Budget adjustments

Use for principal investigator salaries. All sponsored projects must have a principal investigator identified. Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when the change in scope or by 25% committed effort of what sponsor approved or other sponsor threshold. Per FDP Guidance, disengagement from the project for more than three months, or a 25% reduction in time devoted to the project by the approved principal investigator/PD.

Also use for minimal PI percentage required in most situations. Equipment-only grants and other situations may not necessarily require a principal investigator or principal investigator salary line. If so, consult at the proposal stage.

Use for co-principal investigators, post-docs and research staff. Do not use for the PI, students or administrative support staff.

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when the budget is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds sponsor threshold for re-budgeting.

Use for graduate research assistants and student hourlies. This is for student employees.

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when the budget is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds sponsor threshold for re-budgeting.

Use for university support level staff or non-research staff. This is for full time employees at the administrative support level.

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when the budget is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds sponsor threshold for re-budgeting.

Use for state appropriated bonuses. 

Do not adjust the budget in the financial system. 

Use for fringe benefits, so the institution policy can recover the costs for fringe benefits.

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when it is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds the sponsor's threshold for budgeting. 

Use for the supplies necessary for executing the project to appropriately categorize supplies within the accounting structure. 

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when it is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds the sponsor's threshold for budgeting. 

Use for non-supply items, such as printing, services, leases, etc., to appropriately categorize other non-supply items within the accounting structure. 

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when it is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds the sponsor's threshold for budgeting. 

Use for travel within the United States when executing the project to appropriately categorize domestic travel within the accounting structure. 

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when it is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds the sponsor's threshold for budgeting. 

Use for travel outside of the United States when executing the project to appropriately categorize international travel within the accounting structure. 

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when it is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds the sponsor's threshold for budgeting. 

Use for equipment items valued at time of purchase or at completion of construction of $5,000 or more to appropriately capture the costs of equipment for tracking, reporting and calculation of F&A on a project. 

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when it is not pre-approved by the sponsor or it exceeds the sponsor's threshold for budgeting. 

Use for graduate student tuition to consistently apply tuition benefits. 

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when:

1. Changes are required for tuition for graduate research assistants (GRAs) appointed to the project.
2. Reducing or adding budget resources to this line and the other budget resource generates F&A.
3. The budget is not utilized for proposed purpose.
4. If changes exceeds sponsor threshold for re-budgeting.

Use for participant support expenses to identify direct support of sponsor-approved participant costs. 

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when:

1. Decreasing participant budget line and moving to other budget resources.
2. Increasing participant budget utilizing budget resources that generate F&A.
3. Any changes in this resource to other resources that will affect F&A.

Use when sub-recipients' first $25,000 generate F&A.

Adjustment is necessary in the financial system when:

1. Awarded dollars for all sub-recipients changes and funds are redistributed to other budget resources and F&A budget is affected. This ensures transparency and assists with overall budget balance monitoring.
2. If sub-awards are added after beginning of project, alerts to obtain sponsor approval and generate new contract.
3. To track commitments for all sub-awards and ensure budget is available.
4. Ensure F&A calculations for F&A rate assigned to project are accurate.
5. Ensure reporting for sub-recipient monitoring purposes is accurate.

The principal investigator is responsible for overall management of any award they are on. Shared Services Centers and the Office of Research can assist in this management, but principal investigators bear overall responsibility and must approve any adjustment to the budget.

Budget adjustment might be in the best interests of the project, but the principal investigator should be aware of the implications of the adjustment. For example, if a budget adjustment moves budgets from the lines not subject to F&A to the lines that are subject to F&A, this will increase the amount of F&A.

In most cases, it will decrease the funds available to the principal investigator to do the research. Additionally, principal investigators need to sign since we will track the agency limits (10%, 25%, etc.), so the principal investigator is aware when they are approaching the re-budgeting limits.

No. There is no official designation process established for budget adjustment forms.

Any increase in proactive administrative burden is outweighed by reducing potential future burden resulting from audit findings and/or disallowances. To reduce the potential administrative burden on principal investigators, their department, research center or SSC can present the completed budget adjustment form to them for signature during the regular discussions of the project projections.

Change in scope (of the project) is a change in the direction of the project, deliverables, principal investigator effort, named subrecipient and more. For example, a significant decrease in funding or principal investigator effort may make it impossible to complete all tasks originally proposed to the sponsor.

A principal investigator needs to submit a form:

• If sponsor does not grant authority for re-budgeting between budget categories. An official re-budgeting request will be submitted to the sponsor by Post-Award Services, if sponsor approval is required.
• If sponsor grants authority re-budgeting up to a set threshold, the form is needed to help keep track of the thresholds. Once the threshold is exceeded, an official re-budgeting request will be submitted to the sponsor by Post-Award Services, if sponsor approval is required.
• If sponsor grants re-budgeting authority without limitations, but there is a change in scope.
• If sponsor grants re-budgeting authority without limitations, but the re-budget affects the F&A.
• The budget adjustment results in additional payroll lines.
• For additional scenarios please, refer to the budget resource adjustment guidance above or contact PAS.

There is no line corresponding to this particular expense in the budget in the system. Since budgets are controlled as project total levels, in majority of cases, not having a budget line will not prevent you from entering and posting the expenses to the project. A budget adjustment might be necessary depending on other details (see scenarios above, or the budget resource adjustment guidance).

In cases of a required prior approval, we recommend contacting Post-Award Services prior to submitting the purchase order with the justification. If prior approval is required by the sponsor, the re-budgeting should be done before the purchase order is placed as any purchase completed before approval is granted could be disallowed.