Advanced Account Authorization Policy
Policy Statement
Advance accounts provide Principal Investigators with an opportunity to initiate sponsored research projects and begin incurring associated expenses prior to institutional acceptance of an award by the appropriate pre-award sponsored research office, ORS. Opening an accounting unit in advance aids in the correct assignment of costs for a given grant or contract. In requesting and accepting an advance account, the requester (PI, department or school) assumes the financial risk in the event the award is not made, not accepted, or if the terms of the award once made deem certain expenditures to be unallowable. Only costs that are incurred:
- within the project period
- in accordance with applicable regulations, e.g. OMB Uniform Guidance 2 CFR §200, sponsor specificregulations, University policy; and,
- depending on the sponsor, have been included in the approved budget
should be charged to the account.
Procedures
The department must provide a guarantee account number to cover expenses in the event a project is not funded as anticipated. The guarantee account(s) being used must be a departmental account or a discretionary account. Additionally, the guarantee account(s) must have sufficient available funding to cover at least 1/4 of the estimated annual proposed budget in the event a fully executed agreement is not received/executed.
Any supporting documentation showing the Awardee’s intent to fund the project at Loyola should be collected and submitted to ORS for first review and approval, then to SPA for review, approval, and AU set up. Emails, letters of intent, budget requests, etc., are all acceptable forms of supporting documentation.
If a continuation grant does not require creation of a separate accounting unit, this Advanced Account Form can also be used to guarantee the payment of an overrun in an existing accounting unit pending the receipt of the continuation grant if expense can be charged before the start of the next budget period, but within the project period (grantor policy and individual grant restrictions apply). It can also be used to guarantee spending after the end date of the current budget period but within the budget period of the continuation funding. To help identify continuation grants that have Advanced Account Forms on file guaranteeing expense, the end date will be updated in LAWSON and the AU title will be temporarily changed to “Preaward” to designate the temporary status of the extension.
If specific expenditures would otherwise require prior approval, the department/investigator must obtain written prior agency approval before incurring the cost. Agency prior approval is also required for any costs to be incurred more than 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or competing continuation award (grantor policy and individual grant restrictions apply). The Advance Accounting Unit may be inactivated if the notice of grant award is not received within 90 days of the anticipated start date. Note that equipment purchases will not be allowed for Advanced Accounting Units.
It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator and his/her designee(s), if applicable, to keep expenditures to essentials during this period in which Loyola University Chicago is at risk.
Advanced Account Authorization Policy: Posted 07/19/2024; Last Reviewed 07/19/2024
Policy Statement
Advance accounts provide Principal Investigators with an opportunity to initiate sponsored research projects and begin incurring associated expenses prior to institutional acceptance of an award by the appropriate pre-award sponsored research office, ORS. Opening an accounting unit in advance aids in the correct assignment of costs for a given grant or contract. In requesting and accepting an advance account, the requester (PI, department or school) assumes the financial risk in the event the award is not made, not accepted, or if the terms of the award once made deem certain expenditures to be unallowable. Only costs that are incurred:
- within the project period
- in accordance with applicable regulations, e.g. OMB Uniform Guidance 2 CFR §200, sponsor specificregulations, University policy; and,
- depending on the sponsor, have been included in the approved budget
should be charged to the account.
Procedures
The department must provide a guarantee account number to cover expenses in the event a project is not funded as anticipated. The guarantee account(s) being used must be a departmental account or a discretionary account. Additionally, the guarantee account(s) must have sufficient available funding to cover at least 1/4 of the estimated annual proposed budget in the event a fully executed agreement is not received/executed.
Any supporting documentation showing the Awardee’s intent to fund the project at Loyola should be collected and submitted to ORS for first review and approval, then to SPA for review, approval, and AU set up. Emails, letters of intent, budget requests, etc., are all acceptable forms of supporting documentation.
If a continuation grant does not require creation of a separate accounting unit, this Advanced Account Form can also be used to guarantee the payment of an overrun in an existing accounting unit pending the receipt of the continuation grant if expense can be charged before the start of the next budget period, but within the project period (grantor policy and individual grant restrictions apply). It can also be used to guarantee spending after the end date of the current budget period but within the budget period of the continuation funding. To help identify continuation grants that have Advanced Account Forms on file guaranteeing expense, the end date will be updated in LAWSON and the AU title will be temporarily changed to “Preaward” to designate the temporary status of the extension.
If specific expenditures would otherwise require prior approval, the department/investigator must obtain written prior agency approval before incurring the cost. Agency prior approval is also required for any costs to be incurred more than 90 days before the beginning date of the initial budget period of a new or competing continuation award (grantor policy and individual grant restrictions apply). The Advance Accounting Unit may be inactivated if the notice of grant award is not received within 90 days of the anticipated start date. Note that equipment purchases will not be allowed for Advanced Accounting Units.
It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator and his/her designee(s), if applicable, to keep expenditures to essentials during this period in which Loyola University Chicago is at risk.
Advanced Account Authorization Policy: Posted 07/19/2024; Last Reviewed 07/19/2024