Sponsored Accounting - CFO – Syracuse University

Office of Sponsored Accounting COVID-19 Response as of 3/18/2020
As COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, the Office of Sponsored Accounting (OSA) has transitioned to a virtual office environment and is continuing to provide full service and staffing to maintain our normal levels of faculty and staff support.

Please send any general questions to contacct@syr.edu and they will be forwarded to the appropriate staff member for reply.

Please continue to follow any pre-COVID-19 electronic processing procedures that were already in place.

OSA encourages all those seeking sponsored pre-audit (chartstrings containing a “project tail”) to be processed to please submit their forms electronically by emailing contacct@syr.edu . However, in cases where there is no other alternative, hard copy disbursements will be accepted each Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Comptroller’s Office at 640 Skytop Road.

Please contact your OSA Senior Accountant by email with any specific requests / questions that you may have regarding sponsored pre-audit, an existing sponsored award, along with any other questions that you may have.

OSA remains ready and available to serve the campus community in the processing of new award set- ups and modifications received from our sister department, the Office of Sponsored Programs, as they are received.

As new information about the COVID-19 crisis is being received with increasing frequency, please check the Comptroller’s and OSA’s home pages for the most up-to-date information related to our office’s service provisions.

During this time, the preferred contact mechanism for service requests to OSA is by email. However, if phone is the only option please leave a voice message for the intended party. It will be retrieved and responded to accordingly.

Office of Sponsored Accounting
The Office of Sponsored Accounting (OSA) works collaboratively with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to assist and support Syracuse University’s faculty and staff by providing guidance, assistance, education, and compliance with the financial management of sponsored projects.

OSA provides post-award financial administration of approved sponsored projects, contracts, and cooperative agreements on behalf of Syracuse University in accordance with CFR 200.302. Other duties include providing leadership in the development of strategies to effectively and efficiently meet the financial requirements of sponsoring organizations and supported units; providing service to all departments, department administrators, and grant/contract principal investigators through assistance in the business/financial aspects of sponsored projects; providing expertise in the administration of sponsored grants/contracts, including financial services to university departments and sponsoring agencies; and providing advice to department personnel and principal investigators in the financial management of their programs within the terms and conditions of the grant/contract federal regulation (e.g., OMB Circulars) NACUBO guidelines, and Syracuse policies.

OSP assists University faculty and staff with submission of proposals for external support of research, scholarship, education and training, and service/outreach activities. Responsibilities include, assuring that submitted proposals conform to University policies and sponsor guidelines, and if funded, that projects are compliant with sponsor requirements. For additional information, please visit OSP’s website.

Sponsored Accounting Staff

F&A (Indirect) Cost Rates Overview

What Are F&A Costs?

The importance of recovering Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs as part of the full cost of a sponsored project cannot be overstated. The University’s F&A rates are negotiated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and reflect expenses incurred in the conduct of sponsored activities. Included among these expenses are heating and air-conditioning, lights, custodial services in the lab, occupational safety, hazardous waste disposal, maintenance and repairs and depreciation costs of buildings and equipment, etc.

Why Are They Considered “Indirect?”

These expenses are “indirect” because they are not easily identified with a specific project and therefore are not included in the “direct” portion of the budget. F&A charged on projects provides reimbursement for actual institutional expenses that cannot be directly charged to a grant or contract. F&A costs support the conduct of sponsored projects, regardless of the source of funding, and therefore must be applied to all sponsored projects.

All sponsored project budgets should include all costs needed to accomplish the objectives presented in the statement of work. The total cost of any project includes both direct costs (salaries for the researchers, lab supplies, travel, etc.) and facilities and administrative costs (F&A).

Definitions

Indirect (Facilities & Administrative (F&A)) costs

Indirect (F&A) costs means those costs incurred for the common or joint purpose benefiting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefitted, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved.

Direct Costs (Allowable as Budgeted Items)	Indirect Costs (Not Allowable as Direct Costs)
Salaries/Wages & Fringe Benefits: Faculty, other professionals, technicians, post doc associates, research associates, graduate and undergraduate students	Salaries/Wages & Fringe Benefits: Clerical and administrative assistants, fiscal manager, secretaries, and directors
Materials and Supplies: Project related research and scientific supplies. Any equipment or software that does not qualify under the equipment definition	Office Supplies/Books & Journals: Pens, pencils, paper, staples, transparencies, toner cartridges, diskettes, printer paper, word processing and spreadsheet programs
Equipment: Equipment used for scientific, technical, and research purposes that costs greater than $5,000 and has a useful life of at least one year	Equipment: General office equipment such as copiers, printers, office computers, and fax machines
Facilities: Project specific space rental for off-campus facilities from a third party. Use of specialized equipment for which there is a commonly applied charge	Facilities: Utilities, building use, grounds maintenance, renovations, and alterations of University property whether on- or off-campus
Travel: Transportation, lodging, subsistence, and related items incurred by employees who are in travel status on official business of the institution related to the project	Travel: Costs of entertainment, and any costs directly associated with such costs (such as tickets to shows or sports events, meals, lodging, rentals, transportation, and gratuities)
Telephone: Long distance calls, phone surveys or calls to project participants	Telephone: Local calls, cell phones, installation and maintenance
Maintenance & Repairs: Requires justification that the expenditures are required and directly related to the specific award (e.g., less expensive than buying new)	Maintenance & Repairs: Maintenance and repairs to general purpose equipment, buildings, and grounds
Advertising: Recruitment of research subjects or for job openings approved for a specific project	Advertising: Public relations to promote unit/department/college
Publications: Project specific and project related. Copying included only when charges can be tracked	Publications: General printing and copying
Memberships, subscriptions and professional activity: Membership in business, technical, and professional organizations; related to and supportive of the project. Subscriptions to business, professional, and technical periodicals; related to and supportive of project	Memberships, subscriptions and professional activity: Membership in any civic or community organization Membership in any country club or social/dining club or organization
Freight/express deliveries and Postage: Justification required that cost needed to transport project material in a timely way	Freight/express deliveries and Postage: Routine or internal courier
Consulting: Project specific	Consulting: General, management, financial
Miscellaneous Costs: Subcontract costs, recharge center charges, and training costs	Miscellaneous Costs: Computer network charges and utilities.
Participant Support Costs: Participant support costs were traditionally allowed only by certain federal agencies or funding announcements. Under the Uniform Guidance, these costs are allowed with prior written approval of the funding agency, provided they are programmatically justified. The budget justification should describe the purpose for the costs and the way in which they will directly benefit the proposed project’s scope of work. These costs must be excluded when calculating the Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) to determine the overall project’s F&A costs.

Effort Reporting

The Spring 2023 Effort Reporting Certification period is scheduled to open to campus on May 30, 2023

The Spring 2023 certification period covers:

Faculty: January 1, 2023 – May 7, 2023
Staff: January 1, 2023 – May 15, 2023

Effort Reporting

Sponsored Accounting Documents