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Payroll
Distribution Confirmation
Frequently
Asked Questions
The
following list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) was composed
to better assist you in the verification and confirmation of
the Payroll Distribution Confirmation (PDC) reports. If you have
a question that was not addressed in the FAQ list and you need
assistance, please feel free to contact the Office of Cost Studies;
our staff is ready to lend a hand!
Payroll
Distribution Confirmation contacts:
Martin
Madrigal-Diaz
Ext. 2589
Ted
Lieu
Ext. 2579
- POLICY
RELATED
Payroll Distribution Confirmation General Policies
- Who
should be included in the PDC process?
- What
are the effective dates of the reporting period?
- If
there is cost sharing associated with the federal award will
it be included on the PDC report?
Cost
Transfers: Within the 90 Policy; After the 90 Policy
- How
much time do I have to ensure that all cost transfers are
reflected on the PDC reports?
- Can
I still submit charges after the 90-day period and after
the PDC report is generated?
- Can
I change the PDC report after it has been confirmed?
- CONFIRMATION. Cognizant Signatories,
Confirmation Delegation, etc.
- Who can
sign the PDC Reports?
- What if
the PI is unavailable to confirm the PDC report?
- POTENTIAL
DATA ERRORS. Changes
to PDC Data, Potential Data Errors, Office of Cost Studies.
- What
should I do if the information on the PDC report appears
to be incorrect?
- What should
I do if there is a person listed on the PDC report that does
not work for the faculty or Principal Investigator associated
with the report?
- What should
I do if there are awards listed on the PDC report that do
not belong to the faculty or Principal Investigator associated
with the report?
- What should
I do if the award confirmation contact person (accp) indicated
on the PDC report is incorrect?
- What should
I do if an employee to be confirmed on the PDC report is
no longer at Caltech?
- What do
I do if a PI is no longer at Caltech?
- How
do I make corrections to information on the PDC Report?
- What happens if I make a manual
change to the PDC report without submitting a corresponding
cost transfer?
- Why are some federal awards
not listed on the PDC report?
- PDC
VERIFICATION. How
to Properly Verify PDC Data
- What is the source of data supporting the information shown
on the Payroll Distribution Confirmation (PDC) reports?
- What should I do to verify that the information on the PDC
report is correct?
- Why am I unable to verify information on the PDC reports for
individuals on biweekly payrolls using LD query?
- PAID
LEAVE. Information
on Allocation of Paid Leave Charges
- Why are adjustments for” paid leave taken” included
in the percentage calculations for the PDC Reports?
- POLICY
RELATED
Payroll Distribution Confirmation General Policies
- Who
should be included in the PDC process?
A
Confirmation must be obtained for every person with direct payroll
charges to sponsored awards. However, the confirmation may be
made by a "cognizant signatory" (Please see questions 7 and 8).
- What
are the effective dates of the reporting period?
The two reporting periods for
which confirmation is necessary are:
October 1, 200X to March 31, 200X
April 1, 200X to September 30, 200X
- If
there is cost sharing associated with the federal award will
it be included with the charges on the PDC report?
Salary cost sharing charges are
not specifically identified on the PDC report, but they may be
included as part of a charge to a non-sponsored award.
Cost
Transfers: Within the 90 Policy; After the 90 Policy
- How
much time do I have to ensure that all cost transfers are
reflected on the PDC reports?
All cost transfers and adjustments
should be completed within the 90-day period after the end of
the six-month reporting period associated with the PDC reports
(please refer to the Cost
Transfers Policy).
- Can
I still submit charges after the 90-day period and after
the PDC report is generated?
If charges are not submitted within the
90-day period, the information will not be reflected on the PDC
report. The PDC report will ONLY reflect charges submitted up-to
the date the PDC report is generated (please refer to the Cost
Transfers Policy). If you need to submit a charge after the 90-day
period, then contact the Office of Cost Studies and/or Project
Accounting, since these scenarios are reviewed on a case-by-case
basis.
- Can
I change the PDC report after it has been confirmed?
Only in extraneous circumstances may changes
be made to the information supporting the PDC report. These requests
are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
- CONFIRMATION. Cognizant Signatories,
Confirmation Delegation, etc.
- Who can sign
the PDC Reports?
Normally the PI identified as the Award
Manager should sign the PDC report.
- What if the PI
is unavailable to confirm the PDC report?
Responsibility for confirming PDC reports
may be delegated to a “cognizant signatory,” that
is an individual who:
- Has suitable means of verification that
work was performed; and,
- Has the knowledge to confirm that payroll
charges were reasonable in relation to the work performed.
- POTENTIAL
DATA ERRORS. Changes
to PDC Data, Potential Data Errors, Office of Cost Studies.
- What should I
do if the information on the PDC report appears to be incorrect?
Identify the information you believe is
incorrect then contact the Office of Cost Studies who will verify
the information and provide you with further instruction for
completing the process.
- What should I do if
there is a person listed on the PDC report that does not work
for the faculty or Principal Investigator associated with the
report?
- If the person is a
shop employee, then indicate cross out the individual’s name and write “shop
employee” next to the name on the report, then proceed
with the confirmation process (Shop employees may be excluded
from the PDC process).
- If you do not know whether the person
is a shop employee and/or are unfamiliar with the person(s)
making the charges, then contact the Office of Cost Studies
for further direction.
- What should I do if
there are awards listed on the PDC report that do not belong
to the faculty or Principal Investigator associated with the
report?
Identify the awards and contact the Office
of Cost Studies. We will work with you to research the appropriate
PI for these, and provide you with further instructions.
- What should I do if
the award confirmation contact person (accp) indicated on the
PDC report is incorrect?
Contact the Office of Cost Studies for verification
and further instruction.
- What should I do if
an employee to be confirmed on the PDC report is no longer
at Caltech?
If the employee worked part of the reporting
period and the information on the report is correct, then confirm
the report.
- What do I do if a PI
is no longer at Caltech?
If the information is available, notate
directly on the report the official date the PI left Caltech.
Additionally:
- If the
federal award was transferred to another PI at Caltech
for further work, provide the name
of the new PI.
- If the PI “took” the
federal award to another institution, then indicate this
information
on the PDC report.
- How do I make corrections
to information on the PDC Report?
The information on the PDC Reports should
be correct with respect to reflecting information contained in
the ORACLE and Labor Distribution system, and therefore there
should be little need to make corrections to the PDC Reports.
For the few exceptions where corrections may be needed, the Office
of Cost Studies should be contacted to confirm that the information
in the report is incorrect. If a correction is needed, it should
be made manually in ink directly on the PDC report prior to signing.
- What happens if I
make a manual change to the PDC report without submitting a
corresponding cost transfer?
Information to be confirmed must be consistent
with the Labor Distribution and Oracle Systems at the time the
report was generated and/or confirmed. The Office of Cost Studies
will verify all manual changes made to the PDC Reports and if
the changes do not agree with the ORACLE and Labor Distribution
System, then the Office of Cost Studies will contact you.
- Why are some federal
awards not listed on the PDC report?
All federal awards SHOULD appear on the
PDC report if they were active during the effective reporting
period. If there is an award that was excluded and you believe
it should have been included on the PDC report, please contact
the Office of Cost Studies for further direction.
- PDC
VERIFICATION. How
to Properly Verify PDC Data
- What is the source of data supporting the information shown
on the Payroll Distribution Confirmation (PDC) reports?
The percentage information on the PDC reports is directly from
the Labor Distribution Module, exclusive of earning elements associated
with 1099, 1042, and 592-type payroll (Please click here for a
list of excluded Earning Elements). All other information
is obtained from the Caltech Financial System
(ORACLE Grants Module).
- What should I do to verify that the information
on the PDC report is correct?
Data on the PDC Report reflects the information in the Labor Distribution
and the ORACLE financial system at the time the report is generated.
Therefore detailed verification of the data on the PDC is not necessary
for the majority of the cases. If verification of the data is necessary,
then please
click here)
- Why am I unable to verify information on the PDC reports for
individuals on biweekly payrolls using LD query?
You can use LD Query; however, you should adjust the beginning
and ending payroll periods (as described in the data found by
way of the hyperlink in question 19 above). LD Query reports
information for an entire payroll period, rather then actual
payroll start and end dates. If the first and last payrolls are
not within the entire reporting period, then only part of the
charges may be included. For example, if the first payroll period
begins before the start date of the PDC reporting period, then
an adjustment is needed to exclude the portion of the payroll
dollars that was charged before the PDC start date. Similarly,
if the last payroll period ends after the end of the PDC reporting
period, then an adjustment is needed to exclude the portion of
the payroll dollars that were charged after the end of the PDC
period. (This adjustment is not required if verifying information
using LD View, as information is based on actual start and end
dates specified). (Please access the hyperlink above in answer
19 for further information)
- PAID LEAVE. Information on Allocation of Paid Leave Charges
- Why are adjustments
for” paid leave taken” included
in the percentage calculations for the PDC Reports?
When a biweekly employee works on a sponsored
award, his/her labor charges to the sponsored award will normally
include dollars
associated with the hours worked on the award and a separate
paid leave allocation amount that is charged at a 14.5 percent
rate. When this employee actually takes paid leave (e.g., vacation
day), the dollars associated with this leave is charged to a
non-sponsored award (typically a non-sponsored paid leave account),
and not to the sponsored award. This will result in a portion
of the payroll for this employee being captured in the non-sponsored
award. The labor calculation in the PDC reports includes charges
for” paid leave taken” that is captured in the non-sponsored
awards. For example, if a person is eligible for paid leave and
normally charges 100% of his salary to one sponsored award, but
has taken one month vacation during the six-month reporting period,
the PDC Report will show 83% (5 months/ 6 months), not 100% charged
to the sponsored award, and 17% (1 month / 6 month) charged to
the non-sponsored charges line item. As such, Paid Leave is charged
to a non-sponsored paid leave account, not directly to a sponsored
award.
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