Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Will the institution have more than one Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) responsible for proposal submission and award acceptance?
No, the role of the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) will continue to be managed via OSPA through the role of the Associate Vice President for Research as it is today. This is a central office function and will remain so.
I don’t understand what the new CGS role does?
On the CGS website we have a detailed Service Catalog. The CGS Service Catalog outlines each service in detail that the Collaboratives will perform. This is also described at a higher level on the Services page of the CGS website. Each role across the research lifecycle is broken down in the RACI matrix on the CGS website.
What is my role now as the investigator/BO?
Each role across the research lifecycle is broken down in the RACI matrix on the CGS website. This CGS RACI Matrix outlines who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for each task that the Collaboratives is responsible for. This chart provides a structured way to communicate who is responsible for specific tasks or decisions, who is accountable for the outcome, who needs to be consulted before decisions are made, and who should be kept informed of progress. Specific Investigator resources have been developed and are available on the CGS Investigator webpage.
Who should I send my completed Scholarship and Grant Authorization (SAG) form to for processing within CGS?
Completed SAG forms should be sent to the Post Award Manager within their hub area listed here. Once the Manager receives the completed form, they will review the following items at minimum and follow up with any additional questions before forwarding the form for further processing.
- The account to be charged is an appropriate account for student tuition
- The budget dates of the award align with the tuition being charged
- The GL code is correct on the form
- The account has budget available in the correct sponsored class
- The student has the correct type of position in SAP to charge tuition
The tuition is for the correct semester
Who should I contact within CGS with questions related to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU?)
The sooner our office is aware of an investigator leaving the institution the more support we can provide for the MOU process. Please reach out to the associated Post Award Manager listed here with questions related to the (MOU) process and for alerting our office when an investigator is leaving. The Post Award Manager will help to facilitate the process of getting the MOU reviewed and submitted through the appropriate offices.
Documentation Review
How can I find my reconciliation documents?
The supervisor of the Financial Analyst Team signs the full report and stores it on SharePoint for unit staff to access. Departments can view finalized monthly Line-Item Detail reports here.
Is it fine if our unit's reconciliation method is different from the CGS process?
Every college and unit have their own way of reviewing and reconciling documents and CGS does not aim to copy any unit's method. If a college or unit requires extra steps to finish their documented reconciliation process, that will be the responsibility of the unit. Please see the reconciliation toolkit located here for more information.
What if RFS needs copies of documentation to submit to a sponsor or auditor? Will CGS provide those documents?
RFS has access to the same institutional financial systems as CGS and will collect financial documentation needed in these circumstances. If there is additional expense documentation needed that isn’t included in SAP, Concur, ECM, etc., CGS will work with the unit to gather the information. The best practice is to add sufficient documentation in institutional systems so that all items are stored centrally to demonstrate the expense is compliant with the costing principles of allowable, allocable, reasonable, necessary and documented. As cost transfer requirements include source documentation to be provided to RFS by policy, documentation stored will be gathered by CGS and additional information needed to demonstrate compliance such as timelines and justifications, will be gathered in consultation with the unit.
Non-compliant Transaction Review Process
I have received a non-compliant transaction email notification. What should I do?
There are no responses required when the email is received. The notification is to provide information on the transaction that posted incorrectly to prevent these errors from occurring in the future.
Am I able to process a new cost transfer moving the non-compliant expense to another sponsored project or update documentation to place it back on the original sponsored project?
No, the expense will be moved to the responsible unit indirect overrun and must be moved via cost transfer to another non-sponsored cost object.
Why was I not notified of the non-compliant JV before it was posted?
CGS will make every effort to allow for expenditures to remain on sponsored projects and will reach out if there are additional questions to be answered. Only the true unallowable costs will be removed via the non-compliant process. This process is meant to lessen errors and to protect the assets of the institution.
KY State Sales Tax was removed from my sponsored project. Why is that?
KY state sales tax is not an allowable cost on sponsored projects. If sales tax is charged by mistake, a credit should be obtained from the vendor and both the charge and the credit posted to a non-sponsored cost object. More information related to KY State Sales Tax can be found in the University Procard Manual and the Procard FAQ.
CGS Cost Transfer Process
What should I do if I need to process a cost transfer on a sponsored project?
All sponsored project related cost transfers should flow through CGS for processing with very few exceptions. Please contact your Post Award CGS contact for assistance with this process.
I received an approval notification for a cost transfer that I haven’t received before. Why is that?
The standard process for Cost Transfers that go through CGS will involve the approval of the DA/BO for any cost transfer, and also the approval of the Principal Investigator for any cost transfer that adds an expense to a sponsored project.