To UT Physics Faculty (and in particular to ALL Principal
Investigators)
From Soren
Subject Monthly review by the PIs of ledgers for research accounts
Thanks to the efforts of our
Business Manager, Mike Roach, the Department of Physics will start a
stronger monthly review and reconciliation procedure for all our
research accounts. The purpose is two fold: first of all this will
bring us in compliance with University policies, and secondly it will
ensure that y'all spend at least 5-10 minutes each months going over
your research finances. Most of you already do that, but unfortunately
we know from hard-earned experiences that a few of you don't always pay
as much attention to these pesky financial details as you should :-).
Mike Roach will email you
each month when the ledgers and summary are available. After you
review the
ledgers, simply indicate approval or questions by replying to the
email. The monthly notification from Mike will be designed to
facilitate
this process.
If you do not know how to read the pertinent information off the
ledgers and/or from Mike's summary print-out, please do not hesitate to
come by his office and he will teach you. One thing is for sure: a)
claiming ignorance or b) that the ledgers are too difficult to
understand or c) that your research is too important for you to be
bothered with worrying about trivial details like money, will not cut
it. The PI is responsible for the finances on the research contract!
Below you will find the more formal writeup of a memo describing this
monthly procedure and, in particular, the division of responsibility
between the PI and the Physics Business Office.
University of Tennessee Department of Physics and Astronomy
Procedures for
Reconciling and Reviewing Departmental Ledger
Mike Roach and Soren Sorensen
May
25, 2007
It is the responsibility of the Principal
Investigator (PI)
to ensure that the monthly sponsored project ledgers are accurate and
that
charges are appropriate under the approved project budget.
To help facilitate this process, the business
office performs basic reconciliation procedures that assure the PI that
sufficient documentation is in place for operating expenditures
(invoices,
transfer vouchers, etc.). The division
of responsibilities between the Business Office and the PI is described
below:
Business Office
- Compares departmental records (invoice
documentation, etc.) with the current month’s transactions on the
sponsored project ledgers and ensures that the correct WBS element,
general ledger account, amount, and so forth were charged.
- Ensures that all transactions
appearing on the ledgers which are not supported by departmental
records are accurate and authorized.
- Periodically (twice per year or as
requested by PI) supplies payroll detail along with the monthly ledgers
so that the PI can verify that individuals charged to the project are
allowable under the approved project budget.
- Makes correcting entries as needed.
Principal
Investigator
- Verifies the award amount, budget, and
end date for the sponsored project.
- Ensures that the sponsored project is
not overspent and that expenditures are within the approved project
period.
- Reviews the ledger transactions for
appropriateness and asks to see documentation for questionable
transactions.
- Ensures that employees charged to the
project are appropriate.
- Notifies the Business Manager by
monthly email that the ledgers have been reviewed and that they appear
to be accurate except as noted by the PI.
It is University
policy that these procedures are performed each month.
Please contact the Business Manager with
questions, requests for information, and/or requests to view supporting
documentation on file.
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Soren P. Sorensen Department of Physics
Professor and Head University of Tennessee
(865) 974-7805 Knoxville, TN 37996-1200
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