F-5. Contract and Grant Accounts
Signature Authority
Faculty and staff should never sign any document on behalf of Indiana University. Agreements must be reviewed and signed only by appropriate parties with signature authority as designated by the Office of the Treasurer.
Compensation
Consult with Accounting Services prior to any hiring for grant work to ensure compliance with university policies. This includes compensation related to course release, summer pay, cost share, hourly workers, etc. There is special guidance for additional pay on grant accounts that is important to verify with the fiscal officer of the account. Additional pay is not allowable for an employee that falls under the same org code as the grant account.
Direct Expense Posting
Expenses must post directly to grant accounts and should not be charged to placeholder accounts and then subsequently have a general error correction (GEC) transaction performed. To ensure expenses post correctly, direct expense posting guidelines must be followed by:
- Notifying Accounting Services when being informed of an award that will be received
- Setting up a meeting with the fiscal officer to review the budget and planned activities
- Remembering the 90-day post back period, after which expenses cannot be moved to the grant
Grant Expense Deadlines
Expenses cannot post to a grant account after the grant's expiration date. All expenses must be paid in full (not in encumbered status) upon the grant’s expiration.
Grant Extensions
Grant extensions must route through the fiscal officer for campus review and approval. The fiscal officer will advise on next steps for routing through the Office of Research Administration (ORA). Principal Investigators should not directly contact an agency for extension requests.
Budget Adjustments
Budget adjustments must route through the fiscal officer for campus review and approval. The fiscal officer will advise on next steps for routing through the Office of Research Administration (ORA). Principal Investigators should not directly contact an agency for budget adjustment requests.
Unallowable Expenses
Examples of direct costs that are typically unallowable or require prior approval can be found on the IU Research website.
Hospitality
Hospitality expenses for contract and grant account (4* & 5* accounts) must be approved by the agency (within the grant budget) and accompanied by the appropriate documentation. To ensure compliance with ORA policies, data must be collected related to all grant hospitality expenses. The Hospitality Data Form should be completed and attached to the financial document related to hospitality expenses. Additionally, a program or agenda for the event and a roster including the names of the students, faculty, staff, etc. who attended the event should be attached.
Grant Reporting
Budget reports and other grant documents are available through the Grants Management Toolkit.