This reference page will aid ASU staff in completing financial questionnaires and other template documents to confirm ASU’s financial soundness, adequacy of systems and internal controls.
General information
Official name of awardee
Arizona Board of Regents for and on behalf of Arizona State University.
EIN for Arizona State University
86-01-96696
Contact information
Lindsey Havranek, Grant & Contract Officer
PO Box 876011
Tempe, AZ 85287-6601
Phone: 480-884-0055
Email: [email protected]
Congressional district
See standard institutional information.
UEI #
See standard institutional information.
Number of employees at Arizona State University
See the Arizona Board of Regents quick facts.
Number of students at Arizona State University
See the Arizona Board of Regents quick facts.
Is Arizona State University a historically Black college or university?
No
Is Arizona State University a small business concern?
No
Who at Arizona State University is responsible for reviewing, approving and signing applications, awards and amendments?
See standard institutional information.
In the preceding fiscal year, did your company received 80% of its annual gross income from federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants) and cooperative agreements?
No
In the preceding fiscal year did your company receive $30,000,000 or more in annual gross revenue from federal contracts (and subcontracts), loans, grants (and subgrants) and cooperative agreements?
Yes
Accounting system and financial management
Who or which office(s) at Arizona State University is/are responsible for monitoring and overseeing assistance agreements once received?
Central administrative monitoring and oversight responsibility resides with the ORSPA (Office for Research and Sponsored Projects Administration) Award Management Team. The AMT is led by Assistant/Associate Director, Research Operations. The Assistant/Associate Director is responsible for assigning central oversight responsibility for specific agreements to members of the team based on department affiliations. The administrative support staff in the Principal Investigator’s home department is responsible for day-to-day monitoring and oversight of assistance agreements in conjunction with the Principal Investigator.
Who at Arizona State University is responsible for approving payments for disbursements made under sponsored agreements?
The Principal Investigator and his/her designees (administrative support staff) are responsible for approving payments for disbursements made under sponsored agreements.
Does Arizona State University have a written accounting manual?
Yes. Financial Services Manual.
Does Arizona State University’s accounting and financial management system(s) follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles?
Yes
What is our accounting method?
Modified Accrual and Cash Basis
Does Arizona State University monitor and provide project, program and financial performance reports to sponsors?
Yes
Does Arizona State University’s financial management system provide accurate, current and complete disclosure of the financial results of each federally sponsored project or program (i.e., each award is accounted for separately and financial reports produced in accordance with requirements?)
Yes
Does Arizona State University maintain source documents to support the entries into the financial system?
Yes
Does Arizona State University’s financial management system report and provide for a comparison of outlays for project expenditures with the budget amounts for each grant award, or have the capability to do so?
Yes
Does Arizona State University’s financial management system identify the source and application of funds for federally sponsored activities with records that show obligations, unobligated balances, assets, outlays, income and interest?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have a policy for retaining records?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have procedures for drawing grant funds and issuing payments? (Note: Advance payment requests should be restricted to immediate needs, i.e., drawing funds no more than 3 business days in advance of ,disbursements.) If yes, please describe below or provide an electronic copy or hardcopy of the procedures.
See Procedures.
Describe the size/ structure of Arizona State University’s accounting department/staff.
The Financial Services department provides centralized accounting services for the University as a whole and has approximately 100 employees. See the department organizational structure. The Awards Management Team of the Office for Research and Sponsored Projects Administration has approximately 30 employees. The AMT staff provides all post-award central account management services, including award change management, financial oversight/monitoring, and financial invoicing and reporting for sponsored projects.
If Arizona State University receives U.S. government funding from a U.S. government agency or through another organization, what is the amount?
See ASU’s latest audited financial report. TTotal figures for ASU should be provided, unless specifically requested otherwise by a sponsor (e.g., operating expenses for the unit submitting the proposal or ASU’s total research enterprise, which will require Research Analytics involvement to ensure accuracy in reporting).
If a separate bank account is not maintained for federal grant/contract funds, can they be readily identified?
Yes.Federal grant/contract funds are segregated from other funding by use of a separate account in the Financial Management System (Workday) for each sponsor award.
What is Arizona State University’s process for approval and payment of invoices (not purchase orders)? Provide a detailed explanation and indicate the role of each staff member involved.
The process for approval of invoices and release of payments for invoices is described in the Purchasing Policies and Procedures Manual (PUR). pecifically, invoices for general expenses are approved by the Principal Investigator and/or his designees and submitted to the Business Manager and staff for approval and payment. Purchases made with the ASU Purchasing Card must be pre-authorized by the Purchasing Card holder. See ASU Purchasing Card policies and procedures. Subawardees, if any, submit monthly invoices including documentation supporting their expenses related to the subaward statement of work. Invoices from subawardees, if any, are received by the Office for Research and Sponsored Projects Administration. ORSPA student staff performs data entry of the invoice into ERA and obtain the principal investigator’s approval. If additional review is required, the ORSPA student staff coordinate with the ORSPA Grant and Contract Officer. Once approved, the ORSPA student staff forwards the invoice and approvals to Financial Services Accounts Payable for payment processing.
Are checks signed by someone who is not involved in their preparation?
Yes. Responsibility for signing checks rests with Joanne Wamsley, Vice President of Finance and Deputy Treasurer. Preparation of checks is done by the Accounts Payable staff under the management of Penny Myers, Accounts Payable Manager.
Does Arizona State University track expenses by budget line item as outlined in the sponsor budget, and what controls do you have in place to prevent overspending on the various line items?
Discrete accounts within the Financial Management System (Workday) are maintained for program administration expenditures, matching funds (cost sharing), and each of the subawards, if any. All expenditures posted to these accounts are categorized by ledger account within the financial management system in accordance with the sponsor approved budget. Additionally, ASU maintains several electronic financial reporting systems that enable the monitoring and comparison of budget to actual expenditures within the budgeted line items/categories.
Employee manual or handbook
Accounting Manual or written financial policies and procedures (required by OMB Circular A-110 or 2 CFR Part 200) including the design for segregation of duties
Chart of accounts
Are duties separated so that no one individual has complete authority over an entire financial transaction?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have controls to prevent expenditure of funds in excess of approved, budgeted amounts?
Yes
Is Arizona State University familiar with federal financial reports so that they will be completed in an accurate and timely manner when required?
Yes’
Is there a separation of duties in place so that no single individual has complete control or authority over a complete financial transaction?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have a financial management system that provides records that can identify the source and application for funds for federally funded activities?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have controls in place to prevent expenditures in excess of approved, budgeted amounts?
Yes
How does Arizona State University ensure that costs deemed unallowable, per the federal guidelines listed in question 3 above, are excluded from the amount billed to sponsor?
Arizona State University establishes a unique account for each of the sponsored awards made to our institution. The budget for the unique account established in our Financial Management System (Workday) is loaded in accordance with the sponsor-approved budget to ensure that expenditures fall within the requirements for allowability (reasonable, necessary, allocable) as described in the applicable sponsor guidelines. Additionally, certain categories of expenses which are normally not allowable as charges to sponsored accounts (e.g. food, office supplies) are not processed for posting to sponsored accounts by the University Accounts Payable department without the express line item review and approval of Grant and Contract Officers within the Office for Research and Sponsored Projects Administration. As an additional safeguard, the assigned Grant and Contract Officer performs a “brief” review for allowability of all posted expenditures as a part of the invoice preparation process.
Does Arizona State University’s internally developed and / or externally purchased operating and financial systems have a current SAS-70?
No
Level of expenditures and audit status
Is Arizona State University exempt from 2 CFR Part 200 (previously OMB Circular A-133)?
No
If Arizona State University expended more than the Single Audit threshold ($500,000 for OMB Circular A-133 or $750,000 for 2 CFR Part 200) was an audit completed in accordance with the applicable regulation?
Yes
Most recent audit
The most recently completed Single Audit report and certification letter
Has ASU undergone a financial audit in the last three years?
Yes. See Independent Auditors Report in ASU CAFR.
Does Arizona State University have a cognizant federal agency for Single Audit purposes?
Yes
Other than financial statements, has any aspect of Arizona State University’s activities been audited within the last two years by a governmental agency or independent public accountant? If yes, please explain.
Yes. Arizona State University is a public university subject to audits of all types. These audits result in audit reports of all types including, but not limited to, our annual single audit report; program, award and system audit reports for audits performed by federal, state and local government agencies, internal audit staff, and program sponsors. Arizona State University is audited annually by the State of Arizona Office of the Auditor General.
Under which federal administrative requirements does Arizona State University operate?
2 CFR Part 200
Is Arizona State University likely to spend over $750,000 in Federal Assistance in its current fiscal year?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have knowledge of Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (2 CFR Part 200) and other relevant federal guidelines that are applicable to sponsored awards?
Yes
Describe Arizona State University’s ability to manage sponsored project awards.
For fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, Arizona State University’s financial statements report $372.3M in revenue from Grants and Contracts, including $262M in federal funding. For the same period, the University’s annual financial statements report $335M in research and public service expenditures. The Federal Government requires an annual audit of non-Federal entities expending $750,000 or more in federal awards. The standards for this audit are contained in PART 200 – UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AWARDS. The State of Arizona Office of the Auditor General performs an annual audit of Arizona State University as part of the State of Arizona Single Audit. For fiscal year ended June 30, 2018, Arizona State University did not have any findings.
Cash management
Are all disbursements properly documented with evidence of receipt of goods or performance of services?
Yes
Are all bank accounts reconciled monthly?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have a cash forecasting process which will minimize the time elapsed between the drawing down of funds and the disbursement of those funds?
N/A; funds are drawn in arrears for reimbursement of expenditures incurred.
Compliance
Does Arizona State University engage in any lobbying or partisan political activity which is charged, directly or indirectly, to a federally-assisted program?
No
Does Arizona State University have a formal system for complying with the Davis-Bacon Act
Yes
Does Arizona State University have a formal policy of nondiscrimination and a formal system for complying with Federal civil rights requirements?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have a formal policy of nondiscrimination and a formal system for complying with federal civil rights requirements?
Yes
Does my organization regularly report information on the compensation of its senior executives in response to section 13(a) or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78(d) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986?
No
Conflict of interest
Does Arizona State University have a formal policy to handle financial conflicts of interest?
Yes
Financial conflict of interest contact information:
Nancy Henderson, Assistant Director, Office of Research Integrity and Assurance
Arizona State University
PO Box 876111
Tempe, AZ 85287-6111
Phone / Fax: 480-965-6792 / 480-965-7772
Conflict of Interest (applicable to NIH, NSF and all other programs requiring Federal or State of California financial disclosure).
Arizona State University certifies that it has an active and enforced conflict of interest policy that is consistent with the provision of 42 CFR Part 50, Subpart F “Responsibility of Applicants for Promoting Objectivity in Research.” Institution also certifies that, to the best of Institution’s knowledge: (1) all financial disclosures have been made related to the activities that may be funded by or through a resulting Subaward, and required by its conflict of interest policy; and (2) all identified conflicts of interest have or will have been satisfactorily managed, reduced, or eliminated in accordance with Institution’s conflict of interest policy prior to the expenditure of any funds under any resulting award.
Cost sharing
How does Arizona State University determine that it has met cost-sharing goals?
Projects with cost share requirements are reviewed and reconciled at a minimum annually and during final reporting period to ensure cost share obligations are met.
Do any of Arizona State University’s active sponsored agreements include Matching, Cost Sharing and / or In-Kind costs?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have procedures for identifying, valuing, accounting for, documenting and reporting cost sharing, matching and in-kind contributions?
Yes
Cost transfers
How does Arizona State University ensure that all cost transfers are legitimate and appropriate?
Principal Investigators and their support staff are required to provide detailed justification forms to backup all cost transfers to a sponsored account. Forms are submitted to ORSPA for final review and approval.
Does Arizona State University have an effective policy in place for authorizing and tracking of all cost transfers?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have controls in place to ensure that all cost transfers are completed in a timely manner?
Yes
Disadvantaged Business Enterprises
Does Arizona State University have procedures which promote the solicitation and use of Small Businesses, Minority Owned Firms, Women’s Business Enterprises, and Labor Surplus Area as contained in 40 CFR Part 33?
Yes
Indirect costs
Does Arizona State University have an indirect cost allocation plan or a negotiated indirect cost rate?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have a fringe benefit cost allocation plan or a negotiated fringe benefit rate?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have an effective policy in place to ensure that consistent treatment is applied in the distribution of the above charges to all grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have an indirect cost allocation plan or a negotiated indirect cost rate? Explain.
Yes. See F and A space utilization.
Does Arizona State University have procedures which provide assurance that consistent treatment is applied in the distribution of charges to all grants?
Yes
Does Arizona State University currently receive federal funds for indirect costs under its active sponsored agreements? If so, what is Arizona State University’s current approved rate, time period covered by the agreement, and which Federal agency is Arizona State University’s cognizant agency?
Yes. Please see the current F and A Rate Agreement.
Does Arizona State University have a method to record, track, evaluate and update your indirect cost rates for approval by its cognizant agency?
Yes
Does Arizona State University receive Federal funds for payment of fringe benefits to personnel and are those benefits discussed in its written personnel policy?
Yes
Payroll
Does Arizona State University have a system in place for after-the-fact confirmation by principal Investigators/supervisor for salaries/salaries charged to federally funded agreements?
Yes
What system does Arizona State University use to control paid time?
PeopleSoft
Does Arizona State University have written payroll policies and procedures? If yes, please provide an electronic copy or hardcopy.
Yes. Payroll policies and procedures can be seen at the ASU Policy Manual.
Does Arizona State University require employees to fill out timesheets?
Yes. Hourly employees are required to fill out biweekly timesheets. Salaried employees only fill out timesheets when reporting leave.
Are timesheets required to be signed by the individual, supervisor or both?
imesheets are submitted and processed electronically by employees and supervisors via a password-protected reporting system.
Does Arizona State University require employees to record actual hours worked on each project, whether federally funded or not?
No
For those employees required to work away from the office, are actual hours worked documented?
N/A
Are salaries, wages, and benefits applied consistently to both federally and non-federally funded projects for the same labor categories?
Yes
Are payroll charges checked against program budgets?
Yes
Describe Arizona State University’s financial management system and the qualities which make it a sound system, including software type and how tracking codes are used to segregate sponsor funds from other grants.
Arizona State University uses a mainframe accounting system called Workday and a payroll system called PeopleSoft HRIS. These systems and the financial information generated from them are subjected to an annual external audit of the University conducted by the State of Arizona Office of the Auditor General. The policies and procedures describing the financial management system and the qualities which make it a sound system are part of the Financial Services and Sponsored Projects Manual. The specific policies relating to the set-up of sponsored project accounts can be found at FIN211 and RSP501. Additionally, ORSPA utilizes ERA to track awards.
Does Arizona State University maintain supporting documents for each expenditure?
Yes. Detailed supporting documentation is kept on file for each expense posted to the grant account. Payroll charges are supported by underlying payroll detail records as well as after-the-fact review reports. Non-payroll charges are supported by invoices, vouchers, and other source documents. Invoices and receipts for all purchases are maintained in the department’s business office.
Does Arizona State University maintain signed time and attendance records for staff that are charged to the grant or match?
Yes. Time is tracked in the PeopleSoft system (electronically) and supervisors must approve the time submitted prior to payroll processing.
What payroll system does Arizona State University use and how are staff timesheets submitted and approved? For grant funded staff, the timesheets should be used to allocate the employee’s wages to sponsored and non-sponsored activities. Explain how that process is completed at Arizona State University. Is it automated or manual, is it completed with each payroll; if it is not completed, are estimates used? Provide sample payroll allocation. (For colleges and universities, explain how the institution is compliant with the time keeping requirements of 2 CFR part 200 subpart E §200.430.)
A PeopleSoft payroll system (HRIS – Human Resources Information System) is used by the University to record personnel costs. Timesheets are submitted and approved electronically. Details of how time and attendance records are submitted and maintained can be found in the Staff Personnel Manual (SPP). Each supervisor is responsible for reviewing and approving timesheets. The Department Time Administrator (DTA) is responsible for the final electronic submission of timesheets and the maintenance of the associated time reporting records. Non-exempt employees will enter hours worked over the biweekly pay period by using an electronic timesheet. Exempt employees report only paid leave over the biweekly pay period on the electronic timesheet. ASU’s After-The-Fact Review Report complements the PeopleSoft payroll system, ensuring compliance with the effort certification requirements of 2 CFR part 200 subpart E §200.430.
Procurement
Does Arizona State University have procedures in place to ensure procurement at competitive prices?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have procedures in place to ensure that vendors/subrecipients are not suspended or debarred?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have an effective system of authorization and approval for: capital equipment purchases / travel expenditures?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have an effective system for identifying the following types of expenditures: alcohol, non-US carrier airfare, entertainment?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have written procurement policies and procedures for supplies, expendable property, equipment, real property and services, including: contracting, consultant agreements, sub-awards or sub-grants (if applicable), and any other types of agreements that transfer federal funds outside of Arizona State University? If so, please provide an electronic copy or hardcopy.
Yes. See the ASU Policy manual.
Has Arizona State University awarded contracts or sub-agreements under any of its current sponsored agreements?
Yes
Does Arizona State University have written agreements with the recipients?
Yes
Does Arizona State University check the System for Award Management to ensure the successful recipient is not suspended or debarred from federal contracting or assistance agreement activities?
Yes. Arizona State University currently checks SAM and the Restricted Party Screening to ensure the successful recipient is not suspended or debarred from Federal contracting or assistance agreement activities.
Did any of these contracts exceed the Federal Small Purchases threshold, ($150,000)?
Yes
Are there procedures to ensure procurement at competitive prices?
Yes
Is there an effective system of authorization and approval: Capital equipment expenditures/travel expenditures?
Yes/yes
Property management
Are detailed records of individual capital assets kept and periodically balanced with the general ledger accounts?
Yes, annually.
Does Arizona State University have effective procedures in place for authorizing and accounting for the disposal of property and equipment?
Yes
Are detailed property records periodically checked by physical inventory?
Yes, biannually.
Does Arizona State University have a policy and / or system in place to identify and track federally funded capital assets?
Yes
Briefly describe Arizona State University’s policies concerning capitalization and depreciation.
Please refer to the Property Control manual.
Does Arizona State University have written procedures concerning property management and inventory control for items purchased with Federal funds? If so, please provide an electronic copy or hardcopy.
Yes. Please see the ASU Policy Manuals.
Is physical inventory of the property taken and the results reconciled with the property records at least once every two years?
Yes
Does ASU have a “Government Approved” Property Control System under prime contracts with the government?
Yes. The most current ONR letter approving ASU’s Property Control System.
Rate agreements
The facilities and administrative rate charged to sponsor has been calculated based on:
Arizona State University’s federally negotiated F&A rate.
The fringe benefit rate charged to sponsor has been calculated based on:
Arizona State University’s federally negotiated fringe rate.
For any award(s) or proposed award(s), is the Principal Investigator or any other employee or student participating in those project(s) debarred, suspended or otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in Federally funded programs or activities?
No
Subrecipient information
Is the institution currently registered in the System for Award Management?
Yes. The current expiration is May 7, 2024.
Travel
Does Arizona State University have written travel policies and procedures? If so, please provide an electronic copy or hardcopy.
Yes. Travel policies and procedures can be accessed in the ASU Policy Manual.
W-9 Form for ASU ORSPA
Is there an ORSPA-specific version of the W-9 form that should be used when it is required by a sponsor?
Yes, there is a signed version of the W-9 form with ORSPA’s name and mailing address which should be used. Signed by Rachael Golliet, Associate Director of Financial Services, Tax, this form is compliant with ASU signature authority for this document. Only ORSPA staff should send this form to a sponsor. Contact a Proposals and Negotiations Team Member, or email [email protected].