Contact the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research if you have a subaward or
subcontract. All contracts involving GSU as a receiver of services or products must be approved
by one’s next immediate supervisor. OSPR will help to determine the relationship,
subaward/subcontract or vendor/contract, and will guide the principal investigator through the proper process. If a subaward/subcontract is necessary, OSPR will work with the appropriate office to ensure that all requirements are incorporated into the subaward/subcontract
documentation prior to it being sent to the recipient.
Travel
The university reimburses for expenses incurred in making approved trips, according to the following rules:
• Expensesmust be itemized in detail on the weekly travel expense statement.
• Original receiptsfor hotel bills and other expenses must be attached to the request for reimbursement.
• Automobile travelis reimbursed on a per mile basis (check current mileage rate). In addition, the weekly travel expense statement must be completed in detail regarding places visited and the actual mileage. Rental cars should be arranged at 'least cost' fees and may be, in some instances, preferable to personal auto use. The university encourages the use of a rental car whenever there is a cost saving possible.
• Commercial transportation(air, rail, and bus) shall be by minimum fare service. Ticket stubs must be submitted as evidence of this expenditure. Prior approval for all travel is required. Forms may be accessed online, downloaded and completed.
• Per Diemreceipts for meals are not required for reimbursement but should be obtained to verify actual expenditures. Up to date information about reimbursement limits can be found on Procurement and Business Services portal page.
• Taxifare receipts and other such out-of-pocket expenses must be presented for reimbursement. Tips are not reimbursed.
Procurement of supplies, equipment, services
All items to be purchased using grant or contract funds must follow the policies and procedures of the university. Forms, limitations on purchases, need for contracts, etc. must follow
established Procurement procedures. The OSPR and Procurement and Business Services will assist in this process.
Budget Revisions
When a change is to be made in the budget of an existing grant or subaward, the PI must request a transfer of funds through the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research via a written request (i.e. email, etc.). The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research will determine in
coordination with the grant accountant whether or not the University has the authority to re- budget the funds, and, if not, the OSPR or the PI will request approval from the sponsor. Most sponsors provide flexibility in re-budgeting research funds and the transfers can be approved by OSPR. Other sponsors, however, provide no flexibility to the University and require that the sponsor approve all transfers. The University cannot approve transfers which are not in compliance with the terms of the award. The PI’s request to transfer funds must include full justification for the transfer. The transfer must be necessary to the conduct of the research or project and the request must explain why there are excess funds in one category and why they are needed in the second category. Transfers strictly to spend funds remaining in the account are not justified. When the transfer is approved, OSPR or the PI will notify the grant accountant to make the transfer. Expenses should not be charged against the anticipated funds transfer until the re-budgeting has been completed.
Cost Transfers
The transfer of costs from one project/account to another project/account is occasionally necessary to correct bookkeeping or clerical errors in the original charges. Also, closely related work may be supported by more than one funding source and transfer of costs from one source of funding support to another may be proper, provided that the cost is an allowable charge. Frequent, tardy, or insufficiently justified transfers raise serious questions about the propriety of the transfers themselves, the overall reliability of the grantee’s accounting system, the ability of the PI to manage the account, and the adequacy of the internal controls. This also applies to budget revisions.
Consequently, all such transfers must be made promptly after discovery of the errors, and when possible, prior to submission of the final financial reports to the sponsor. The transfer must be supported by documentation which contains an explanation and a justification of the new charge. The requested transfer must be reviewed and approved by the grant accountant.All expense transfers should be completed in a timely manner consistent with the sponsor guidelines but within 180 days of finding the error. For additional information, please reference the policy statement on cost transfers on the OSPR website.
Over-expenditures and Disallowances
The PI must work closely with the grant accountant and Financial Services to correct any over expenditures or disallowances as soon as possible after they have occurred. If they have not been corrected in an appropriate amount of time to complete the final financial report, the
expenses may be charged to the department or college account of the PI. Appropriate notification of such charges, properly documented, will be made to the PI and other academic offices by Financial Services and the Associate Vice President for Finance.