Contracts and Grants Track NERAOC 2011

1. Contracts and Grants TrackNERAOC 2011 MAY 22-25, 2011 Anchorage, Alaska Session #4: Creative Grants Engagement: F & A Costs Contracts and Grants Dilemmas

2. Presenters • Mary Ann Downs Contracts and Grants Specialist mdowns@mafes.msstate.edu • Tina Hood, CRA Administrator, Sponsored Programs Administration thood@spa.msstate.edu • Anne Cook, Fiscal Officer anne@mafes.msstate.edu

3. Problem Constant changes in financial processing Financial staff without background in Contracts and Grants Classroom style training methods Growing number of contracts and grants

4. The Amazing (Dawg) Race Let the games begin!

5. General Information: Signatures: • Know who can sign contracts at your institutions. • For MSU, Only Director of Sponsored Programs Administration and Director of Procurement & Contracts can sign contracts - - even copier leases, etc. Previously our Vice President for Agriculturecould sign Sponsored Agreement Contracts.

6. Contracts and Grants Challenge # 1: Let no dollar go to waste……

7. [There will be a challenge question re: use of contracts and grants dollars inserted here - - but we can’t give away our answers before the session!

8. Contracts and Grants Challenge #2: Nothing’s free……

9. You’ll have to come to the session to see the question/answer/discussion here re: PIs and their current and pending effort!

10. Hot Issues: • Internal Billings/Service Centers: Service Centers allow for a standard rate calculation to be made for services provided by departments. Charging a project for any cost other than a direct cost must be supported by a rate approved by the Controller and Treasurer’s Office. • Time and Effort Reporting

11. You guessed it - - you have to come to the session to get the speed bump info re: Time and Effort reporting!

12. JLRF* Justification over 90 Days • Justifications should explain the reason for the delay and the reason why the change is needed. • It is never correct to process a JLRF to “use up the money”. • These forms are for the auditors. Explanations should be concise, accurate, and well-worded. *JLRF = MSU’s Job Labor Redistribution Form

13. F & A Shedding a little light* on a dull (but important!) subject *Utilities, for those of you who enjoy wordplay! .

14. What is F & A? F & A stands for Facilities and Administrative rate, commonly referred to as the overhead rate or the indirect costs. • Why does it matter? If an expense is included in calculation of the F & A rate, it cannot be charged directly to a contract or grant. EVEN if the C or G doesn’t allow indirect, you still cannot charge these expenses to the Contract or Grant. • What’s commonly in an F & A rate…? Challenge # 3

15. Lively activity and discussion is anticipated re: elements of the F & A rate…..yes…..lively!

16. Things that belong in your “Yes, I can normally charge that to my grant” pile

17. Things that belong in your “No, I can NOT normally charge that to my grant” pile

18. So….How’d you do? 1-5 right? 6-16 correct? All 17 correctly sorted?

19. NCURA’s A-21 Mini-book • An introduction • Office Resource

21. Exceptions? There’s a form for that!

23. Challenge #4 The Case of Justifiable Commitments

24. The question/answer will appear here at the session!

25. Challenge #5 The Sum of its Parts

26. The question/answer will appear here at the session!

27. On the road…..

28. Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. • --Will Rogers

29. Thanks….and Safe Travels!