######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ASRSP News & Updates Federal Government Status: An agreement on the overall spending level for fiscal year 2024 was reached on January 7th; this is a positive step but does not eliminate the risk of a government shutdown. Negotiations to finalize the spending plan are ongoing, with the next deadline on January 19th. Timing of Posting Charges: Expending sponsored funds in a timely manner helps ensure that awards are completely utilized and that reporting is accurate. Spending should begin as soon as Sponsored Research establishes the chart strings and issues the Project Account Summary (PAS). At minimum, budgeted salaries for project personnel should be set up at the beginning. A best practice as spending continues is for department administrators to reconcile charges monthly. Monthly reconciliation is recommended rather than quarterly to minimize the use of 90-day memos for cost transfers that arise. As a reminder, only charges posted to the financial system of record (NUFinancials) can be reported to sponsors. Rejected NIH Final Financial Reports: As previously mentioned, NIH is now sending monthly reminders to recipients with Final Federal Financial Reports in rejected status. An FFR can be rejected for a discrepancy of one penny when compared to Payment Management System (the accounting and payment system for federal awards). Resolving the discrepancies is a responsibility of ASRSP, however even small ones require time and attention. The following points are outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement: Final FFRs must indicate the exact balance of unobligated funds and may not reflect any unliquidated obligations. There must be no discrepancies between the Federal share of expenditures reported on the final FFR and the net cash disbursements reported in PMS on the Transactions section of the FFR. It is the recipient's responsibility to reconcile reports prior to submission to PMS and to the NIH awarding IC. The most impactful practice for recipients is to spend awards according to the approved budget and post charges timely. The closeout process begins 90 days prior to the award end date and FFRs for federal awards are typically due 120 days after the award end date. Mileage Rate: The IRS released the mileage rate for reimbursement for “costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.” The rate of $.67/mile for business use is in effect for calendar year 2024. Reminders Unapplied Payments: Please be sure to check the Current Unapplied Payments spreadsheet regularly and contact [log in to unmask] with information on any payments that are applicable to your projects. Term Time Expired funds: The unspent funds on a grant that has ended but is not yet closed out are expired. Expired funds cannot be used for new obligations. ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######### ######################################################################## Access the RESEARCHFINANCE Home Page and Archives: https://LISTSERV.IT.NORTHWESTERN.EDU/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=RESEARCHFINANCE Unsubscribe from the RESEARCHFINANCE List: &*TICKET_URL(RESEARCHFINANCE,SIGNOFF); ########################################################################