Policy 2106: Accounting Authority and Responsibility

Subject Area: Sponsored Awards
Responsible Office: Financial Services
Sponsor: Chief Financial Officer
Originally Issued: October 1992
Revised: August 2007, February 2010
Refer Questions To: Christine Sorensen, 773-702-2398

Purpose: To establish responsibility for the accounting of sponsored programs.

Policy

1. Financial Services is responsible for establishing and maintaining policies and procedures for:
   1. Authorizing and maintaining accounts for sponsored projects.
   2. Collecting funds from awarding agencies.
   3. Submitting financial reports to awarding agencies.
   4. Complying with sponsored program agreement requirements relative to the funding of expenditures and financial reporting.
2. Sponsored projects are accounted for in subsidiary Ledgers 5 and 6 of the financial accounting system.
3. Upon a department’s request, Financial Services will authorize advance accounts for a sponsored award in advance of University Research Administration’s receipt and acceptance of the award provided that University Research Administration (URA) has submitted the award proposal to the funding agency.
4. Where advance accounts have not been assigned, Financial Services will authorize accounts for sponsored awards upon URA’s receipt and acceptance of an award.
5. In the event that an advance account has been established and an award is not received or accepted, the school/division/department accepts financial responsibility for any non-reimbursed costs. (See Financial Policy No. 2105, Financial Responsibility).
6. Commingling funds from individual sponsored awards or other restricted sources is not allowable.
7. Separate accounts must be created to account for expenses incurred at on and off-campus locations.