TEARS (The Employee Activity Reporting System)
REG 10.05.15
Authority: Vice
Chancellor for Finance and Business
History: First Issued: January 1, 2002. Last Revised: March 16, 2004. Additional
History Information.
Additional References: TEARS
Contact Info: Assistant Director, Systems and Compliance (919) 515-8018
Office of Contracts
and Grants.
1. Introduction
As a recipient of federal contract and grant
funds, the University is responsible for maintaining an effort reporting
system in compliance with the requirements of OMB Circular A-21, section
J(8). This system must document all effort, whether treated as direct
or F&A, for sponsored agreements. Of the options available, NCSU has
chosen the “Plan-Confirmation” method.
Under the "Plan-Confirmation" method
A-21 states "the distribution of salaries and wages of professional
and professional staff applicable to sponsored agreements is based on budgeted,
planned, or assigned work activity, updated to reflect any significant
changes in work distribution. At least annually, a statement will be
signed by the employee, principal investigator, or responsible official(s),
using
suitable means of verification that the work was performed."
2. The
TEARS System
The TEARS System is
a web-based system that provides the mechanism to document effort performed
on sponsored research projects. The application provides departmental
personnel with the means to setup cost shared effort for principal investigators
and others working on sponsored projects. This system conforms to the
requirements for documenting such effort for the University as required
by OMB Circular A-21. The system, and information contained therein, will
also provide the information necessary to report cost sharing on externally
funded sponsored projects, as well as provide documentation necessary for
the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Cost Proposal. The TEARS
System can be accessed by logging onto www.acs.ncsu.edu/Tears98. The TEARS
System Users Manual can be found at http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/cng/tears/
3. Responsibilities
3.1. Office
of Contracts and Grants Responsibilities
3.1.1. Establishing
internal and campus procedures for effort reporting which are consistent
with the requirements of OMB Circular A-21;
3.1.2. Producing
effort reports on a periodic basis and distributing them to the colleges
for employee review and certification;
3.1.3. Retaining
all certified effort reports for audit purposes;
3.1.4. Monitoring
College responsibilities related to effort reporting to ensure University
compliance;
3.1.5. Providing
assistance to College business officers, College TEARS coordinators and
University employees with effort reports; and,
3.1.6. Ensuring
that the effort reporting system is functioning in accordance with Federal
regulations.
3.2. College Responsibilities
3.2.1. Establishing
personnel actions for monthly-paid employees in the University payroll
system on a timely, prospective basis to ensure accurate payroll charges
to sponsored projects based on actual work activities to be performed by
employees.
3.2.2. Ensuring
that employees working on sponsored projects as part of the University's
cost sharing commitment and employees spending significant amounts of time
on sponsored projects are scheduled to receive effort reports.
3.2.3. The
timely review, adjustment and certification of effort reports in compliance
with Federal deadlines. Ninety (90) days are allowed after the end of each
TEARS survey period for the review, adjustment and certification of effort.
.
3.2.4. Reviewing
certified effort reports to ensure they have been properly completed.
3.2.5. Coordinating
retroactive payroll adjustments affecting sponsored projects or other pay
sources for subject employees with the effort certification process to
ensure that all adjustments to effort reports and related payroll charges
are completed within the 120-day period allowed for changes.
3.2.6. Monitoring
and maintaining committed levels of effort on sponsored projects.
4. Employees Subject to Effort Reporting
Employees subject to effort reporting requirements
are those who:
4.1. Work
on sponsored projects for which the sponsor reimburses the University
4.2. Work
on sponsored projects but whose time on the project is funded by
the University. The
University's contribution to the cost of the project is referred
to as cost sharing.
4.3. Work
in the Colleges of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Forest and Natural
Resources and are funded from certain federal appropriations. For
more information on federal appropriated accounts subject to TEARS,
please
go to www.fis.ncsu.edu/cng and click
on the TEARS link.
5. Survey
Periods
5.1. Survey
periods are the federally approved time periods for which employee effort
must be certified. Survey periods consist of multiple months and are intended
to generally coincide with the University's Fiscal year and summer period.
5.2. Employee
classifications (9-month EPA, 12-month EPA or SPA) determine the survey
periods applicable to their effort reports.
5.3. Survey
periods, based on employee classification, are as follows:
5.3.1. 12-month EPA and SPA employees:
Fiscal year - 07/01 through 06/30
5.3.2. 9-month EPA employees:
Fiscal year - 08/16 through 05/15
(Because 9-month contract EPA employees are reimbursed for their academic
year work over the 12-month fiscal year (i.e., they receive 12 monthly
payroll checks instead of 9), effort percentages for the Fiscal year effort
report include regular payroll charges for months not indicated by the
survey period. Payroll charges for the months of May through August are
included in the Fiscal year effort report.)
Supplemental summer period - 05/16 through 08/15
(Supplemental payments to faculty incurred in the University's payroll
system from May through September and identified by earnings code 605 are
included on special effort reports that are prepared for 9-month EPA faculty
who work on contracts and grants during the summer months.)
6. Review
and Certification
6.1. Review
the percentages under Projected % by section. Determine
if the percentages are a reasonable approximation of actual effort expended
for each activity during the survey period indicated.
6.2. If
the percentages of effort for each project and category appear to be reasonable,
electronically certify the effort report.
6.3. If
any of the percentages under Projected % are significantly different from
how effort was actually expended during the Survey Period, contact the Department
or College TEARS Coordinator to update the Adjusted Effort % column. If adjustments
are necessary, all of the effort must be restated in the Adjusted Effort
% column so that the column totals 100%.
6.4. Electronically
certify the effort report. Please note that your signature is certifying
the effort in the Adjusted Effort % column if you make any adjustments.
Employees should review and certify their own effort report when available
to do so.
The department head, College Dean or designee may also perform review and
certification. However, A-21 requires anyone certifying the report to use "suitable
means of verification that the work was performed." It is important
that anyone certifying in lieu of the employee has first-hand knowledge
of their work activities during the survey period and be able to meet A-21
requirements.
In any audit situation it would be the responsibility of the person certifying
the effort report to support that all certification requirements were met.
6.5. Effort
reports must be certified by the deadline indicated on the top of the
report. This
deadline is 90 days after the end of the effort reporting period.
7. Cost
Sharing
Cost sharing represents resources provided by the University
that directly benefit sponsored projects. Cost shared effort is defined
as work performed by employees on sponsored projects that is not paid by
the
sponsor. Cost shared effort should be included on the effort report
as it is a component of the total effort an employee works.
Certain situations involving cost shared
effort cannot or should not be documented
on effort reports:
7.1. Cost
sharing funded by another sponsored project
7.2. Cost
sharing funded from federal appropriations.
7.3. Cost
sharing performed by bi-weekly paid employees.
7.4. Cost
sharing performed by 9-month EPA employees during the summer period May
16 through August 15.
In each of these cases an After the Fact
Memo is required to document cost sharing.
8. Coordination
of Effort Reports and Labor Adjustments
8.1. Personnel
actions, retroactive labor adjustments and effort reports are related because:
8.1.1. Personnel
actions establish pay sources (account number and object code) and the
amounts to be funded from each source in the University's payroll system
for employees who are paid on a monthly basis.
8.1.2. Retroactive
payroll adjustments move payroll charges for the current or a previous
month from the pay source originally charged to another pay source.
8.1.3. Effort
percentages and account numbers appearing in Sections A and D of effort
reports are based on pay sources and amounts established in the University's
payroll system by personnel actions and adjustments to those pay sources
or amounts by retroactive payroll adjustments.
8.2. When personnel actions and related retroactive payroll
adjustments affecting monthly payrolls included in a TEARS survey period
are processed after effort reports for that survey period have been created,
the percentages printed on the effort report no longer agree with the adjusted
labor charges.
8.3. Personnel actions and retroactive labor adjustments
which affect labor charges for months included in a survey period that are
processed after the effort reports for that survey period are created do
not automatically change effort percentages. For this reason it is necessary
to coordinate retroactive personnel actions and related retroactive labor
adjustments affecting contract and grant projects with the distribution,
review and certification of effort reports.
8.4. Frequent recertifications of effort
by employees because retroactive labor adjustments were not considered
when certifying effort the first time invalidate the concept of "conscientious" review
and certification. If audited and recertifications are identified as
a recurring problem, the validity of effort reports can be questioned
and
labor costs billed to sponsors may be disallowed.
8.5. Retroactive labor adjustments that
affect contract and grant projects must be completed and processed within
the 120-day period after the end of the applicable Academic period.
