WELCOME TO GRANTS AND CONTRACTS ACCOUNTING 

Department Mission Statement

The Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting (OGCA), a unit within the Comptroller’s Office serves as a support function to the University's overall mission. OGCA performs central financial accounting and provides post-award administration support services for the University’s sponsored programs and other restricted funds. Through sound leadership, OGCA supports the university's research mission by ensuring compliance with federal regulations, state law, and university policies and procedures.

The Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting Department (OCGA) is responsible for post-award financial and administrative functions involving Sponsored Research, Sponsored Instruction, and Other Sponsored Activities. OGCA has University-wide responsibility for ensuring that project expenses and reports to sponsors are in compliance with Federal, State, and University laws and regulations as well as specific sponsor guidelines by:

• Reviewing and approving all financial transactions on sponsored projects.
• Approving all new and incremental funding for sponsored projects and setting them up in the University's financial systems.
• Providing billing, collections, and financial reporting services for all sponsored projects.
• Serving as liaison to outside auditors examining the University's sponsored projects.
• Providing advice and support to Financial Officers and Principal Investigators/Project Directors in the financial conduct of their sponsored projects.

Fund Establishment
Upon receipt of an award, OGCA is responsible for establishing accounts for new awards by assigning each project a Project ID and speedtype in the University accounting system, entering the appropriate budget and overhead information for each award. Expenditures incurred during the performance of the project are charged to the award speedtype.

Expenditure Approval
Expenditures charged to a sponsored project are reviewed and approved OGCA. For expenditures to be allowable costs recorded onto a sponsored fund, they must be:
 

• Reasonable – a prudent person would have purchased this same item and paid the same price.
• Allocable – expense is allocated to a project in proportion to the benefits derived to the program objectives; the investigator is the responsible person who determines the proportional charge to the project.
• Consistently Treated – like expenses are treated the same by the institution given same circumstances.
• Allowable – all three above criteria are met and the expense is permitted as a direct cost per the terms and conditions of the award of 2 CFR Part 200

Invoicing, Financial Reporting and Collection
OGCA is responsible for the timely billing (which include drawdowns) and financial reporting as stated in the terms and conditions within the award document by the sponsoring agency. OGCA is also responsible for depositing and accounts receivable on sponsored projects, as well as performing follow-up with sponsors for unpaid invoices.

Audits
Externally sponsored awards are subject to sponsor review and/or audit, OGCA assists in and is the primary contact in the annual single audit required by 2 CFR Part 200, Subpart F and all program audits performed by specific sponsoring agencies.