Principal Investigators/project directors are expected to review regularly their award’s expenditures to ensure that all costs are correctly described and posted. Errors can result from transpositions of numbers during data entry or the misunderstanding or miscommunication of instructions given to those processing expenditures. Sponsors expect such errors to be corrected in a timely manner, defined by the NIH as 90 days following discovery of the error. Syracuse University applies a similar expectation to all sponsors. Correction of errors ordinarily is considered timely when processed within 90 days following the posting of the charge to the general ledger. Fiscal year end may reduce the window of opportunity to correct errors. These internal deadlines are well publicized by the Comptroller’s office prior to year-end.
While cost transfers are expected from time to time, excessive cost transfers or those that occur predominantly at the end of a project are suggestive of lax oversight or ‘spending down’ an award, which is expressly not allowed under the federal regulations.
Please see the Office of Sponsored Accounting website for further information.