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Labor Account
Distribution Change & Wage Transfer Form is for payroll transactions
that move funds from one account into another account. They differ from cost
transfers in that cost transfers are moving non-payroll expenses. Labor Account
Distribution Change & Wage Transfer Form must be processed within 90
days of incurring the expense. The transfer of charges from other projects
or programs to sponsored research awards is closely examined by auditors.
Frequent, tardy or unexplained (or inadequately explained) transfers can raise
serious questions about the propriety of the transfers and our accounting
system and internal controls. The Labor Account Distribution Change & Wage
Transfer Form and system of approval signatures was developed to avoid audit
questions regarding transfers.
Situations that prompt a Labor Account Distribution Change &
Wage Transfer Form. The most common situations include:
- Clerical error
- Cost over-runs
- Effort of personal is different than what the Payroll Authorization is set
up as
- General problems with the original setup of the budget
Limiting the Need for Labor Account Distribution Change & Wage
Transfer Form: Avoidance of cost overruns or significant unexpended
fund balances requiring Labor Account Distribution Change & Wage Transfer
Form, begins when the proposal budget is first developed. Inaccurate
projections related to an awards schedule, objectives, or methodology and
reflected in the budget can follow, or haunt, the award throughout it's life.
Each month the Principal Investigator and the Grant Administrator should
compare budget projections with expenses and balances to-date, and adjust
future spending accordingly.
How to Initiate a Labor Account Distribution Change & Wage
Transfer Form: All requests for a transfer of personnel costs on
Sponsored Research awards should be on a Labor Account Distribution Change
& Wage Transfer Form for payroll expenses. The general guidelines for
initiating a Labor Account Distribution Change & Wage Transfer Form are as
follows:
Initiate the Labor Account Distribution Change & Wage
Transfer Form as soon after the original charge was made.
- Transfers MUST be made within 90 days of the original charge and should
contain a full justification of the transfer
Fringe benefits do not have to be listed unless different than
the amount that will automatically be calculated by payroll.
The Labor Account Distribution Change & Wage Transfer Form
must include a complete detailed explanation:
- Why was this transaction(s) originally posted to the account from which it
is now being transferred?
- Why should the transaction be transferred to the proposed account to be
charged?
- How does this transaction benefit the project?
If Transfer request is over 90 days from the date of the
original transaction please answer the following questions:
- Why is the transactions(s) being transferred more than 90 days after the
original date the transaction was recorded?
- What corrective action has been taken to eliminate future need for labor
account distribution change and wage transfers of this type?
The form must be signed and approved by:
- If just the LADC Section of the form is filled out, it can be signed by one
of the following; Department Chair, Principal Investigator (although they
are not required to sign in this instance) or Department Administrator. After
one of these individuals signs, the form is then sent to the department's
Fiscal Office for their signature, after the Fiscal Office signs, the form is
then sent to the Payroll Office for processing. If a sponsored research
PTAEO account was listed in the LADC section of the form, the Payroll
Office will send OSP a copy after they process the original.
- If the Wage Transfer Section of the form is filled out and involves a
sponsored research PTAEO account, the Principal Investigator for each sponsored
research PTAEO account listed needs to sign the form, then the
department's Fiscal Office signs, then it is sent to OSP for their signature,
OSP then sends the form to the Payroll Office for processing. If the Wage
Transfer section of the form does not involve a sponsored research PTAEO
account, the form can be sent directly to the Payroll Office after the
Fiscal Office signs off as OSP only needs to sign if a sponsored research PTAEO
account is involved in the Wage Transfer section of the form.
- Please note the department's Fiscal Office always needs to sign the form
regardless of which section is filled out on the form.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
Explanations such as "to correct a clerical error" or "to transfer to
correct project" are not adequate. Transfers of payroll expenses from one
budget period to the next solely to cover cost overruns are not acceptable.
Generally, the older the charge the more involved the explanation of the
transfer should be.
Department administration should regularly monitor payroll deadlines
(Blitzmail Bulletins).
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