Starting January 30, 2022, all Principal Investigators be required to approve all transactions charged to their
awards.
What does this change mean for the PIs?
When a transaction is charged to an award, all approvers at approver level one will
be required to approve. This includes the Principal Investigator and all additional
Project level one approvers setup on the award’s project team. It will no longer be
a pooled approach where only one approval is needed to move to approval level 2.
Why is it important for PIs to approve all transactions charged to an award?
It is very important that the Principal Investigators are aware of all transactions
regarding their awards and perform the approvals because:
- Grants and Funds Management uses PI transaction approval as the basis for signing
the required invoice certification.
- Under Uniform Guidance, invoices are required to be certified that the charges are
true and accurate and in accordance with the Notice of Award under penalty of law.
- Workflow approvals are reviewed by external auditors annually when they are performing
the single audit to ensure that proper transaction approval has been performed.
What transactions will be affected by this change?
The transactions that include a USCSP approver where the workflow will change are:
- GT Journal Voucher eForms
- Travel Authorizations
- Travel Advances
- Expense Reports for Travel, Travel Card and Non-Travel Reimbursements (AP)
- Payment Requests
- Requisitions
The Workflow Approval for Principal Investigators [pdf] quick reference provides a visual representation of how this will look in Finance
PeopleSoft starting January 30th. If you have any questions, please reach out to controller@sc.edu.
The Payroll Retro Funding Change process is as follows:
- The Payroll Retro Funding Change form should be completed and emailed to RetroJE@mailbox.sc.edu along with all supporting documentation.
Payroll Retro Funding Changes Form – Updated February 2022 [pdf]
This form has been updated as of April 2021 to include a reminder that a Cost Transfer Justification form must be completed and attached if a USCSP is part of the transaction.
NEW - Cost Transfer Justification Form [pdf]
No manual forms or hard copies are accepted. The Payroll Retro forms are reviewed
and entered into the General Ledger as a JE. Much like the Finance JV process for
AP Vouchers, the form and documentation are needed in order to process the retro funding
changes being requested. In addition, while we left the combo code on the form, it
is important for everyone to become familiar with your actual chartfields as the General
Ledger will use the full chartstring and not the combo code.
- HCM Distribution is available on the HUB and looks similar to what was available in
the General Accounting Intranet for Labor/Fringe Distribution. It includes the direct
earnings and fringe from PS HCM and incorporates the new GL payroll retro funding
identified above.
We brought this process back to a somewhat manual process to help us identify and
ensure a good efficient process. Once this has been done, then we will develop an
electronic form and workflow in the system in order to improve the process.
Few Things:
- We have developed job aids and an interactive webinar to help with learning to use
the HCM Distribution tool on the HUB. These can be found on the Grants and Funds Management webpage.
- In addition to the HCM Distribution tool on the HUB, the Finance Intranet now has
drill down capabilities for payroll.
If you have any questions, problems or concerns please email RetroJE@mailbox.sc.edu.
