march 2008business affairs -your partner for successful solutions 1 service centers
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March 2008 Business Affairs -Your Partner for Successful Solutions 1
SERVICE CENTERSSERVICE CENTERS
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Service Center Definition:A unit that performs specific technical
or administrative services primarily for the internal operations of the university and charges users for its services.
A service center can be authorized to provide services to external customers.
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OMB Circular A-21OMB Circular A-21
• Requires that all costs be reasonable, allowable, allocable and consistently treated.
• Contains a list of allowable and unallowable costs.
• Unallowable costs cannot be budgeted or expensed on service center accounts.
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Specialized Service Specialized Service FacilityFacility(SSF)(SSF)
A service center that offers highly complex or specialized services that are not readily available from outside sources – for example, animal care facilities.
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Service CentersService Centers
• Facilities• Telephone Services• General Stores• Core lab facilities• Electron Microscope Research Ctr
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Billing Rates/User FeesBilling Rates/User Fees
•Customer Base•General Guidelines for Rates•Key Compliance Issues
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Customer BaseCustomer Base• Internal
– University Departments– Sponsored Programs
• External– Those who do not have a university
account number– Industry– Students, faculty or staff acting in a
personal capacity
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Billing Rates – Internal Billing Rates – Internal UsersUsers
• All internal customers must be charged the same rate for the same level of service under the same circumstances.
• Federal grants or contracts must be charged a rate equal to or lower than the rate charged to any other customer.
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Billing Rates – Internal Billing Rates – Internal UsersUsers
•Rates must be designed to recover the direct costs of the services or goods.
•Rates cannot be marked up to accumulate reserves.
•Rates must break even over time.
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SurplusSurplus
Must be used to adjust future billing rates.
• Used to purchase equipment? No• Used to fund salary increases? No• Transferred to other activities unrelated to the center?
No
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Billing Rates – External Billing Rates – External UsersUsers
• Recover all costs – and • Include a surcharge equal to the
current approved F+A rate.• Rates cannot constitute unfair
competition.• External customers cannot be
charged less than internal customers or the Federal government.
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Federal ConcernsFederal Concerns
• Administrative– Inadequate policies and procedures.– Records not retained by the Service
Center for a period of 5 years.– Fund balance not properly monitored.
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Federal ConcernsFederal Concerns
• Administrative– Surplus funds were transferred to
other university accounts.– Surplus funds were used for purposes
unrelated to center activities.
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Federal ConcernsFederal Concerns
• Billing Rates– Cost studies not done to insure that
rates represented actual costs.– Unallowable costs were included in
the rates.– Rates not adjusted to eliminate
operating surpluses and deficits.
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Federal ConcernsFederal Concerns
• Billing Rates– Some users billed at reduced rates
and the federal programs subsidized the difference.
– Surplus balances not always used to reduce future rates.
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Administrative Operational Administrative Operational GuidelinesGuidelines
Establishment and Financial Management of Authorized Service Centers and Specialized Service Facilities
https://rowdyspace.utsa.edu/xythoswfs/webui/_xy-86089_1-t_wcQmjthn
Orhttps://www.utsa.edu/grants/