Post Award Management

Award management (post‑award administration) ensures that sponsored projects are carried out in compliance with University policies and sponsor requirements while achieving the approved scope of work within the awarded budget. Effective award management promotes accurate financial stewardship and timely, transparent reporting by monitoring expenditures, reconciling accounts, and ensuring costs are allowable and properly documented.

Roles & Responsibilities

Open All Tabs

Principal Investigator (PI)
The PI is ultimately responsible for:
- Scientific integrity and compliance
- Fiscal and administrative oversight
- Adherence to award terms, budget limits, and reporting requirements
- Timely notification to ORA of significant project changes
While day to day financial tasks may be delegated, accountability remains with the PI
Department Administrators
- Assist PIs with financial monitoring, documentation, and compliance
- Review expenditures and subrecipient invoices
- Maintain supporting records
- Notify ORA of issues or risks
ORA - Post Award
Provides institutional oversight by:
- Reviewing allowability of expenditures
- Submitting financial reports
- Coordinating audits
- Managing closeout
- Enforcing sponsor and University policy

Authorized & Unauthorized Expenditures

What Qualifies As a Direct Cost?

A direct cost:

Can be specifically identified with the project
Directly benefits the project
Is allowable under sponsor and University policy

Examples:
Salaries, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, subawards.

When a Cost is Allowable?

A cost must be:

Reasonable and necessary
Allocable to the project
Consistent with UM policy and GAAP
Treated consistently as direct or indirect
Properly documented
Incurred within the project period
Not used for cost share on another project

Unallowable Costs (Examples)

Alcohol, entertainment (unless expressly allowed)
Advertising (non project related)
Donations, lobbying, bad debts
Fines, penalties, personal goods
Alumni activities, fundraising, losses on other awards
Costs generally treated as indirect costs, such as postage, telecom, facility charges, duplicating charges/printing, office supplies, salaries for administrative personnel, utility charges, space costs, etc.

Unallowable costs must be charged to non sponsored accounts.

Expenditure Review & Monitoring

PIs/delegates must review expenditures monthly
Workday Finance is the system of record
Questionable charges must be corrected promptly
Non salary cost transfers must be completed within 90 days

When ORA Approval Is Required

All cost transfers (salary and non salary)
Questioned or non compliant expenses
Compensation Overload Charges (processed via Activity Pay in Workday)
Exceptions requests for “general purpose” costs in “unlike circumstances” that are normally treated as indirect costs.

ORA may reject, request justification, or require transfer of unallowable costs.

Expenditures

Personnel Costs & Effort

Salary charged must reflect actual effort devoted, independent of budgeted amounts or commitments
Charges are based on Institutional Base Salary (IBS) and exclude overload and bonuses
Salary caps apply when imposed by sponsors
Effort certification must align with payroll charges
Salary changes after effort certification completion and/or deadline are generally unallowed and require strong justification of exceptional circumstances

Non-Personnel Costs

Procurement & Reimbursement

Must support the sponsored project
Processed via Workday
Subject to ORA post review sampling
Federal and state projects have additional procurement rules (e.g., competition, domestic preference)

Equipment

Sponsor approval may be required
Equipment purchases near project end require justification
Title, inventory, safeguarding, and disposal depend on sponsor terms

Open All Tabs

Cost Transfer Requirements
- Must be completed within 90 days of when the expense was incurred.
- Properly justified and documented
- Direct benefit to receiving project
- Routed via Workday and approved by ORA
Unallowable Transfers
- To cover deficits between sponsored projects
- Late transfer
- Unacceptable justifications
- Costs outside project period
- Transfers to use up remaining funds
Cost Share
- Must be allowable, verifiable, documented, and approved
- Mandatory cost share must be included in the proposal
- Voluntary committed cost share requires written institutional approval at proposal stag
- Tracked by including the Grant ID as a second driver worktag/account when charging the departmental PG/BG’s.
- PI is responsible for accuracy and allowabilit
Program Income
- Must be disclosed at proposal stage and reported to sponsor per agreement
- Recorded in Workday as credits to the Program Income expense ledger
- Used per sponsor rules (additive, deductive, or cost share)
- Subject to the same allowability standards
- Remaining balances returned to sponsor unless otherwise allowed
Subrecipient Monitoring
UM Responsibilities
- Assess subrecipient risk before issuing subaward
- Ensure flow down of sponsor requirements
- Review invoices, technical reports, and audits
- Escalate and resolve questionable costs
PI & Department Role
- Review and approve invoices
- Monitor scientific performance
- Maintain documentation
- Report concerns to ORA promptly
ORA and UM’s Office of Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) coordinate audits and enforce corrective actions when needed.
No Cost Extension (NCE)
When to Request
- Programmatic need exists
- Funds remain available
- Scope of work unchanged
- Request submitted sufficiently before project end date
Federal Awards
- First NCE (up to 12 months): May be institution approved
- Must be requested ≥30 days before end date
- Second or longer extensions require sponsor approval
Non Federal Awards
- Typically require sponsor approval
Audits and Investigations
- All audit notifications must be routed to ORA and FP&A
- ORA and FP&A coordinate entrance and exit conferences
- FP&A serves as primary liaison
- Responses, reports, and corrective actions are centrally managed
- Disallowances are communicated to PIs and departments; departments cover non reimbursed costs
Financial Reporting
- Based on WD data
- PI/department must:
  - Review activity to ensure charges are allowable, allocable, reasonable, and within the project period.
  - Verify mandatory and voluntary committed cost share is properly charged
  - Clear errors and commitments
  - Ensure payroll reflects actual effort and aligns with effort certification
Key Takeaway

Successful award management requires continuous collaboration between PIs, departments, and ORA.

Early communication, regular monitoring, and timely action are essential to remain compliant, protect funding, and support UM’s research mission.