Effort Certification at
UACES
SANDRA WILLIAMS
Office of Sponsored Programs
Effort and Effort Reporting
Effort is defined as the amount of time spent on a
particular activity. It includes the time spent
working on a sponsored project in which salary
is directly charged or contributed (cost-shared
effort).
Effort reporting is the mandated method of
certifying to the granting agencies that the
effort charged or cost shared to each award has
actually been completed.
Why do we certify Effort?
• Effort reporting is a federal requirement.
• As a condition to receive federal funding,
institutions must maintain an accurate system
for reporting the percentage of time (i.e.,
effort) that employees devote to federally
sponsored projects (see OMB Circular A-21,
Cost Principles for Educational Institutions Compensation for Personal Services).
Who is eligible to Certify Effort?
OMB Circular A-21, Section J.10 requires that the
certification report be signed by “the employee,
principal investigator, or responsible official(s) using
suitable means of verification that the work was
performed.”
Who Certifies Effort at UACES?
 For Classified and Non-Classified Employees
Employee Self – Certifies
 For Temporary (Work Only When Needed) Employees
Principal Investigator (PI) Certifies
Or
Proxy designated by PI
Examples of suitable means of
verification:
•
•
•
•
E-mail correspondence
Direct supervisory responsibility
Contact from the employee’s supervisor
Establish a protocol with employee for
communicating changes in effort
• Notes from meetings or discussions
• Calendars, travel records, teaching schedules and lab
notes
• Time sheets and log books
Which Funds Do We Certify?
•
•
•
•
•
Federal Smith Lever (14xxx)
Federal Letter of Credit (21xxx)
Federal Letter of Credit Matching (22xxx)
Other Federal Grants and Contracts (23xxx)
Other Federal Matching (24xxx)
Note: Employees who receive any portion of their salary from
the fund sources above will require effort certification.
Federal Smith-Lever (14xxx)
Faculty Salaries & OSSDP
– In addition to State Appropriated Funds, Federal
Smith-Lever funds are sometimes used to pay salary
for Extension Faculty. These funds support all
Extension programs and Faculty must Certify
Extension Program effort.
– Organizational Salary Savings Distribution Plan
(OSSDP Funds) Currently these funds are funded by
Federal Smith-Lever and must be Certified.
When do we Certify Effort?
Effective January 2016 UACES will have quarterly Effort
Reporting periods:
•
January 1st to March 31st

•
April 1st to June 30th

•
Effort Reports available for Certification and Post-Review
August 1st – August 31st
July 1st to September 30th

•
Effort Reports available for Certification and Post-Review
May 1st - May 31st
Effort Reports available for Certification and Post-Review
November 1st - November 30th
October 1st to December 31st

Effort Reports available for Certification and Post-Review
February 1st – February 31st
What Effort Certification Is “NOT”.
• Effort certification is not how the payroll
expense was distributed. If the payroll expense
distribution does not match actual effort, a
payroll correction will need to be processed.
It is recommended that supervisors check expense distribution
and effort at the beginning of each certification cycle to assure
they will match.
Some Red Flags:
• Late effort certifications
• Certifier does not have firsthand knowledge of work
•
•
•
•
•
•
performed or suitable means of verification
Over 90% effort placed on the grant
No effort placed on grant
Untimely payroll redistributions and corrections
without proper justification/explanation
Significant amount of re-certifications
Records do not match certification
Effort on proposal is not reflected in certification
A-21 Time & Effort Certification
Audit Results for FY12 :
Finding #12-01:
There are no written policies and procedures over
federal time and effort reporting.
Finding #12-02:
Of the effort reports sampled over 30% of the forms
were not signed timely by the employee or principal
investigator on the project.
A-21 Time & Effort Certification
Audit Results for FY13:
Finding #13-01:
The policies and procedures over federal time and effort
reporting are general rather than specific in nature.
Finding #13-02:
Of the effort reports sampled 28% of the forms were
either not signed timely or not dated making it not
possible to determine whether they were timely.
Additionally, three effort certification forms did not
include 100% of the employee’s time and effort.
FY13 Effort Reports
400
350
300
101
28.53%
77
28.73%
250
200
150
100
253
71.47%
191
71.27%
50
0
1st Half
2nd Half
Delinquent
On Time
A-21 Time & Effort Certification
Audit Results for FY14:
• Final Year Audit Results:
Finding #14-01:
Three late reports, all less than five days late.
REMINDERS
• Effort Reports for the Period 7/1/15 – 12/31/15 will be
available for certification by April 1st .
• Once the Effort Report has been Certified and Post-
Reviewed, the report is locked and is not available for
update.
In unusual instances with appropriate PI justification AND approval by the following:
• Corresponding Asst/Assoc Director
• Associate VP for Agriculture - Extension
The ERS Administrator (OSP Director) can unlock a previously certified report for
payroll correction & re-certification.
Questions?
•
Does AIMS provide same information? NO – although AIMS can provide support for
Effort Reporting as a suitable means of verification, it is not payroll records.
•
Are EHIRE-100’s available to Employees? YES – in CEDAR
THE
PROCESS
SHERYL BAKER
Information Technology
OLD EFFORT REPORT
Why Change??
• Better Review Process to Increase Accuracy
– Process allows reviews by OSP, Certifier and PI
• Efficient Monitoring and Routing of Effort
Report
– The disposition/location of an Effort Report is
available real time.
– Electronic Routing. No paper to move from
location to location or office to office. It’s all
available online and in real time.
Why Change?? (Cont.)
• Payroll Corrections to Effort Reporting are
Processed More Effectively
• Able to Monitor Process to Ensure Reporting
is Complete and Digitally Stored to Prevent
Lost Records
• Quick Access for Audit Reviews to
Demonstrate Compliance and Avoid Audit
Findings.
New Effort Reporting Steps
• Pre-Review
•
•
Prior to the Certification Period
Completed by OSP Grant & Contract Analyst (PI receives FYI
copy)
• Certification
•
During this period appointed employees will self-certify and
PI/PI designee will certify for temporary staff
• Post-Review
•
•
After effort report is certified
Principal Investigators will perform post-review for reports
reflecting effort on their projects
New Effort Reporting Process
Demonstrate 8 Actions to Perform by Users
1. Getting to Effort Reporting in SSB
2. All Certifying Employees - Self Certification
3. All - Submitting Change Requests
4. Entering Comments
5. Printing New Effort Report
6. PI’s – Temp (Graduate) Certification
7. PI Proxies – How to Certify & Review as Proxy
8. PI’s – Post Review
Getting to Effort through Self Service
Go to Banner Self Service
Getting to Effort through Self Service
Getting to Effort through Self Service
Getting to Effort through Self Service
Certifying
• The Certify My Effort page is displayed. This is for the certifier.
• Double-click on the reporting period line to open the record. The Status
column should display ‘Awaiting Certification’ and the ‘Unlocked/Locked’
column must be ‘Unlocked’.
Certifying
•
The Effort Report consists of two sections: Sponsored and Non-Sponsored activity.
•
•
Sponsored activity – activity supported by funding outside the university.
Non-sponsored activity – all other activity (usually university funding).
Certifying
•
•
.
Review the accounting distribution(s) and the effort percentage(s).
To certify the effort reported is accurate, click on the ‘Certify’ button.
Certifying
If you agree, Click “I Agree”
Requesting Changes
•
•
.
Review the accounting distribution(s) and the effort percentage(s).
To Request Changes click the ‘Request Changes’ button.
Requesting Changes
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•
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Email
Effort_Reporting@uaex.edu
with Changes
CC: Admin Responsible for
EHIRE Changes
Include “From” and “To”
Fund Information
Send the email
Entering Comments
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•
ALWAYS enter comments when requesting changes.
Click on Comments
Entering Comments (Cont.)
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Click on “Add Comment at the bottom
Entering Comments (Cont.)
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Enter Comment Describing Changes or any other information
Click Save
Printing Your Effort Report
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•
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Click on the “More Actions” drop-down arrow, and click Print.
A separate window will open displaying your report in adobe reader.
Click on the Print icon. Close the window
PI’s – Temp/Terminated Employee Certification
• Go to “Review or Certify Reports”
• Click on “Advanced Search’
PI’s – Temp/Terminated Employee Certification
• Click on the Drop Down
Beside “Select Attribute”
• Select “Chart of Account
code”
PI’s – Temp/Terminated Employee Certification
• Click on the “…” to the Right of the Block
PI’s – Temp Employee Certification
• Select the “Z” Code from the Available Chart Codes
• Click on Select
PI’s – Temp/Terminated Employee Certification
• Click on “Go’
• The System Will List Participants Tied to your Project
• Screen will Look like Below
PI’s – Temp/Terminated Employee Certification
• Double-click on the employee line to open the record. The Status column
should display ‘Awaiting Certification’
PI’s – Temp/Terminated Employee Certification
•
•
Review the accounting distribution(s) and the effort percentage(s).
To certify the effort reported is accurate, click on the ‘Certify’ button.
PI’s – Temp/Terminated Employee Certification
If you agree, Click “I Agree”
PI Proxies Available
(In Rare Circumstances)
• Available upon OSP Approval.
– Approval will only be granted when PI will be disengaged from the
project for prolonged period or for a large decentralized program
(SNAP/EFNEP)
• Contact OSP at Effort_Reporting@uaex.edu if you wish to
assign someone as a proxy
• You will be able to do the following actions on behalf of the
person you are acting as a proxy.
– Certify for Them
– Certify for Temps
– Review
PI Proxies
• Go to “Proxy or SuperUser”
• Select Drop Down and Select Person You are Acting as a Proxy
• Select ADD PROXY
Short Demo
Questions