Fiscal Obligations and Costing Principles

The University, sponsoring agencies and the federal government have policies and guidelines regarding allowability of costs for sponsored agreements. Researchers must follow these policies in preparing and submitting proposal budgets and in expending funds during the course of an award to comply with University policy and federal law.

Resource/Topic	Description
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21	Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular that establishes principles for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements with educational institutions
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-110	Purpose and standards for financial and program management of awards, including principles regarding allowable costs
Northwestern Policy for Charging Costs to Sponsored Agreements	Guiding principles or criteria used to determine whether a cost can be charged to a sponsored agreement
Sponsored Project Budgets	General guidelines for sponsored project budgets
Fiscal Responsibility for Sponsored Projects by Industry	University policies with respect to the handling of overexpenditures, cost transfers, audit disallowances, withholding of final payment, and bankruptcy of the sponsor
Fiscal Responsibility for Sponsored Projects	University policies with respect to the handling of overexpenditures, cost transfers, audit disallowances, withholding of final payment, and bankruptcy of the sponsor
Consistent Treatment of Costs	For any type of cost, including salaries and wages, lab and office supplies, equipment repair and maintenance, and services, all departments across the University must treat that cost in the same manner
Expenses Not Normally Budgeted or Charged as Direct Costs on Federal Projects	Explains when it may be allowable to charge administrative and clerical salaries directly
Objects of Expense	Lists standard set of object codes
Recharge Centers	If a unit is going to charge another unit for goods or services, the prices charged must be based on actual costs and must be distributed to users on the basis of actual measurable usage
Recharge Center and Pass-Through Activity Guidelines	Establishes mechanisms for the operations of Recharge Centers and Pass-Through Activities within the University and ensures compliance with University policies as enumerated in its Cost Disclosure Statement and as required by OMB Circular A-21
Calculation of Recharge Center Rates, Step-by-step Guidance	For recharge center directions/managers - Provides step-by-step instructions for use in developing recharge center rates
Recharge Centers, A-Z - Key Attributes of Recharge Centers	Highlists the key attributes of research centers, including: Defining recharge activities Documenting new and existing centers Calculating rates and prices Account edtablishment Management of centers
Animal Care Charges	Center for Comparative Medicine (CCM) rate schedules for animal use and care in research projects
IRB Fees	Institutional Review Board (IRB) fees
Fabricated Equipment Policy	Policy regarding fabricated equipment, defined as an item of equipment that is built or assembled from component parts by a PI and/or other sponsored project personnel, an internal shop, or an external shop
Cost Transfers	Policy which defines cost transfers, cost transfer requirements and the required supporting documentation for cost transfers, and establishes a rule that calls for the posting of expenditures and other costs within 90 days of their occurrence
90-day Rule	Requirement for posting expenditures and other costs within 90 days of their occurence
Retroactive Payroll Distribution Adjustments	Information on restrictions to payroll adjustments due to tax consequences
F&A Costs & Rates Description	F&A Costs are expenses that are incurred for common objectives and cannot be identified specifically with a major function of the institution; lists F&A cost rates and rates description
Tracking Investigator Award and Expenditure Credit for Sponsored Programs	A policy to guide attribution of both award and expenditure credit for externally funded collaborative research projects to the level of the investigator and to the individual academic department or research center.
PI Expenditure Certification Checklist	A checklist to assist PIs in reviewing and certifying sponsored project expenditures
Sponsored Project Budgets for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)	Extramural Policy Notices from the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts and other important grants administration information sources