To facilitate creation of the award account please ensure that:

• documentation for the award is complete
• the award document is signed by all parties as applicable
• a budget that matches the obligated award amount is provided by the LRA via the Budget Tool

Steps

1. Documentation: Post-Award receives a fully executed award from Pre-Award via RAS and opens the budget to the LRA in the Budget Tool. LRA completes the budget to match the obligated amount.
2. Creating an Account: Post-Award opens an award in RAS which triggers creation of the award account in PeopleSoft.
3. Requesting Access: Post-Award sends requests for access to the financial reports for: PI, co-PI, LRA to Budget Center
4. Access to Financial Reports: Budget Center processes access requests; reports available to PIs and LRAs within 15 business days
5. Internal Notice of Award: In the interim, an INOA is sent via email to PIs and LRAs. Spending on the award can begin.

At Risk Accounts

At Risk Accounts provide Principal Investigators (PIs) with the opportunity to initiate a sponsored project and begin incurring associated expenses prior to institutional acceptance of an award. An At Risk Account is established upon notice that a formal award is forthcoming, but will be delayed past the start date of the project. Setting up an At Risk Account enables the Principal Investigator (PI) to begin spending the anticipated budget on project activities prior to having a fully executed award in place.

At Risk Account FAQ

Request for At Risk Account

An At Risk Account is requested via the Request for At Risk Account Form. The PIs’ Department / School or Center is the initial approver of the At Risk Account form (consult with your Local Research Administrator on who should sign in your unit). The form is then routed to Central Pre-Award for approval, with a final signature required from Post-Award. After reviewing and approving the At Risk Account request, Post-Award will assign an internal award number to be used for allocating expenses for the project.

At Risk Accounts are established for the initial 3-month project period, with the budget adjusted accordingly to the three months’ timeframe. If at the end of three months a fully executed agreement is not yet in place, the end date of the At Risk Account may be extended. For extending the end date a second request must be submitted and approved. Please include supporting documentation presenting evidence of the forthcoming award with the At Risk Account request.

A PIs’ Department / School or Center accepts financial responsibility for an At Risk Account in the event that the sponsored award is not received. If this is the case, all expenses incurred will be applied to the Department’s account noted on the Request for At Risk Account Form.

Cost Share Account

For the awards with committed cost share, Post-Award will request a dedicated cost share account from the Budget Center at the time of the award account set up. Cost Share account will remain open for the duration of the associated award and will close when the sponsored project reaches the end date. Cost sharing from gift accounts or other private sources, as well as cost sharing using unrecovered indirect costs does not require a cost share account.