General information

What should the PI/unit do when an award with cost sharing comes in?

The PI/Unit should:

• Tie commitments from contributors back to revenue (providing AMT with account numbers)
• Contact the assigned ORSPA AMT GCO immediately if:

The amount of sponsored funds has been reduced but the cost sharing has not also been reduced proportionately OR

The actual effort and other costs required to accomplish the goals will differ from the cost sharing that was proposed and awarded. 

• Develop a plan to monitor and document the cost sharing committed.
• Shortfalls in cost sharing are the responsibility of the lead financial unit.

What is the general workflow for how cost sharing obligations will be monitored?

When a proposal is awarded, the Award Management Team will review the proposal and award to identify any cost sharing obligations. For awards with cost sharing, an initial cost sharing review will be completed by AMT 30 days after the award has been activated. The purpose of the initial review is to determine what the cost sharing obligations are and how the cost sharing obligations will be funded.  If there are any changes to the proposed cost sharing budget or cost sharing which was not documented in ERA, the unit will document the changes on the Cost Sharing Requirement Form and submit to AMT using the Award Change Request activity in ERA. During the life of the project, AMT will complete interim reviews to track progress toward meeting cost sharing obligations and to document cost sharing obligations. During these reviews, The PI and RA should expect to receive cost sharing financial reports detailing the status of cost sharing.

Is there a mechanism that can minimize the amount of time spent on tracking cost sharing?

Yes, using  local and/or state cost sharing companion accounts, as appropriate, can significantly reduce time spent tracking and documenting cost sharing.

What happens if a cost sharing commitment cannot be met?

Cost sharing commitments must be met.  In the event the Unit is unable to meet their cost sharing commitment, award expenses from the sponsored account will be transferred to the “non-sponsored” unit account (of their choosing).  The transferred expenses will be used to meet the cost sharing commitment.

Local cost sharing companion accounts

What is a local cost sharing companion account?

A local cost sharing companion account is used to track cost sharing  commitments which will be funded by ASU internal contributors using unrestricted local account funds, RID (Research Incentive Distribution) account funds or IIA (Investigator Incentive Award) account funds. The “companion” account is set up in ERA under the main sponsored award used to track the expenditure of funds from the external sponsor. The account budget is loaded according to the sponsor-approved cost share budget documented. Allowable expenditures post to the account, funded by the local source account(s) and cost allowability is dictated by the terms and conditions of the sponsored award.

What type of funds can be used to fund cost sharing commitments administered in local cost sharing companion accounts?

Cost sharing commitments administered in local cost sharing companion accounts can be funded with internal discretionary (local) funds. Typically these funds come from unrestricted local accounts of the contributing units as well as college/institute/center RID (Research Incentive Distribution) accounts and IIA (Investigator Incentive Award) accounts.

How is cost sharing companion account requested?

To request set up of a cost sharing companion account to be funded from unrestricted local funds, , reference WI-AS-10, “How to establish a new account”.

How are contributing funders identified?

Thirty days after the activation of a sponsored account, the AMT GCO reviews cost sharing commitments and confirms with the unit both the contributors and the contributions which will fund the companion account(s). This information 1) is used to set up cost sharing companion accounts and 2) is stored in the Awards SharePoint site companion account folder for future reference. Currently, units have the discretion to document the specific account numbers and amounts which will fund their commitments in a format of their choosing.

When and how can changes be made to the revenue sources funding cost sharing companion accounts?

The ORSPA Cash Management Team confirms the accuracy of funding sources prior to recording the transfer of funds. At that time, the contributing unit Business Manager can designate an alternate account to fund the unit’s proportionate share of expenses.

When are cost sharing companion account commitments funded?

The ORSPA Cash Management Team funds cost sharing companion accounts to budget twice yearly based on annual commitments with the exception of KE commitments. KE commitments are funded at the close of the project upon confirmation from the AMT GCO that costs have been finalized and all expenditures have posted.

Who processes transactions to fund local cost sharing companion accounts?

The ORSPA Cash Management Team prepares the transaction documentation. Transfers to fund KE commitments are routed to KE Finance for approval. All other transfers are routed to Financial Services for approval.

What transaction type is used to record funding of local cost sharing companion accounts?

A journal is processed in Workday to record the transfer of funds from the local source account(s).

Is transaction documentation provided to the funding units?

The Business Manager(s) of the contributing unit(s) are notified via email once the funding journal is completed and are provided the journal number. The journal contains all transaction documentation attached in Workday.

State-funded cost sharing companion accounts

While the purpose of a state cost sharing companion account is the same as the local cost sharing account, setting one up and managing the account are different. For additional information on what a state funded cost sharing companion account is and instructions for setting up an account, please see state-funded cost sharing companion accounts.