Fiscal Compliance Dashboard: End of Award Equipment Purchases

Description

Equipment expenses posted within the last 90 days or after the Total Period end date.

Issues

  1. As all purchases must benefit an Award, it can be difficult to prove the benefit of equipment when it is purchased close to or after the Total Period end date. 
  2. Sponsor approval is typically required for equipment purchases, so the PI needs to ensure that appropriate written approvals are obtained.  
  3. End of Award expenditures can be seen as being for Budgetary Convenience (e.g., spending down a balance of funds). Equipment can be seen as not necessarily for the benefit of the Award.
  4. Equipment can be high dollar expenditures; the ownership and disposition rules are complex.

Indicators

  1. Expenses using Object Code 06.
  2. Posting date either within the last 90 days of the Total Period End date or after the Total Period End date.
  3. Equipment expenses posted after the end date of the Award are subject to additional scrutiny, as they may indicate that the equipment was not received before the Total Period End Date.
  4. Expenses posted after the end date should be reviewed to ensure that the expense was included on invoices and financial reports to the sponsor.

Filters

Does not include expenses using Object Code 06 on Fabrication budgets. 

Does not include purchases within the last 90 days of the Budget Period End date. While such transactions may be questioned in a review, they can typically be supported by proof that the item is providing support to the Total Award and not to a single Budget Period.

Actions

End of Award Equipment purchases are easily identifiable and likely to be reviewed in an external review. All purchases should be reviewed to ensure:

  1. Sponsor approval, if required by the terms of the Award, has been obtained by:
    • Itemization of the equipment in the proposal and proposal budget; or
    • Written approval from the sponsor’s authorized official.
  2. Supporting written documentation to explain why the purchase was completed so late in the Award.
  3. Supporting written documentation explaining how the equipment benefits the Award, given its purchase so late in the Award.

If these three items cannot be provided, then a determination should be made whether the expense should be moved to an alternate funding source.


Post Award Fiscal Compliance email: gcafco@uw.edu

For questions and issues relating to Effort Reporting, email: effortreporting@uw.edu

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