A-21 Effort Certification at

UACES

SANDRA WILLIAMSOffice of Sponsored Programs

Effort and Effort ReportingEffort is defined as the amount of time spent on aparticular activity. It includes the time spent working on a sponsored project in which salary is directly charged or contributed (cost-shared effort).

Effort reporting is the mandated method of certifying to the granting agencies that the effort charged or cost shared to each award has actually been completed.

Why do we certify Effort?Effort reporting is a federal requirement. As a condition to receive federal funding,

institutions must maintain an accurate system for reporting the percentage of time (i.e., effort) that employees devote to federally sponsored projects (see OMB Circular A-21, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions - Compensation for Personal Services).

UACES applies this standard to all sponsored projects.

When do we Certify Effort?

UACES has two effort reporting periods:

January 1st to June 30th

Effort Certification Report generated about Sept 1, return by Sep 30

July 1st to December 31st Effort Certification Report generated about April 1, return by

Apr 30

MEMORANDUM

To: Jane Federal Grant Undefined County

DISPATCH DELIVERY

From: Crystal Anderson, Accountant canderson@uaex.edu 501-671-2051

Date 09/10/2010 RE: OMB Circular A-21 Certification Letter

Certification January 1, 2010 - June 30, 2010

Your salary charges for this certification period are listed below. This memorandum will be generated every six months and distributed to employees for certification of time and effort worked on restricted grants and projects. Certification is required for all educational institutions that receive federal funds.

Please review the grants/projects listed below and the percent of time worked on these projects. If you believe the distribution is a reasonable reflection of the effort devoted during the certification period, please print, sign and return this memorandum to Financial Services. If corrections need to be made, please note any changes on the form, then sign and return the form to Financial Services.

All forms must be signed and returned to Financial Services 09/30/2010

Distribution for January 1, 2010 - June 30, 2010 Fund Fund Percent General State Funding 13101 69.02 County Funding - FSL 14401 17.98 FSNEP Match 24314 13.00

I certify that the distribution above is a reasonable reflection of the effort devoted during the certification period indicated on this memorandum.

Employee Signature Date

Who Certifies Effort?

OMB Circular A-21, Section J.10 requires that the certification report be signed by “the employee, principal investigator, or responsible official(s) using suitable means of verification that the work was performed.”

Examples of suitable means of verification:E-mail correspondence Direct supervisory responsibilityContact from the employee’s supervisorEstablish a protocol with employee for

communicating changes in effortNotes from meetings or discussionsCalendars, travel records, teaching schedules

and lab notesTime sheets and log books

What Effort Certification Is “NOT”.

Effort certification is not how the payroll expense

was distributed. If the payroll expense distribution

does not match actual effort, a payroll correction

will need to be processed.

It is recommended that supervisors check expense distribution and effort at the beginning of each certification cycle to assure they will match.

Which Funds Do We Certify?Federal Smith Lever (14xxx)Federal Smith Lever (21xxx)Federal Smith Lever Matching (22xxx)Other Federal Grants and Contracts (23xxx)Other Federal Matching (24xxx)State Grants & Contracts (25xxx)State Grants & Contracts Matching (26xxx)Private Grants & Contracts (28xxx)

As of fiscal year 2010, federal formula funds effort must be certified. (14xxx)

Some Red Flags:Late effort certificationsCertifier does not have firsthand knowledge of

work performed or suitable means of verificationOver 90% effort placed on the grantNo effort placed on grantUntimely payroll redistributions and corrections

without proper justification/explanationSignificant amount of re-certificationsRecords do not match certificationEffort on proposal is not reflected in certification

Some Red Flags:Late effort certificationsCertifier does not have firsthand knowledge of

work performed or suitable means of verificationOver 90% effort placed on the grantNo effort placed on grantUntimely payroll redistributions and corrections

without proper justification/explanationSignificant amount of re-certificationsRecords do not match certificationEffort on proposal is not reflected in certification

Reminders:Effort Reports for the Period 7/1/11 – 12/31/11 will be

distributed by April 1st .

When submitting retro-active e-Hires include appropriate descriptions explaining the need for the adjustment in the remarks section, such as (to reflect appropriate effort associated with grant-related activity).

***If you find any payroll entry errors which do not require an updated e-Hire, please contact Nicholas Dudley in payroll at ext. 2057 and

provide a copy of the original e-Hire for the payroll correction to be processed.