Transfer of costs (expenses) to a Federal grant or contract should be the exception, not the rule. Expenses should normally be applied to the appropriate project account at the time the expense is incurred. However, when errors do occur, they must be corrected in a timely manner and with justification and documentation sufficient for audit review. The NIH Grants Policy has well-written guidelines for cost transfers that may be more generally applied to other Federal grants. Cost transfers to Federal grants that represent corrections of clerical or bookkeeping errors should be accomplished within 90 days of when the error is discovered. For audit purposes, the documentation for the transfer must include an explanation of why the error occurred and a certification that the cost has now been correctly charged. UMB policies and procedures for various types of transfers are located at the Financial Services website.
|