RA and business support staff guidance
Roles
- Award PI – The internal PI for the award in the ERA system. This is the only person who can acknowledge an ATF report for the award.
- After-the-fact reporting — Defined in ERA, this role identifies the lead financial onit support staff who are to:
- Receive access to view ATF reports for awards under the unit.
- Receive copies of the ATF email notifications sent to PI’s.
- ERA Unit Administrator – Support staff who need the After-the-Fact Reporting role should contact their ERA Unit Administrator to be added. Send an email to [email protected] to find out who your ERA Unit Administrator is.
Roles with access to ATF reports
Report access is available to individuals who have one of the following ERA roles:
- Award PI
- After-the-fact reporting
- Project manager
- Account PI
- Account PI’s fiscal delegate
Accessing ATF reports
In the Analytics Report Server, use the ATF-Report-Admin-Viewer to access ATF reports. Follow the filter instructions on that page. These instructions include:
Viewing ATF Reports
- Enter a PI’s ASURITE or select a PI from the dropdown menu. Or
- Enter an Award Number or select an Award from the dropdown menu.
- Select a Report Date from the dropdown menu.
- Select a Report Viewer from the dropdown menu.
Audit displays cumulative personnel expenses for the reporting period.
Live displays changes in personnel expenses since the last report. - Click the View Report button in the top right corner.
*asterisk(s) indicate reports that need acknowledgement (these are on the PI, award, and report date filters)
**indicates resorts that have been pending for over a year.
Viewing report details
- Use the Expand All button to view details.
- Hover over the % IBS column to display the Institutional Base Salary.
Your primary responsibility
Validate payroll information on the ATF reports and make corrections via payroll redistributions as necessary.
- Monitor “Preview ATF Reports” – Preview ATF Reports are ATF Reports for the current semester, which have had one or more pay periods posted, but not all. They are available for preview only because they do not yet contain all pay periods. Periodically review these with the PI to enable early discovery and resolution of issues. This accelerates readiness for acknowledgement when the ATF reports are released.
- Submit payroll redistributions to correct any mistakes.
- Review ATF reports to ensure they are correct and ready for acknowledgement.
- Prompt PI’s when ATF reports are ready for their acknowledgement.
ATF report statuses by role
ATF reports display status in the upper right corner. Statuses include:
- Report not yet acknowledged
- Acknowledged by <ASURITE> on <date>
- Report changes not yet acknowledged.
Because Award PI’s are the only viewers who have an Acknowledge button, this means what people see depends upon the person’s role and the report’s status. The table below summarizes by role what is displayed. Note: The Account PI and Account PI’s Fiscal Delegate roles can access reports but cannot see the report status.
ATF report statuses by role
- ATF Report Status = Not Yet Acknowledged
Status Box ATF Reporting Role and Project Manager Role = Report not yet acknowledged
Status Box Award PI = (Checkmark) Acknowledge
- ATF Report Status = Acknowledged
Status Box ATF Reporting Role and Project Manager Role = Acknowledged by jdoe33 on 6/7/2023 (for example)
Status Box Award PI = Acknowledged by jdoe33 on 6/7/2023 (for example)
- ATF Report Status = Awaiting Acknowledgement
Status Box ATF Reporting Role and Project Manager Role = Report changes not yet acknowledged
Status Box Award PI = (Checkmark) Acknowledge
Proxies for acknowledging reports
Occasionally an ATF report needs to be acknowledged by an Award PI who recently retired, left on sabbatical, or is otherwise unavailable. In these exception cases, the central office ATF administrator can set up a proxy who can acknowledge the report. The following guidelines should be followed when requesting a proxy.
Normally a proxy would be a Co-PI of the award or the Dean/Director, and
- There is suitable means of verification of payroll expenses on the award, or
- The individual had first-hand observation of the work performed, or
- The individual has written acknowledgement from the Award PI.
To request a proxy, contact [email protected]
Overview
1. Regulatory framework
The After-the-Fact Review Report was developed by Knowledge Enterprise to meet the compensation review requirements in 2 CFR 200.430(i) Standards for Documentation of Personnel Expenses. This regulation states:
Charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed.”…“Budget estimates (i.e., estimates determined before the services are performed) alone do not qualify as support for charges to Federal awards, but may be used for interim accounting purposes, provided that:”…“The non-Federal entity’s system of internal controls includes processes to review after-the-fact interim charges made to a Federal award based on budget estimates. All necessary adjustment must be made such that the final amount charged to the Federal award is accurate, allowable, and properly allocated.
The After-the-Fact Review Report in combination with ASU’s existing internal control system provides compliance with these regulations.
2. Description of the After-the-Fact Review Report
The purpose of an ATF report is to allow the Principal Investigator to acknowledge that all salary and wages paid from an award during a specific reporting period are accurate and appropriate. The report shows, by person, all salary and wages paid from the award during the reporting period. An Expand All button further breaks down salary and wages by pay period.
A green Acknowledge button at the top of the report enables the PI to confirm the salary and wages. Upon clicking the button, an explanation is presented of what it means to acknowledge the report. The PI then clicks OK to acknowledge or Cancel to return to the report.
Although Research Administrators and other support staff may be able to view ATF reports, the Acknowledge button only displays when the report is viewed by the award PI. Only the award PI can perform this acknowledge function. In special exception cases, the central office ATF administrator can set up a proxy.
ASU maintains a digital record of all ATF reports and their acknowledgements as evidence of compliance with Uniform Guidance 2 CFR200.430(i)(1)(viii)(C).
3. Frequency of ATF Reports (ATF reporting periods)
ATF reports are generated for each academic period (spring, summer, fall). After each pay period in a semester, the payroll is posted to the ATF report for administrative preview. This enables monitoring and correction of errors, if any, throughout the semester. After the semester ends, the ATF report is activated for PI acknowledgement.
ATF reporting dates by semester
| 2022-Spring Semester | 12/27/2021-05/15/2022 ATF Reporting Period | 06/14/2022 – 08/19/2022 Review and Acknowledge Window |
| 2022-Summer Semester | 05/16/2022- 08/07/2022 ATF Reporting Period | 09/06/2022 – 11/11/2022 Review and Acknowledge Window |
| 2022-Fall Semester | 08/08/2022 – 12/25/2022 ATF Reporting Period | 01/24/2023 – 03/31/2023 Review and Acknowledge Window |
4. Notifications to begin acknowledgement process
After a semester ends and the ATF reports are activated for PI acknowledgement, reminder emails are sent to the PI and associated support staff every two weeks until the report is acknowledged. The emails provide access to the ATF reports.
5. Correcting report errors
When it is time for a PI to acknowledge an ATF report and the report is found to not be correct, support staff should make the necessary corrections through payroll redistributions before the ATF report is acknowledged.
6. Correcting report errors after acknowledgement
ATF reports should not be acknowledged if they are not correct. In cases where a correction is necessary after a report has been acknowledged, the ATF report loses its acknowledged status and must be acknowledged again once the corrections have posted.
Tip: When the PI is ready to acknowledge the corrected report, hovering the mouse over the Acknowledge button gives a popup that displays “Pending” beside the accounts that changed.
7. Accessing reports without an email
Access your ATF reports at: After-the-Fact Review Report and follow the brief instructions.
Tip: The Award and Report Date filters are above the instructions, and the View Report button is to the far right of these filters.
Tip: Selections in the filters marked with an asterisk need acknowledgement.
8. Due dates for acknowledgement
The due date by which PI acknowledgement must be received is the last date in the Review and Acknowledge Window column in the above table.
9. Late ATF reports
ATF reports that have not been acknowledged by the due date begin receiving a monthly email with the following elevated concern:
Email Subject AUDIT RISK – ATF Non-compliance – ACTION REQUIRED
Email Body Along with instructions, the email body also contains the following display:
DUE DATE: PAST DUE
WARNING: Audit Risk – ATF Non-compliance
10. Assistance with ATF reporting
For questions or assistance with ATF reports, please contact [email protected].
Frequently asked questions
Can an Award PI delegate another person to acknowledge their ATF reports? No
Can an Account PI who manages a child project see the ATF report? They can view the report, but only the Award PI has an Acknowledge button.
What is IBS? Institutional Base Salary is the base annual compensation set by ASU for an individual’s appointment regardless of their activities (instruction, research, public service, administration, etc.) and regardless of full or part-time appointment.
What is the %IBS column for? The %IBS column only displays after clicking the Expand All button. The expanded report breaks out each person’s pay by account number and pay period. Beside each amount paid is a %IBS, which shows the percent the amount paid is of the person’s total IBS for a pay period. (This is not an effort % but is merely a reference point.)
Tip: Hovering the mouse over the %IBS column title displays the meaning of the %IBS column.
Tip: Hovering over a percent shows the person’s total IBS amount for a pay period.
What earn codes are included in ATF Reports? ATF reports include all earn codes that ASU defines as part of IBS. See Earn Codes included in IBS.