Payroll Distribution FAQs
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
x2589
Ted Lieu
x2579
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- Contact the Office of Cost Studies for further direction, if none of the above applies.
- 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.