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Message from GCA
Hello from the Grant Analyst team in GCA!
The purpose of this newsletter is to provide some helpful tips and tricks, describe improvements to processes, and communicate trends that we’re seeing in GCA. We hope you find this information helpful!
Updates and Important Reminders
Sponsored Award Closeouts & Cost Transfer Process Change
Finance and Budget Strategy Vice President and Deputy CFO Jason Campbell sent an email to the MRAM email group last month about a change to the handling of sponsored awards closing with unresolved deficits and late-posting expenditures. Read the new policy in full here:
Proactive Action Required: Sponsored Award Closeouts & Cost Transfer Process Change Occurring May 1, 2025
Responding to Returned ASRs and MODs
When GCA receives a SAGE Award Setup Request (ASR) or a Modification Request (MOD), we may need to return the item to campus for correction.
We have recently created a new website with information about why most items are returned, what to do when an ASR or MOD is returned to campus, and how to avoid returns in the future.
See the guidance here:
Responding to Returned ASRs and MODs
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New Video on Separate Year Accountability
Separate Year Accountability is a term GCA uses to describe sponsor requirements dictating that each year's funding must accounted for separately from the prior year's funding; in other words, funds cannot be co-mingled year-over-year. GCA and the Office of Research’s CORE program have created a 13-minute video that guides users through a series of questions to help them determine if SYA applies to their award. You can find the video on UW Connect Finance or on GCA’s updated Separate Year Accountability website.
Watch the video here:
UW Connect Finance
GCA - Separate Year Accountability
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Budget Dates and Grant Closeout in Workday
Confusion surrounding the Budget Date field in Workday has caused a number of issues with sponsor invoicing, and as we ramp up our efforts in our Closeout topic, we are finding similar issues there as well.
Example:
In this screenshot from Award Portal, we see a pair of award lines with a combined unspent balance of $25,972.42.
When we view those same award lines in Workday, however, they appear very different.
In this view the combined unspent balance appears to be $166,301.62, since there are charges of $140,327.20 that have posted outside the award line dates. Clearly, these numbers are incorrect, so GCA cannot proceed with closeout until the budget dates on the affected transactions are corrected. This affects all sponsored programs but is particularly impactful in situations where GCA has been asked to perform a refund, carryover, deficit transfer, or residual balance transfer.
Additional guidance on budget dates, including how to identify and correct problems, is available on our website:
Budget and Accounting Dates on Sponsored Program Awards
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