Effort Certification in the
Kuali Financial System
Office of Research Administration
Indiana University
509 E. 3rd Street
Bloomington, IN 47401-3654
January 2015
 Why and How of Effort Certification
 Effort Management and Certification
 KFS Highlights
 Project Director and Fiscal Officer Routing
 Federal Effort Reports
 Why and How of Effort Certification
 Cost Share Subaccounts
 NIH Salary Cap
 Frequently Asked Questions
Why we Certify Effort
Uniform Guidance
 Effective December 26, 2014
 No changes to the current effort certification
process at Indiana University for Fiscal Year 2015.
IU Policy – Effort Certification Documents
 Employees with regular pay
 Effort certification documents are issued to certify
effort
How we Certify Effort
“After the Fact” effort certification
Payroll data is gathered from the Kuali Financial System
(KFS) labor ledger on a periodic basis to determine
100% of each employee’s regular compensation, (i.e.
Institutional Base Salary)
The KFS Labor Ledger reflects the specific buckets to
which labor was allocated. These entries will not reflect
the General Ledger entries if salary has been reallocated.
The Labor Ledger Effort A21 View
(Example:M01 – Monthly Fall)
The Labor Ledger General Ledger
View (Example:M01 – Monthly Fall)
Sometimes the GL and Effort Labor Ledger
Match…
Effort Labor Ledger
General Ledger
Sometimes they don’t…
Effort Labor Ledger
General Ledger
Effort Report Generation
Labor Ledger data is compiled and distributed through the Effort
Certification Documents in the KFS
Only employees with pay on federal or federal pass through
accounts
100% of Institutional Base Salary is reported
Salary transfer generation is stopped and all en route salary
transfers are auto-disapproved prior to effort report distribution
If changes have been made to an effort document, upon final
approval an auto-generated salary transfer is completed
Effort Communication Timeline
End of Effort Period
Notification: 30-day
notice of Salary
Transfer Deadline and
Effort Report
Generation
30 Days
Prior to
salary
transfer
deadline
15 Days
Prior to
salary
transfer
deadline
15-day reminder of
Salary Transfer
Deadline and
Effort Report
Generation
Fall Period
A01 – (Aug - Dec)
B01 – (Jul-Dec)
M01 - (Jul-Dec)
Period cut-off Dec 31st
Salary Transfer Cutoff Jan 31st
Salary
Transfer
Deadline
(reminder
of Pay Obj
Codes)
30 Days Prior
to Certification
Deadline –
Notification of
deadline sent
Report
Prep
Process
30 Days after
effort report
generation
Weekly follow up
within last 30
days of effort
certification
deadline
60 Days after
effort report
generation
Effort Certification
Deadline – Documents
disapproved and all
federal effort
administratively
removed
Effort Report Generation:
Notification sent regarding
generation and certification
deadline
Spring Period
A02 – (Jan-May)
B02 – (Jan-Jun)
M02 (Jan-Jun)
Period cut-off June 30th
Salary Transfer Cutoff July 31st
Summer Period
A03 – (May - Aug)
Period cut-off August 31st
Salary Transfer Cutoff September 30th
Effort Reporting Periods
Effort Reporting Periods
Effort Reporting Periods
Effort Management
Effort Management should be conducted throughout the effort
period

Monthly Account Reconciliation
IU Policy - FIN-ACC-I-1 - Role of Fiscal Officer, Account Manager and Account
Supervisor

Communication
Effort Certification Documents are intended to certify payroll on all
Federal and Fed Pass-Through sponsored projects

Effort documents should only be modified when errors in effort
allocations are discovered
Importance of Effort Management
Financial Reports

All costs should be booked to accounts before account
expiration

All costs MUST be booked to accounts before the final
report is sent

Final Financial Reports will be sent even if effort reports
are not approved
Account Close

Effort should not be reallocated after account expiration
Effort Certification Deadline
The Policy
All Reports Certified within 60 Days past issuance
The Consequence
All effort will be removed from federal and federal pass
through projects
Effort Recertification
Effort Recertification
Office of Research Administration Cost Exception Committee
 Only on an Exception Basis
 Move effort to Federal Cost Reimbursable project
 Recertifications requested after account expiration
 We look for an “audit proof” justification
Justifying Changes on
Effort Certification Documents
What should your justifications include?
What do you know now that you didn’t know when the original effort
was applied?
How was the incorrect effort distribution determined?
What is being done to prevent similar occurrences in the future?
How did the effort being allocated benefit the project?
Focus on monthly account reconciliation to avoid the need for
effort changes.
The KFS Effort
Certification Documents
ACTION LIST EXAMPLE
KFS Effort Document
Fiscal Officer View
KFS Effort Document
Project Director View
Document Routing
Subaccounts on Effort Reports
 Cost share sub-accounts are entered on a separate
line to allow users to identify the departmental
source accounts.
 Expense subaccounts are aggregated to report at
the main account.
 Effort is managed at the account level for effort
reporting.
Example of Expense Sub account
KFS Labor Ledger View
Cost Share Subaccounts on
Effort Reports
NIH Salary Cap
The NIH limits the amount of salary which
may be reimbursed to universities for salaries
charged to DHHS projects. In recent years,
the salary limitation has been tied to the
federal government’s Executive Level II salary
rate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I modify small dollar amounts without
changing the effort percentage?
Account PI vs. Award PI
What if a Fiscal Officer or PI leave the University?
Ad Hoc Routing
How do I modify small dollar amounts
without changing the effort percentage?
When the Integer Percentage does not match the Derived Percentage, effort
modifications may require an additional adjustment to salary dollars.
How do I modify small dollar amounts
without changing the effort percentage?
1. Decrease Line 1 under Federal and Federal Pass Through Accounts to match the
2% reduction in effort. ($119.34)
2. Click “Save”
3. Increase Line 1 under Other Sponsored and Non-Sponsored Accounts to match the
2% increase in effort. ($95.91)
4. Click “Save”
How do I modify small dollar
amounts without changing the
effort percentage?
The Account PI and Effort Document Routing
The Account PI and Effort Document Routing
Routing Issue Being Addressed
If a Project Director makes an edit on an effort
document following the Fiscal Officer approval, the
document currently will not route back to the Fiscal
Officer.
When the document is finalized, the auto generated
salary transfer will route an FYI to notify the Fiscal
Officer of the adjustment.
Approvers No Longer at IU
Update accounts for new responsibilities
Request an update of both Award and Account PI
If an effort report is in routing to a terminated
employee, contact Tim Burris at [email protected] or
Rayna Amerine at [email protected]
Ad Hoc Routing: Rules and Constraints
 Effort documents may be routed for:
 Approval
 Acknowledgement
 FYI
 No changes are allowed
 With ad hoc routing, the document routing
progression stops
Effort Certification
Points to Remember

Effort Reports are only generated if effort is on
federal or federal pass through accounts

Manage effort activity regularly (at least monthly)

Effort Recertifications are Exception Only (Audit
Proof Justification)

Salary transfers are generated when effort
documents are changed. The ST will lump sum post
to the last fiscal period of the Effort period.
Effort Certification
Points to Remember

Documents may only be modified from the Action
List

Cost Share subaccounts are reported on a separate
line on effort reports

Effort Recertifications are Exception Only

Expense subaccounts roll up to the main account
IU Policy link:
policies.iu.edu/policies/categories/research/Sponsored-ProgramsAdministration/Effort_Certification_under_OMB_%20A21.shtml
Role of Fiscal Officer, Account Manager and Account Supervisor:
FIN-ACC-I-1-
role-of-fiscal-officer-account-manager-and-account-supervisor.shtml
Effort Certification on the ORA Web:
researchadmin.iu.edu/GrantContract/gc-
gfo/gfo_effort.html
KFS Effort Certification Training and Guidance for
KFS A21 Effort Presentation
KFS A21 Effort Certification – Guidance for Document Routing and Approval
Search for A21 Effort Documents in KFS
http://www.researchadmin.iu.edu/GrantContract/gc-gfo/gfo_effort.html
Questions &
Additional Assistance
Tim Burris
Financial Compliance Manager
Office of Research Administration
Indiana University
509 E. 3rd St.
Bloomington, IN 47401-3654
Phone: (812) 855-0185
Email: [email protected]
Rayna Amerine
Financial Compliance Associate
Office of Research Administration
Indiana University
509 E. 3rd St.
Bloomington, IN 47401-3654
Phone: (812) 855-1516
Email: [email protected]