes principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts,
and other agreements with educational institutions. This circular applies to all federally funded grants, contracts, and
cooperative agreements at USF and is designed to provide that the costs charged to the federal government be
determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The principles shall also be used as a guide
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in the pricing of fixed price agreements. See section for information on allowability of specific costs on federal awards.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a021_2004
OMB Circular A-110 Federal circular A-110 addresses uniform administrative requirements across federal agencies
and sets forth standards for obtaining consistency and uniformity among federal agencies in the administration of
grants to and agreements with institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations. The
provisions of the sections of this circular shall be applied by Federal agencies to recipients. Recipients shall apply the
provisions to sub-recipients performing substantive work under grants and agreements that are passed through or
awarded by the primary recipient, if the sub-recipient is also subject to the circular.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a110
OMB Circular A-133 This federal circular establishes and explains standards for obtaining consistency and
uniformity among federal agencies for the audit of states, local governments, and non-profit organizations expending
federal awards. USF is subject to A-133 and the auditing protocols and requirements included therein.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a133_compliance_supplement_2011
Federal Acquisition Regulation The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is the primary regulation for use by all
federal executive agencies in their acquisition of supplies and services with appropriated funds. It is issued within
applicable laws under the joint authorities of the Administrator of General Services, the Secretary of Defense, and the
Administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, under the broad policy guidelines of the
Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget.
http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffar1.htm
USF Travel Policy The Travel Policies and Procedures Manual provides the user with policies and procedures
applicable to authorized travel for official university business. Travel policies and procedures apply to all university
departments. However, some employees may be required to abide by other travel procedures required by a grant or
contract, or stricter travel rules and requirements established by their department.
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/uco/travel/TravelRulesRequirements.asp
USF Purchasing The Purchasing Office provides the user with policies and procedures applicable to authorized
purchases for official university business. Purchasing policies and procedures apply to all university departments
regardless of funding source.
Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Oversight This web link will direct you to the area on the Office of Sponsored
Research website which discloses to the federal government the processes, methodologies, and policies by which
costs are determined, allocated, and assessed. This document explains such items as treatment of unallowable
costs, determination of direct and indirect cost categories, cost transfer policies, mechanisms for effort reporting, etc.
http://www.research.usf.edu/dsr/cas.asp
CCHIP's The CCHIP (Clarification or Change in Procedure) concept was created to provide a means to distribute
procedural updates or reminders relative to the fiscal management of research awards. The below listed CCHIPs
were developed within Research Financial Management and have been reviewed and endorsed by the both the
Research Management Council and the Associate Deans for Research. Find PERT information here.
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/uco/research/CCHIP.asp
PERT is federal effort reporting. http://usfweb2.usf.edu/uco/research/pertgeneral.asp
Research Participant Costs To encourage participation, research studies often pay their study subjects. There are
several regulatory issues related to these payments, including confidentiality and privacy, tax reporting, and
appropriate controls over the asset(s) used to make payments. This policy specifically addresses gift cards as a form
of payment.
USF Business Processes (COMPASS) Training on USF policies and procedures.
http://compass.custhelp.com/app/home
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USF WEBSITES:
USF Human Resources (staff and admin hires)
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/human-resources/
USF Health Faculty Affairs (faculty hires)
http://health.usf.edu/facultyaffairs/index.htm
USF Comptroller (travel, purchasing, accounting)
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/uco/
USF Division of Sponsored Research
http://www.research.usf.edu/
USF Research Financial Management
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/UCO/research/
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