Documenting Cost Transfers in MyFD

Information entered into MyFD is accessed by auditors, so documentation needs to be audit ready. Be mindful that your responses are providing information to auditors that provides a reasonable assurance that the department is exercising appropriate Internal Controls.  

All documentation on Cost Transfers should include the following:

• Why the error was incurred; what Internal Control broke down
• Steps the department is taking to ensure the error will not happen again
• The tangible benefit to the recipient budget

Cost Transfer documentation should not include the following:

• Incomplete or incoherent sentences
• Identification of high risk practices (no PI review, budget reconciliations not completed)
• Blaming of other UW departments
• Identification of fraudulent or unallowable practices (temporarily posting costs, budgetary convenience)

MyFD Cost Transfer Questions

MyFD Cost Transfer Question #1

Q: Provide the reason for the transfer and why it was charged to the wrong budget number. If related to faculty effort, this question will be added: If effort was previously certified, explain why the effort was considered to be correct and then required a change.

A: Include why there was an error and what the department is doing to ensure that it will not happen again.

MyFD Cost Transfer Question #2

Q: How did the charge benefit the grant budget?

 A: Include information on why the expense should be allocated to the receiving budget. If the cost is allocated to more than one budget, provide the allocation method used to determine how much of the cost belongs to the receiving budget.

MyFD Cost Transfer Question #3

Q: Provide a complete statement that fully documents the reasons the transfer date is greater than 120 days from the original transaction date.

A: Recognize the error of such a long delay, identify the issue, and state how the issue is being addressed and what is being done to ensure it will not happen again.