The information contained on this page is critical to those with responsibility for the administrative and fiscal management of subawards from ASU and serves several purposes:
- To ensure that subrecipient funds are used for the purposes for which they were awarded and to safeguard public monies to the greatest extent possible
- To explain the documentation required from subrecipients
- To provide next steps after subaward agreement is fully executed
- To explain the processes and procedures of operating a subaward under ASU
While this resource highlights or summarizes important issues, it does NOT serve as a substitute for the terms set forth in your Subaward, ASU policies or any prime sponsor requirements or provisions.
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At proposal time
Specific topics addressed:
Registrations
- SAM (System for Award Management)
This is an annual registration and your organization’s registration must remain current throughout the project. If your institution isn’t registered in SAM, please register using the link below. If you are not sure if your institution is registered in SAM, you can log in to SAM to ensure your account is still current. This process typically takes 2-3 weeks but can take up to 6+ weeks depending on the quantity of registration requests SAM receives.
Register for a SAM account. - Workday
Arizona State University utilizes Workday for our financial management. All subrecipients will need to be registered in Workday as suppliers to receive invoice payments. If your institution has never received payment from ASU, it is likely that your entity is not registered in this system.
Supplier registration and onboarding is managed through PaymentWorks. This system allows suppliers to manager their profiles within PaymentWorks and update information such as preferred payment method, bank information, contact information, and check the status of invoices. To receive a registration link via PaymentWorks, please contact [email protected] and provide your institution’s registered SAM name, contact name, contact email, and contact phone number. A representative will submit a invite your entity to complete registration in PaymentWorks. Please register using the email that the request was sent to. A list of required documentation will be included in the registration form.
Even if your institution has worked with ASU in the past, it is best to verify with [email protected] that your organization is registered in this system if your organization hasn’t recently worked with ASU.
Subaward documentation necessary to initiate the subaward agreement
- Subrecipient commitment form or letter of commitment
The Subrecipient Commitment Form is required for organizations that are not a part of the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse while the Subrecipient Letter of Commitment is required for organizations that are. These forms are the first step in establishing a project partnership between ASU and the subrecipient. It ensures that the subrecipient is registered in the necessary, federally required platforms, that the subrecipient is compliant, and that additional documentation is acquired early in the process. - Budget
A detailed line-item budget is a required document for all subaward agreements under ASU. This budget is typically completed in Excel and contains sections for faculty, staff, and student salaries and wages, fringe benefit rates, travel, other direct costs, facilities and administration costs, and other costs as they apply. Each of these cost items should also be broken out by year. The below budget worksheet template contains tabs for both federal and cost share budgets. Other budget templates are acceptable, but must contain thorough documentation of costs.
Budget Worksheet Template - Payment Deliverable Schedule (fixed price subagreements only)
Subrecipients receiving a fixed price subagreement will be required to provide a payment deliverable schedule in place of a detailed line-item budget. This is typically displayed in a table format with columns for the deliverable due date, the deliverable and a short description, and the payment amount. If cost share is being committed, an additional column should be included to provide the amount of in-kind, cash, or third party cost share that will be contributed at each deliverable due date. Below is a template that can be used for this or another institutional version that includes similar information.
Payment Deliverable Schedule Template - Budget justification
A budget justification is a required, written document that details and explains the costs that are displayed in a line-item budget. This document is typically broken into the same sections displayed in the budget (Salaries, Fringe Benefits/ERE, Travel, Other Direct Costs, and Facilities and Administration) and justifies each cost and why the specific costs are necessary for the project. The budget narrative should not merely describe budget items but should describe how these expenses are necessary for the successful execution of the project AND the cost basis for each budget item (i.e. current institutional salaries, vendor quote, historical knowledge, internet search). Additionally, the budget narrative should address any significant budget changes from one year of the project to the next (i.e. salary escalations, increase/reduction in level of effort, etc.).
The Cost Price Analysis, explained in “At Award Time”, can also be used as the Budget Justification, but the Budget Justification cannot be used for the Cost Price Analysis. - Statement/scope of work
The scope of work is required for all subaward agreements and should not be a reiteration of the overall proposal being submitted. Rather it should define only the specific work to be performed by the Subrecipient. Within this scope of work, it is important that the tasks to be performed are clearly outlined and that any expectations for reports or deliverables are listed. The scope of work is going to be part of the legally binding agreement that will be issued. This document is the basis for determining the timeline for expected progress and how the research will move forward. If the scope of work is unclear, it can lead to confusion, misunderstandings, or grants that cannot/do not meet their objectives.
Some sponsors have detailed expectations of what the subaward scope of work will need to look like. If this is the case, the sponsor guidelines should be followed. Otherwise, the subaward scope of work should mirror the level of detail that is included in the ASU SOW in their own. For example, if the ASU SOW is broken down into phases, tasks, milestones, timelines, etc. the subaward SOW should follow suit. A general guide for what a scope of work should include is outlined below:- What the project hopes to accomplish
- Where the work will take place
- Timeline for accomplishments and progress
- Make realistic and attainable estimates of how long it will take to perform each activity.
- Specify the order in which objectives are to be performed.
- Minimum standards for reports and/or meetings
- Deliverable(s)
- Specific events marking the culmination of activities
- Equipment, facilities and other resources
- Unique skills needed to perform research
- Data Management Plan
At award time
Specific topics addressed:
- Subaward Documentation Not Gathered at Proposal Time Necessary to Initiate the Subaward Agreement
- Management and Monitoring
- Closeout
Subaward documentation not gathered at proposal time necessary to initiate the subaward agreement
- Fringe benefit rate agreement
If your institution has a federally negotiated, fringe benefit rate agreement, please provide it at this time. This document displaying your negotiated rate provides additional documentation for amounts provided in the budget. - Indirect cost rate agreement
If your institution has a federally negotiated, indirect cost rate agreement, please provide it at this time. This document displaying your negotiated rate provides additional documentation for amounts provided in the budget.
If your organization does not have a federally negotiated indirect cost rate agreement, and there isn’t a sponsor limitation, your institution may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC) according to 2 CFR 200.414(f).
MTDC includes all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and up to the first $25,000 of each subaward (regardless of the period of performance of the subawards under the award). MTDC excludes equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, rental costs, tuition remission, scholarships and fellowships, participant support costs and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000. Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs, and with the approval of the cognizant agency for indirect costs. - PHS FCOI Certification (for PHS-funded projects)
Due to federal regulations (42 CFR Part 50 Subpart F), ASU cannot issue a subaward agreement or execute a modification to a subrecipient under U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) funding unless they have an established PHS-compliant Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) policy. A list of PHS agencies and offices can be found here. PHS-compliant FCOI policies are typically included under the institutional page for organizations registered in the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse. For organizations that are not FDP members, ASU requests an institutional letter certifying that the institution’s FCOI policy is compliant with PHS and federal regulations.
If your organization does not have a current PHS-compliant FCOI policy on file, one will need to be created before a subaward can be issued under any PHS funding. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has an FCOI Guide that highlights the regulation, provides information about FCOI reporting, and includes resources for developing a policy. Yale University also has a model policy that can be used as a template for creating a compliant policy.
PHS FCOI Certification Letter Template - IRB approval
If the subrecipient is conducting human subjects research on this project, IRB approval documentation from the subrecipient institution’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) will need to be provided. If this approval is annual, the subrecipient organization will need to provide updated documentation each year. For instances where ASU is serving as the single IRB source, ASU IRB approval can be accepted if it includes the subrecipient’s portion of the research. - IACUC approval
If the subrecipient is conducting animal subjects research on this project, IACUC approval documentation from the subrecipient institution’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will need to be provided. If this approval is annual, the subrecipient organization will need to provide updated documentation each year. - Cost price analysis
Federal and state regulations require that a Cost Price Analysis be performed for all subawards. For subawards that are over $100,000 for the entire project, it is the subrecipient’s responsibility to complete this form. For subawards that are under $100,000 for the entire project, this document is completed within the unit by the ASU Principal Investigator (PI). Separate cost elements must be explained and justified and cost or pricing data must be documented as reasonable and competitive. Documentation may be based on current price lists, quotations, catalogues, and negotiated rate agreements. Since this document provides further explanation, justification, and documentation of budget costs than a typical budget justification, the Cost Price Analysis can be used in place of a budget justification.
If your subaward is over $100,000, you can get started on completion by clicking on the appropriate form below:
US University or Non-Profit Subrecipients
Commercial or International Subrecipients - Financial statements
During our verification process, a risk assessment is conducted which reviews several different documents from your institution. Part of this assessment involves reviewing your organization’s financial statements. If your institution is subject to the Single Audit, that’s all that we need to complete this.
However, if you are not subject to the Single Audit, we will need a copy of your most recent financial statements in order to conduct this assessment. Financial Statements needed for this review include the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow Statement, and Statement of Retained Earnings. If you’re a smaller organization and not all of these financial statements are produced, don’t worry – just provide us with as many statements as you can. In addition to your financial statements, we will need you to complete the Subrecipient Certification, discussed below. - Subrecipient certification
The Annual Subrecipient Certification is a brief questionnaire that asks questions about your institution’s auditing process, financial system, accounting procedures and institutional policies. This form needs to be completed if your organization is not subject to the OMB Circular A-133 or also known as the Single Audit. This document provides us with more insight into your financial and institutional practices which is crucial during our verification process.
For questions concerning the Subrecipient Certification, please contact [email protected].
Annual Subrecipient Certification
Management and monitoring
- Communication
When an initial agreement or a modification to that agreement is drafted and ready for your review, you will be contacted by a Subaward Grants and Contracts Specialist/Officer who will request for your institution’s review and signature. At this time, any questions about the subaward agreement can be directed to them.
Thereafter, your main contact will be either our ASU PI or the Post-Award Research Administrator (Post-Award RA) that is assigned to the PI or project to help manage the administrative aspect of the subaward. They are who you would contact to process a no cost extension or any modification to the agreement. If you have a question and are unsure where to go, these two individuals are your best resource. You can find the ASU PI’s contact information on the subagreement. The Post-Award RA will be copied on all email communications from the Subaward Grants and Contracts Specialist/Officer or found by searching the ASU PI’s unit through “Who Can Help Me?”. - Invoices
All invoices and supporting documentation, if required, should be sent as a PDF document to [email protected]. Awards Management reviews the invoice and sends it to the ASU PI for review and approval. Once approved, an Awards Management Specialist/Officer will send the invoice to Accounts Payable (AP) for payment.
We accept all forms and layouts of invoices as long as they include your institution’s name, the Invoice Date, Invoice Number, Subaward Number (beginning with ASUB and followed by eight digits), Project Period, Invoice Period, a detailed accounting of the costs incurred this period, the invoice certification, and any other required information outlined in the subagreement.
If you are unsure if your standard subrecipient invoice form fits our requirements or your institution doesn’t have an invoicing form currently in place, please contact the Subaward Grants and Contracts Specialist/Officer that worked with you to negotiate the agreement. They will be able to provide you with a template. - Reports
There are a few different types of reports that can be required throughout the duration of your project depending on prime sponsor requirements and ASU PI preference. The individual reports that are required will be outlined in your subaward agreement.- Technical/Progress Reports
Technical or Progress Reports can be required monthly, quarterly, and/or annually. There will also typically be a final technical report at the end of the project. This is dependent on the prime sponsor requirements and the ASU PI’s preference. What is included in your technical report varies depending on the prime sponsor’s requirements. Overall, this document provides information about the project to our ASU PI in order to conduct their research and submit the ASU technical report to the sponsor. - Invention Reports
If the subrecipient research conducted on this project results in an invention, your institution will need to submit an invention report that discloses the invention(s) in writing to the contact listed on your subaward agreement after it has been disclosed to the subrecipient’s patent personnel. Depending on what is stated in your subaward agreement, a negative report—a report stating that no inventions have been created—may be required with your technical reports.
- Technical/Progress Reports
- Annual subrecipient auditing process
As mentioned previously, the Subrecipient Certification is a brief questionnaire for institutions not subject to the Single Audit that inquiries about your institution’s auditing process, financial system, accounting procedures and institutional policies. This document provides us with more insight into your financial and institutional practices, which is crucial throughout the subaward project and is to be completed annually. Institutional financial statements should also be submitted annually with the Subrecipient Certification.
Closeout
The following items are required for Subaward Closeout (Closeout Documents) and will be submitted along with a Final Technical Report, if applicable, and a Final Invoice supported by a summary accounting report not later than sixty (60) days after Subaward termination date:
- Subrecipient Closeout Form (required)
- Inventory of Property (if applicable)
- Report of Inventions and Subawards (if applicable)
Closeout documents will be provided to subrecipient on or about the project termination date. Closeout documents must be completed and submitted prior to payment of final invoice.