PersonnelActivityReports-FinanceAdministration.ppt

Personnel Activity Reports The why, who, where and how of PARs. Why do we have to complete PARs? The University is reimbursed, by the Federal Government, for indirect costs associated with Federal grants, contracts and other agreements. The University is subject to Federal guidelines relating to these reimbursements, specifically the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 – Cost Principles for Educational Institutions. Why do we have to complete PARs? OMB Circular A-21 (Section J.10) contains requirements for procedures and documentation to support the distribution of salaries and wages charged directly to an award or through Facilities and Administrative (indirect) activities. The employee’s salary must follow consistently applied institutional policies regarding compensation and be allocated through an official payroll system that ties with the financial records of the institution. Why do we have to complete PARs? The payroll distribution must reasonably reflect the activity for which the employee is compensated. The method must recognize the principle of after-the-fact confirmation so that costs distributed represent actual costs. The main objective of A-21 is verification that compensation charged is appropriate to the activity performed. Why do we have to complete PARs? Our verification method is in the form of Personnel Activity Reports (PARs). PARs are used to confirm that the distribution of activity represents a reasonable estimate of the work performed by the employee during the period. Why do we have to complete PARs? University wide, only 5% of PARs require adjustments. For the majority of employees, the review and certification of a PAR is not a burdensome task. Violation of effort certification requirements or committed cost share tracking requirements have resulted in million dollar fines. (NYU $5 M, Johns Hopkins $2.6 M, FIU $11.5 M, Univ. of Alabama/Birmingham $3.4 M) Who receives a PAR? The Personnel Activity Reports and Effort R