Department Administrator Session #10

December 11, 2013

Agenda

• 2014 Tri-council Monitoring Review• Roles and Responsibilities• Authorization of Expenses• Supporting Documentation• Journal Entries and Internal Charges• Compliance Review• Questionnaire

2014 Tri-council Monitoring Review• Risk Assessment Questionnaire

– The Risk Assessment Questionnaire was completed by UofG in October 2012. A few questions from questionnaire have been included in the questionnaire that was sent to everyone by Asif Momin. The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather information about how things are done in your department so we can assess what controls are in place at UofG.

– We are keeping track and require every department to submit a response. – Please respond honestly and reflect your current practice. – These sessions and this questionnaire are about sharing information and learning from each other. If

you hear of something another department is doing that is a good practice, please follow up with that department and implement the appropriate controls/practices in your department. The Tri-Council review is for the University of Guelph so we are all in this together, lets help each other out!!

• Collaborative Information Gathering Tool– This is a listing of 100 controls that Tri-Council tests against. They require Guelph to provide pdfs,

website links, etc to show what controls are currently in place at Guelph. – When Tri-Council reviews, they are reviewing the UofG and the controls for the institution. If your

department has good controls in place but another department does not, Tri-Council will make an overall assessment that Guelph does not have good controls.

– If your department/college has a good control, please share it with others so another department may be able to implement it.

– UofG will need to provide info about the controls by April/May 2014. RFS will begin its review of these controls in January 2014.

2014 Tri-council Monitoring Review

• Information and Documentation Requests– Tri-Council will review the researchers with awards in 2013/14 and

select a number of them for testing. UofG will then provide a transaction listing for the selected researchers for the 2013/14 period.

– Tri-Council will select approximately 200 transactions and they will now test that we are implementing our controls to meet the requirements of Tri-Council. This means appropriate signatures are in place, etc. The review will take place offsite so we will be scanning a large number of documents and sending them to Ottawa for review. We will have one shot at this so we need to ensure we will gather ALL of the relevant information at the time we send it Ottawa.

– UofG will need to provide the transaction listing 1-2 months before the visit. The visit is planned for sometime in July 2014

2014 Tri-council Monitoring Review• Opening Meeting

– The Opening meeting will be with Laura Beaupre, Dave Reinhart and VP Research (and/or AVP Research) and AVP Finance and Administration

• Transaction Testing - normally covers last fiscal year (2013/2014) – This will be done by the Auditors in Ottawa

• Interviews– Tri-Council will conduct interviews with other relevant people involved in the

administration of awards. Interviews could be with department administrators, researchers, A/P, Human Resources, Ethics, Central Animal Facility, Research Support Services, Research Financial Services, etc

– Comments from these interviews can impact the overall outcome. • Closing Meeting

– The Closing meeting will be with Laura Beaupre, Dave Reinhart and VP Research (and/or AVP Research) and AVP Finance and Administration to hear the results of pass or fail.

– A failing grade will mean that the UofG President will receive a call from Tri-Council and future funding from Tri-Council will be at risk.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Tri-council Requirement: Roles and Responsibilities of all parties (Grantees, OR, RFS, Dept. administrator etc.) should be well defined

• 2009 Monitoring Review we responded that Roles and Responsibilities would be clearly defined

• RFS is currently working on it– We hope to have something drafted in January 2014. We have begun

work by reviewing other institutions and what they have on their websites.

Authorization of Expenses Only Grantees and/or their delegates (with written

delegated authority) can initiate and authorize expenditures from the grants.

All claims must have the grantee or delegate’s signature.

The signatures certify that:

all expenditures on the claim are for the purpose for which the grant was awarded;

all expenditures on the claim are eligible expenses;

all goods and/or services have been received;

the charges included have not been claimed for reimbursement from other sources.

Source: 2013 Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide:

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Professors-Professeurs/FinancialAdminGuide-GuideAdminFinancier/Reporting-Rapports_eng.asp

Authorization of Expenses• The Fund 301 Delegation of Authority must be used for Fund 301 transactions.

The Fund 301 form is specific to the Grant Leader delegating authority. This does mean that some purchasing clerks, admins may need to sign off on additional forms.– To minimize the number of forms that are required, we have reviewed the

current form and have expanded it to allow up 6 delegations on ‘one’ form.– This new form will replace the existing Form 301 Delegation form shortly.– There is a standard delegation of authority form that allows you to note dollar

values,etc. This form is not valid for Fund 301 transactions. • There should be two checks for signatures when an expenditure is charged to Tri-

Council account. One check is to confirm the person initiating the expense is the researcher or a delegate. The other check is when the expense is being authorized.– The Form 301 Delegation of authority process is geared towards having the

appropriate signature (researcher or delegate) for invoices that are paid through A/P.

– A/P is currently checking all Fund 301 transactions to ensure appropriate signatures are in place

Authorization of Expenses

• Who initiates expenses in your department? What is the control to ensure that the initiation of the expense is:– Written request (please note that every request to charge a Tri-

Council account must be in writing)– Who in your department is checking to ensure that the signature to

initiate the expenditure is the researcher or an approved delegate• What is the control in your department around this process?• Do you have a book or a listing of all delegated signatures for each Tri-

Council award?

• Some departments/colleges already have this control in place:– Notably CBS and School of Environmental Sciences are checking for

researcher or delegate signature to initiate a transaction

Authorization of Expenses• All types of expenses/charges need to reviewed to ensure that UofG has a

control in place to ensure written initiation of the expense (by researcher or delegate) and appropriate authorization of the expense (by researcher or signature). – The other types of expenses/charges that do not go through A/P will need to be

reviewed. These include:• Personnel • Courier charges• Supply Managed Contract purchases• Pcard purchases• Airfare• Journal entries• Internal charges (a list of internal charges will follow)• Internal stores (a list of internal stores will follow)• Travel• Other (please advise if there are other types of expenses that you feel should be

reviewed)

Authorization of Expenses

• List of Internal Stores to reviewed:– Bookstore– Chemistry store– Pharmacy store– Lab Services– Physical Resources– Physics Machineshop– Other (please advise if there are other Internal Stores that

should be added to the list)• Please advise Asif if you know of the appropriate

contact name for any of these stores

Authorization of Expenses

• List of Internal Charges to be reviewed:– 64021 – Animal housing costs– 64111 – Fax charges– 64131 – General Cost charge– 64171 – Growth Room/Greenhouse charges– 64251 – Lab tests and Equipment usage– 64252 – Laboratory supplies cost– 64301 – Machine shop services– 64311 – Mail services charge– 64351 – Parking charge– 64361 – Photocopying costs

Authorization of Expenses

• List of Internal Charges to be reviewed (continued):– 64382 – Release time (INELIGIBLE)– 64415 – Vehicle Service Charge – Maintenance– 64483 – Telephone Charge – General (INELIGIBLE)– 64484 – Telephone Long Distance– 64513 – Vehicle Charge – 64523 – Vet Hospital Charges– 64533 – Work Order Charges– 66105 – Project Authorizations– Other (Please advise if there are other Internal Charges that

should be added to the list)

Supporting Documentation Salaries or stipends paid to research personnel:

signed records regarding personnel paid from grant funds, including names, categories, salary levels, affiliation to the grant;

length of time supported in each case; details of employee benefits charged and relevant calculations.

Equipment and supplies: supplier invoices indicating details of purchases; prices paid. written justification

Internal expense allocations or shared expenditures: documentation indicating the exact charge made; the method of calculation or attribution; the grantee’s authorization for those assigned to the Agency

account.

Supporting Documentation

Hospitality for networking and research-related activities: the date(s) of the event(s); number of participants; purpose of the event; counter signature by the department head or dean for hospitality

expenses claimed by the grantee.

Incentives paid for research recruitment and participation: supplier invoices indicating details of incentive purchases; the application to a Research Ethics Board (REB) detailing

incentive plan the REB approval of the incentive; proof of payment of incentives.

Source: 2013 Tri-Agency Financial Administration Guide:

http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Professors-Professeurs/FinancialAdminGuide-GuideAdminFinancier/Reporting-Rapports_eng.asp

Journal Entries and Internal Charges

Journal Entries Must be initiated by Grantees and their delegates Written documentation from grantee or delegate is

required (we committed in 2009 monitoring review visit)

Internal Charges Must be initiated by Grantees and their delegates Written documentation from grantee or delegate is

required Documentation indicating the exact charge made The method of calculation of charges

Supporting Documentation

• Please note requirements to show relevant calculations for internal charges

• CBS has a Hiring Form that captures much of the relevant information for the charge of new personnel to a Tri-Council account

Compliance Review

• Authorization of expenses• Expense Eligibility• Supporting Documentation• JEs and Internal Charges• Confirmation of ongoing eligibility of grantee• Ethics certification• Who provide compliance review

Compliance Review

• The points on the previous slide are the hot spots that Tri-Council will review when assessing whether UofG is compliant.

• Please note that expense eligibility is only one part of the compliance review.

• Because UofG is a decentralized institution, Tri-Council is quite concerned about:– the roles and responsibilities of those involved in Tri-Council

award administration– assurance that all involved with Tri-Council award administration

are knowledgeable of the guidelines– appropriate controls are in place in every department/college

Monitoring Review Questionnaire

Purpose: - To get understanding of how departments operate Tri-council

grants - To make sure all departments are compliant to Tri-council

policies and guidelinesThe purpose of this questionnaire is to gather information about how things are done in your department so we can assess what controls are in place at UofG.

All department have to complete the questionnaireDue by: January 10, 2014

• We are keeping track and require every department to submit a response.

• Please respond honestly and reflect your current practice.

Tri-council Monitoring Review Questionnaire

Section 1: Authorization of Expenditures

Q1. Who can initiate expenditures charged to Tri-council grants?• Only Grant Holders and/or their delegates • Grant Holders only• Procurement Officers• Department Administrators• Dean or Department Head

Q2. Who can authorize payments of expenditures charged to Tri-council grants?

• Only Grant Holders and/or their delegates • Grant Holders only• Procurement Officers• Department Administrators• Dean or Department Head

Tri-council Monitoring Review Questionnaire

Q3. How is Grant Holder authorization of expenditures documented (select all that apply)?

• A written signature for each expenditure• An electronic authorization for each expenditure• A combination of written and electronic authorizations• A signature or electronic authorization on the periodic

statement of account• No documentation is required to support Grant Holder

authorization

Tri-council Monitoring Review Questionnaire

Section 2: Supporting Documentation

Q4. What supporting documentation you obtain for each expenditure (select all that apply)?

• Supplier Invoice• Purchase order • Expense reimbursement Forms / Cheque requisition• Expenditure initiation letter/e-mail from Grant Holders or

their delegates• Authorization from Grant Holders and/or their delegates• Justification for Equipment purchase• Other: Please list _________________________________

Tri-council Monitoring Review Questionnaire

Section 3: Eligibility Status

Q5. Is there a formal process to confirm the continuing eligibility status of Grant Holders to ORES?• Yes• No

Q6. When is ORES informed of these changes (i.e. terminations, promotions, departures, death etc.)?

Immediately• Upon request from ORES• The ORES is not notified• Other: please specify ___________

Tri-council Monitoring Review Questionnaire

Section 4: Eligibility of individuals to receive a salary from research grant funds

Q7. When paying salary and/or consulting fee to the individual from Tri-council grants, do you make sure that the individual is not Tri-council grantee or whose status would make them eligible to apply for Tri-council grants?• Yes• No

Q8. If the answer of Q7 is “Yes”, is there a formal process to confirm

it? • Yes• No

Tri-council Monitoring Review QuestionnaireSection 5: Journal Entries and Internal Charges

Q9. How is Grant Holder authorization of charging (reversing) expenses through JEs documented (select all that apply)?

• A written signature for each JE• An electronic authorization for each JE• A combination of written and electronic authorizations• A signature or electronic authorization on the periodic statement of account• No documentation is required to support Grant Holder authorization

Q10. How is Grant Holder authorization of internal charges documented (select all that apply)?

• A written signature for each internal charge• An electronic authorization for each internal charge• A combination of written and electronic authorizations• A signature or electronic authorization on the periodic statement of account• No documentation is required to support Grant Holder authorization

Tri-council Monitoring Review Questionnaire

Q11. When do Grant Holders authorize internal charges and/or shared costs charged to their grants (select all that apply)?

• Once a year for recurring transactions• Annually through internal agreements or service contracts• Individually as they are charged• When reviewing periodic financial statements• Before the expense is charged against the grant• Grant Holder is invoiced directly• The costs are charged directly to grants via journal entries