Glossary

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Allocable
A cost is allocable to a project if goods or services involved are chargeable or assignable in accordance with the relative benefits received by the projects. In order to be allocable a cost must be treated consistently in like circumstances.

Allowable
Charges are allowable as direct costs on a sponsored project when all of the following conditions are met:

• The costs are reasonable
• The costs are allocable to the specific sponsored project
• The cost are treated consistently in like circumstances
• The costs conform to any limitations of the cost principles or the sponsored agreement

Annual Effort Certification at Chicago
Using the Effort Reporting System to certify to the sponsoring agencies that the effort committed in an award has actually been expended.

Anticipation grant codes and Anticipation fund codes
Banner grant code and related fund (CFOP) may be established to accumulate pre-award and related award costs incurred in until the executed award is received.

Appropriate
A cost is appropriate if it meets the criteria of being allowable, allocable, and reasonable.

Award Document
A legally binding agreement between the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois and an external sponsor whereby the sponsor commits a specific amount of funding to the University to perform a specific scope of work within a specific period of time. The award document is the funding mechanism for the sponsored project.

Award Expiration or End Date
The end of an award period on a sponsored project.

Banner
University of Illinois' financial accounting system. Provides data online and is the official source of data used to create the monthly expenditure statements (operating ledgers) and payroll vouchers for sponsored projects and other fund types.

Cost Accounting Principles
Principles for determining the allowable costs incurred by non-Federal entities under Federal awards. The principles are for the purpose of cost determination and are not intended to identify the circumstances or dictate the extent of Federal government participation in the financing of a particular program or project. The principles are designed to provide that Federal awards bear their fair share of cost recognized under these principles except where restricted or prohibited by law.

Cost Transfer
A cost transfer is a reallocation or redistribution of a previously charged expenditure transferred from one University fund (C-FOAP) to another after the charge has been posted in Banner.

Cost Transfer Review
An after-the-fact review conducted by the Post Award Office that analyzes certain transactions to determine if they meet the standards of reasonableness, allowability, and allocability, and are in accordance with University and sponsor guidelines.

Current Transfers
Cost transfers processed within 90 days after the original charge was posted in Banner.

Direct Costs
Costs that can be specifically and readily identified with (traced to) a particular sponsored project or activity.

Documentation
Includes a complete explanation of the allocability, allowability, and reasonableness, and any other documents pertaining to a specific transaction. Examples may include Banner reports, copies of invoices, etc.

Effort
Time spent on a sponsored project by a principal investigator or other personnel working on that project.

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs
Commonly abbreviated as "F&A" costs, also called "ICR" or "Indirect" costs. These are costs incurred by the University for common or joint objectives and cannot be identified specifically with a particular project or program. These costs are also sometimes referred to as "ICR costs" or "overhead costs."

Fiduciary Responsibility
For sponsored projects, this is the legal obligation to manage the sponsored project funds in a manner that is consistent with the University's internal policies, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in the award agreement, and in compliance with sponsor policies and overarching regulations.

Grant Code
Campus Grants Office assigns a unique Banner grant code to each sponsored project.

Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR) funds
Indirect Cost Recovery funds (or "ICR funds," as they are commonly referred to) are funds which the University collects from the indirect cost recovery (F&A) rates charged to sponsored project funds. The primary purpose of ICR funds is to provide unrestricted support for a unit's core research and administrative operations. ICR funds are identified in Banner by the value "200250" in the Fund portion of the C-FOAPAL string.

Non-Current Transfers
Cost transfer processed 90 days after the original charge was posted in Banner.

Non-Salary Costs
Non-salary costs are expenditures for supplies, consultant fees, travel, equipment, and all other non-payroll costs.

PI (Principal Investigator)
The individual responsible for the oversight of the sponsored project and who is ultimately responsible for determining that expenditures charged to the project are necessary, allowable, allocable, reasonable, properly approved, and adequately documented. By accepting the award, the PI accepts the overall responsibility for: direction of the research (or other activity), financial oversight of the project, and compliance with relevant University policies and sponsor terms and conditions.

Principal Investigator (PI)
The individual designated by the sponsoring agency as responsible and accountable for the proper conduct and direction of the project or activity.

Reasonable Cost
A cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services, and the price paid for those goods or services, reflects the action that a prudent person would have taken, given the prevailing circumstances at the time the decision to incur the cost was made.

Salary Costs
Salary costs are payroll expenses which includes salaries, wages, stipend, lump sum payments, and associated benefits.

Semi-Annual Expenditure Confirmation at Urbana and Springfield
Semi-annual process where the principal investigator, or other responsible official using suitable means of verification, reviews the direct charges and contributed effort cost share on the sponsored project and confirms the costs are allowable and proper.

Sponsored Project
A project that is funded by an external entity under which the University agrees to perform a defined scope of work (set of objectives), within a specified project period, for a specified amount of budget, and according to the terms and conditions contained in the agreement and sponsor policies. The most common activities on sponsored projects are research and public service.

Sponsored Projects
Research, teaching, and other projects funded by sponsors outside the University.

Transaction
Refers to an individual or group of expenditures posted in the operating ledger. An external transaction occurs when the University pays an outside entity. An internal transaction occurs when a cost is moved between two Banner funds.

Last Updated: April 12, 2016