1. Implement SAP's funds availability feature.
Management Reporting is developing funds availability checking (FAC) which will include both direct and indirect costs. System performance issues will be considered to determine the levels at which the checking may occur: total budget, cost element group (object code group), cost element (object code). The plan is to enable DLCs to choose by account the budget/plan (Institute or DLC version) to be used and the level at which checking will occur. Availability Date: SAP Rollout98, Milestone 4 (September 1-December 31).
Work on funds availability checking has been deferred by the Process Owners' Council. They decided that this feature will be delivered with the full implementation of the SAP Funds Management module.
2. Calculate overhead at the point each transaction is entered. Top priority.
There are real concerns about calculating overhead at the point a transaction is entered due to the impact it may have on system performance. Because of this issue, EB, OH, and lab allocation will not be posted in real-time to the General Ledger. However, EB, OH, and lab allocation will be calculated in real-time on DLCs’ actual expenditures and commitments within the MIT customized reports (SAP ZMIT Menu reports). Estimated Availability Date: SAP Rollout98, Milestone 2 (May 15-July 15).
Not until the EB, OH, and lab allocations are calculated and posted to the SAP General Ledger will this data be available in the SAP nightly feed to the Data Warehouse. Therefore, the EB, OH, and lab allocation data in the Data Warehouse will not be real-time data; will only be as current as the data available in the SAP General Ledger. The calculations are currently run in SAP on a monthly basis, but nightly basis is being considered. Estimated Availability Date: During the 1998 calendar year.
Overhead calculation is now available on some reports in the ZMIT menu.
3. Expand LDS into a complete proposal budget development system which will feed EPS; also permit DLCs to use spreadsheets to create budgets which can be uploaded into EPS.
The proposal budget may be developed within the Electronic Proposal System (EPS) application. Administrators will be able to enter personnel and non-personnel amounts directly into the budget portion of EPS and the system will calculate overhead, EB, inflation numbers, etc. Any specific feature (such as inflation) may be overridden with justification. This will be available with rollout of EPS to DLCs, currently scheduled to begin July 1, 1998. Resources will be requested to develop a feed from the Labor Distribution System (LDS) to EPS for continuation proposals which is expected to be available by the end of the calendar year; feed for new proposals is further in the future but a timeline hasn’t been established. OSP and CAO long-term goal is for mutually exchangeable data between LDS and EPS.
Further information on LDS will be appended here shortly.
4. Distribute research child account creation responsibility:
OSP is creating and releasing all sponsored accounts (which includes research and some funds), including child accounts. Once the automated feed from COEUS to SAP is finalized, creating child accounts should be faster, which, we believe, will eliminate the need to distribute responsibility to create child accounts. After rollout to the academic and research units, representatives of DLCs and OSP will meet to review status.OSP create/release parent account DLC/OSP assess child account creation Identify projects by type of activity after OSP assembles master list.
There has been no work to date on identifying projects by activity type, such as Neurobiology or Applied Mathematics. However, EPS has the ability to handle the input of field(s) of science. There is a variety of labeling systems that the Institute could adopt; one approach would be to assemble a team to decide which system to use and then to work with AOs and PIs to utilize those codes on proposals. This is not a top priority item.
5. Automatically debit DLC suspense account when charges hit invalid accounts; clear monthly; include original account charged.
CAO will work with the DLCs to arrange for the posting of invalid charges to a departmental suspense account. Also, CAO will work with DLCs to ensure that the accounts are cleared within three months of the charge. This will occur as SAP is rolled out to each unit.
6. Save paper and processing time by storing Institute-wide reports like the GL46 and GL53 in the Data Warehouse for viewing and downloading.
The Data Warehouse Team’s current plan is to create data structures to make creating the reports possible; storing reports in the Data Warehouse is not currently under consideration. By July 1998, the Data Warehouse Team plans to have available the following SAP financial data: Master Data (e.g., chart of accounts data), Financial Data (DTR data), Budget/Plans (both Institute and DLC versions), and Balances (FYTD and cumulative). In addition, core COEUS data is also in the warehouse, including: obligation/anticipated totals, obligation and final expiration dates, F&A rates, final termination date.
7. Indefinitely maintain the historical data back to 1978 for electronic access by DLCs. This data is currently available in SumMIT.
Being explored currently by CAO. Clearly this information is needed but senior management hasn’t decided what data to retain in electronic form.
8. Allow DLC heads/designees full access to their PIs’ accounting data across the Institute.
A recommendation is currently being forwarded to the Faculty Policy Committee and then to Academic Council that states that Academic Deans, Academic Department Heads and Center and Laboratory Directors may have viewing and reporting access to Institute-wide financial data pertaining to PIs with research activities in their units. These individuals may share their data access rights with designated administrators, such as AOs, and are responsible to ensure that such access is used only for legitimate MIT business purposes.
This recommendation was approved.
9. Allow DLCs to aggregate expense data by PIs, including cross department expense; and, by Programs, which may include multiple PI expense.
Please see #8. Management Reporting and CAO are working to provide reporting by PI and Programs through the use of groups within SAP, fund centers in EIS, and the Data Warehouse. Availability Date: Summer 1998.
This has been done.
10. Allow DLCs 60 days to certify DACCAs without explanation.
Would require change to the Institute's disclosure statement to the government (the DS-2) which is required to be submitted before the Institute implements any cost or accounting change. Further, such submissions must be approved in advance of implementation by DCAA/ONR. With current changes in faculty effort reporting processes, additional policy/procedure changes at this time are not feasible.
11. Eliminate hard copy 001s by distributing them via a workflow program.
The 001s will be eliminated for all accounts. OSP currently issues Notice of Awards (NOAs) in hard copy with two uses: to describe terms and conditions of the award and to seek formal approval of the PI/AO/Department to comply with the terms of the award. (IDC rates appear on the NOA; the to/from account and parent/child account information may be accessed in COEUS using the hierarchy tools provided.) The real issue is to what extent DLCs want to receive the NOAs electronically and how to address the signature issue. Resolving the signature issue will take substantial effort that is not currently available with current resources and priorities, although it can certainly be done in the future.
12. Eliminate approvals above DLC level on research proposals, with some exceptions.
This recommendation is incompatible with federal regulations for institutional signature requirements on electronic proposals and awards, and Institute policy on who can commit the Institution.
13. Provide minimum list of reports in SAP for rollout to DLCs including:
The reports currently available in the SAP ZMIT menu: Summary Statement, Detailed Transaction Report, JV Postings, Volume Report, Analysis of WIP, Funds Analysis, Expired Projects, Overrun Projects, CO Consolidation, Purchasing Overview, and Payment Report.
14. Use correct/appropriate object codes when charging all expenses.
Using correct object codes has always been MIT policy; see training recommendation below.
15. Develop formal on-going training programs in sponsored research management.
CAO and OSP are working with HR to develop a series of financial management training programs. Sponsored research management programs are first to be developed and are currently in creation. The current design of the training programs is a series of modules covering such topics as regulatory concerns, budgeting, award management, financial management and reporting, overhead, etc. The modules are currently being developed and current plans are to start training later this year.
These sponsored research courses are available in the fall of 1998. For the complete list, please see Personnel's yellow training book or look on the Training and Development Website at <http://web.mit.edu/personnel/www/training/>.