UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE
OFFICE OF BUDGET AND FINANCE
3211 Providence Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
Associate Vice Chancellor
Accounting Services
Accounts Receivable
Cashiering
Disbursements
Accounts Payable and Travel
Budget Development and Fiscal Planning
Financial Systems/WOLFcard
General Accounting and Finance
Grants and Contracts
TO:Deans, Directors and Department Heads
FROM:Soren Orley, AVC for Budget and Finance
Carolyn Long, Director of Human Resource Services
SUBJECT:Timekeeping for Employees on Sponsored Projects
DATE:August 28, 2002
It recently came to my attention that not all faculty and staff are properly reporting their effort/time for work performed on restricted fund projects. The federal government requires signed documentation for all faculty, staff and student salaries charged directly to sponsored agreements (2xxxxx) and any related fund to record cost-share (146xxx). Sponsored agreements may include but are not limited to grants, contracts, memoranda of agreement, cooperative agreements, Reimbursable Services Agreements (State of Alaska) and purchase orders. This is not an optional requirement nor is it new. UAA uses the bi-weekly Time Sheet for Non-Exempt Employees and the Effort/Leave Report for Exempt Employees to meet this requirement.
Representatives from the Provost’s Office, Human Resource Services Department, Grants and Contracts, and Budget and Finance met on July 17, 2002, to discuss how to assure compliance with the restricted fund timekeeping requirements. As a result, faculty and staff who should turn in a timesheet but fail to do so will have their wages and benefits charges default to their home org/general fund instead of to the restricted fund. Payroll will notify the appropriate cost center clerk of the change in distribution. A courtesy copy of this notification will be sent to the Dean’s office at the same time. It will be left up to the department, after obtaining proper documentation, to transfer the labor charges out of the unrestricted fund into the proper restricted fund. This procedure is effective beginning the pay period ending September 7, 2002 (LD19).
As a reminder, the employee (if available) and their supervisor are to sign the time sheet or effort/leave report. The approving signature verifying the employee’s effort must always be an individual who has first-hand knowledge of all activities reported during the pay period. Delegation of authority to approve time keeping documents should go up not down in certifying percentage of effort recorded to a sponsored agreement. A signed time sheet or effort/leave report must be prepared and submitted as documentation of the allocability and allowability of the payroll charge. The time sheet or effort/leave report must be attached to the Labor Redistribution Form.
This process will create extra work for all concerned if a time sheet or effort/leave report is not turned in on time. However, failure to follow federal regulations puts current and future federal funding at risk. With over $24 million in restricted monies at UAA, this is a risk we simply cannot take. Your assistance in obtaining the proper time keeping documents is appreciated. If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Ivie at 786-1454.
cc:Chancellor
Vice Chancellors
Budget Technicians
Cost Center Clerks
Soren Orley, Associate Vice Chancellor for Budget and Finance, Phone (907) 786-1448 Fax (907) 786-1807