Your responsibility is to review salary/wage expenditures recorded on your sponsored projects (and related cost shares) and verify that the expense percentage closely correlates to the percentage of time the individual worked on the project. (Their percentage of pay should be within 5% of their percentage of time, if this is not the case a salary/wage transfer will be required.) The responsibility has not changed, only the method by which it is accomplished is now electronic instead of paper. The appropriate Department Head or Dean may certify in emergency cases when a PI is not available. Department Administrators may certify effort recorded on non-sponsored programs.

All work that needs your attention will be on the 'Awaiting Action' tab.

Yes. Faculty or Staff may certify their own effort.

No. This would not be in compliance with Federal cost principles contained in Circular A-21.

Faculty members may certify their own effort. Principal Investigators, Co-PIs may certify any effort reflected by salary/wage expense recorded on their grant. Emergency proxy access is also granted to Department Heads and Deans if a PI or CO-PI cannot certify.

Yes, unless they are students.

No. Undergraduate and Graduate students cannot certify their own.

You can view another person's effort if there are common funding. For example, if your sponsored program pays them 50%, you can see the other 50%.

A faculty member or Co-PI may have signed off before you logged in. If this is not the case, please contact effcert@auburn.edu.

Yes.

You can do either. Make sure to follow your department's policy.

Only if there are incorrect percentages. The default (actual pay) shall be presented.

effcert@auburn.edu

You need to communicate with them and let them know that you will handle all effort certification for the project.

This is for oversight purposes as well as to ensure certifications are not missed if/when a PI is unable to review the documentation.

Only a PI or CoPI can certify effort on a sponsored project, the responsibility may not be delegated. So unless a CoPI is added to assist with the project, the duty of effort certification falls to the PI/CoPI currently assigned to the project.

With an electronic system, a shorter approval time is more attainable and a 40 day review period is comparable to that of peer institutions.

The 40 days starts after the quarter ending when the expense is recorded onto the project FOP. So, delays in creation of the FOP won't be a factor.

The percentages are calculated based on the amount paid from the FOP line in question divided by the individual's total paid amount. You are only expected to estimate effort to within 5%. When actual effort varies by more than 5% of the percentage paid, a transfer will be required.

Effort certification is performed quarterly. Salary/wage expense may be reviewed at anytime during the project via labor distribution reports which are run after each payroll.

The effort certification requirement only applies to individuals paid through the Auburn University payroll system. PSCs are subject to other costing guidelines in OMB Circular A-21.

Not currently, but may be developed at a later date.