Budget changes to federally-funded projects
Budgets for externally-funded projects should always be prepared thoughtfully, keeping in mind all that may be necessary to execute the project activities proposed. However, there may be situations when an approved budget needs to be revised to meet the objectives of the project. Most federally-funded projects allow a small amount of rebudgeting to enable Principal Investigators/Project Directors (PIs/PDs) some flexibility to respond to changing needs of the project. However, rebudgeting beyond the flexibility allowed by the project or sponsor, or any budget change that results from a change in the scope of the project, will require written approval from the program officer.
PIS/PDs should be tracking their expenses carefully to ensure that significant deviations from their budget are identified far enough in advance for program officer approval. If rebudgeting is necessary, it is strongly suggested that PIs/PDs contact the program officer to discuss the budget change that will be requested to help ensure that there will be no issues and minimal delay when that request is received. PIs/PDs should also discuss with the program officer the most appropriate way to submit the rebudgeting request (i.e., via email, online submission, hard copy letter).
The PI/PD must prepare a revised budget, justification for the change, and a description of any programmatic impact of this rebudgeting request. This information should be forwarded to the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) for review and processing. Please note that any change in personnel effort or that includes the hiring of additional personnel must be approved through regular institutional channels prior to submission to the funding agency.
Once the request has been finalized and approved by the institution, OSR personnel will submit the rebudgeting request with all related documentation to the funding agency for approval. Approval may be granted via an email response or with the issuance of a revised award letter, but the PI/PD and/or institution must receive written approval of this change. The written approval for the budget revision, along with the Budget Change form (see below), must be forwarded to OSR and Treasury, Management, and Budget to formally implement the change.
Budget change form
Purpose: Use the budget change form to permanently reallocate budgets by object code line within the program or between different program budgets. Please note that a permanent reallocation of funds will be reflected in future budget allocations.
NOTE: Any request for budget changes to a sponsored program (grant or contract) account must be discussed with and reviewed by Office of Sponsored Research staff before you initiate this process. Depending on the sponsor’s requirements, budget revisions may need sponsor approval before being implemented.
Exception: In the event that funds need to be moved on a temporary basis affecting salary line items, the use of the Budget Change Form is requested to align budget to actual cost by object code classification. The instructions below are the same, with the exception that within the “Reason for Change” box, the word “ONE-TIME TRANSFER” must be included along with the reason for change, or else it too will be processed as a permanent transfer.
Instructions for “One-time transfers” are included here, following the Budget Change Form Instructions.
Budget Change Form Instructions:
Fiscal Year: Type in the Fiscal Year in which the change is requested. Example: 2009-10 or 09/10
Note: Even if you are submitting a change for a sponsored program (or other) that does not follow La Verne’s fiscal year cycle of July/June, you must base your changes on a July/June fiscal year, as IFAS, the University’s financial database, operates on a fiscal year cycle. (The IFAS finance resources are viewable to you through the web-based DashBoard system.)
Example: If your sponsored program’s budget period is from Oct 1, 2009 to Sep 30, 2010, and you make a change in June 2010, the fiscal year that you will reference the change for is FY 2009/2010. However, if the change is made in July 2010, you will reference the change for FY 2010/2011.
Revenue & Expense sections: The smaller, upper section of the Budget Change Form represents “Revenue” changes, and the larger, bottom section represents “Expenditure”
Note: The cells in white are hard coded and cannot be altered. Data can be entered in the colored cells only.
There are a total of 6 columns:
1) Account Title column= Object code description. The corresponding Object code number will be inputted to the right, under the object code column. If you need to make a change to an object code not pre-listed, simply add the object code description in the area provided below the last hard coded entry.
2) Program Number column= Enter the 8-digit program number right next to the affected revenue or expenditure account title. If budget changes are between programs under the same object code, input identical account title under last hard coded entry in column 1 for each program number.
3) Object Number column = 4-digit code represents the Account Title in column 1. If the code is not already listed, or if funds are moving to the same object code to a different program number, start a new line below the last hard coded item, and fill in the Account Title to the left, if not already done so.
a. If the budget change is related to a Capital project, please enter the 6-digit job ledger object code in place of the 4-digit object code. Capital projects are identified by program numbers beginning with 7xxxxxx1.
4) Budgeted Amount column= Enter the budget amount from the most recent Account Directors report to the corresponding object code line in which change will take place.
5) Add/Deduct From Budget column= Type in the amount that you want to change. Example: To increase a budget by $100 type in “100”; or, to decrease a budget by $100 type in “-100”.
a. Only enter WHOLE DOLLARS. Do not include cents.
6) Proposed Amount column= No entry is needed here. Once you enter your changes to the “Add/Deduct” column, the Proposed Amount is automatically calculated. Please verify that this amount reflects your new, desired balance.
Samples:
Moving $500 office supplies from program #10000001 to 12222221
In the event that the reallocation is related to compensation, take the following steps based on the following scenarios:
Note: As of FY10/11, all full-time benefits are estimated at 25% and all others at 12%
1) If compensation of $500 needs to be reallocated to the compensation section of a different program number, the relevant benefits also must be reallocated:
2) If a non-salary object code (such as Office Supplies) will temporarily supplement for the Other Student wages, the budget change form will be:
Reason for Change: State the reason for the change.
*Keep in mind that if you are transferring funds related to compensation to also include within the comments “ONE-TIME TRANSFER” if it will NOT be a permanent transfer of funds.
Note: if you will be making a budget change that is not institutionally funded such as funding from a sponsored agency (grants/foundation/etc), the Reason for Change section should be as detailed as possible to provide sufficient justification in the event of an agency audit to demonstrate it was within the scope of the funding agency and attach support to show that prior approval from the sponsoring agency (if applicable) was received prior to the request. If more space is needed, please attach a separate page detailing this information.. As stated previously, any request for budget changes to a sponsored program (grant or contract) account must be discussed with and reviewed by Office of Sponsored Research staff before you initiate this process..
Requested by: Print the name of the initiator or requestor of the budget change
Date: Date form was created/submitted
Department: Department that is requesting the budget change
Approved by: The authorized director or designated personnel with signature authority on the account from which funds are being reallocated.
Date: Date form was approved by authorized personnel
For Admin/Finance Office Use:
DO NOT COMPLETE THIS SECTION
Once the above information has been completed, route the form directly to DTMB (Department of Treasury, Management, and Budget).
Exception: If the form contains any budget change to a sponsored program account, route completed paperwork to OSR. OSR will then forward to DTMB after review and approval.
Once received by DTMB, they will review and;
If approved, automatically input the information in IFAS. This process may take 1-2 weeks upon receipt, depending on completeness of the request.
If declined, the form will be forwarded back to the originator with an explanation and/or request for additional information.
Continue for instructions on ONE-TIME Transfer:
ONE-TIME TRANSFER
Purpose: One-time transfer is a temporary transfer that only affects the current fiscal year. The change will not be reflected in the following fiscal year and the funds are not posted directly against the expense object code related to the purpose of the transfer. All one-time transfers will be coded to the transfer section and the object code will begin with a “7xxx”.
NOTE: Refer to the Cost-Transfer policy for request involving sponsored project funding.
Example: If you wanted to provide $100 to support the purchase of supplies for a Career Service’s event, but only in the current fiscal year, then this would be a one-time transfer. This transfer will not reflect as a reduction directly against your Supplies budget under object code 6201, nor will it increase their supply object code budget. Rather this transfer will be posted to Transfer Out under object code starting with a “7”, in this example it will be 7601 as an expense and 7401 to the recipient as a reduction of expense.
Procedure:
The memo must contain the following information (not in any order):
1) Program number to which funds will be allocated (receiver)
2) Program number from which funds will be allocated (giver)
3) Dollar amount. (This amount does not have to be in whole dollars)
4) Brief explanation of the purpose of the transfer
NOTE: DO NOT specify the 4-digit object code. Even if the 4-digit object code is specified, the transfer will only be coded to the transfer object code.
This information then needs to be forwarded to DTMB (Department of Treasury, Management, and Budget) in one of two ways:
1) A hard copy of the memo containing the 4-items listed above, signed off by an authorized personnel from which funds will be allocated, then forwarded to DTMB or
2) An email containing the 4-items listed above sent to Vivian Chu @ with the email copied to the authorizing personnel who has signing authority.
a. A grace period is give pending any response by the authorized personnel. If no response is received than it is assumed that the request is not denied and will move forward with processing.
Once the memo or form is received by Vivian, budget availability is checked before it is forwarded to Avo for final sign-off.
The posting of one-time transfers will vary pending monthly journal log preparation and posting into IFAS.