Chaminade University of Honolulu

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Expense Verification & Reporting

Expense Verification 

The University must ensure that costs on sponsored projects comply with Federal regulations (Federal Uniform Guidance Title 2 CFR Part 200), sponsor policies, award terms, and University policies. This uniform guidance describes the treatment of costs on sponsored project activities (direct and indirect) that can be billed to the federal government. This guidance applies to all federally funded projects including federal funding through a non-federal agency. 

To be allowable, costs must be: 

  • Necessary and reasonable 
  • Allocable 
  • Consistently treated 
  • Compliant with any Federal guidance limitations or exclusions 
  • Adequately documented 

A cost is allocable if it: 

  • Is specifically incurred for the sponsored project
  • Benefits both the project and other university work, and can be reasonably distributed
  • Is necessary for the university’s overall operation and partly assignable to the project 

Please reach out to us at [email protected] for assistance and refer to the OSP Handbook for detailed guidance on cost allowability and common examples of allowable and unallowable costs on federal grants/ contracts. 

Effort Reporting 

Effort reporting is a reasonable estimate that certifies to federal agencies that the required effort for an award has been completed. It verifies that an employee’s pay was proportionally allocated based on how they spent their work time, represented in percentages. 

Effort Reporting Uniform Guidance 

  • 2 CFR § 200.430 
  • All individuals involved in the administration and conduct of federally sponsored awards, including project administrators, principal investigators, and research personnel, must comply with this policy. 

Note:  

  • Charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed. Effort is the time spent on a specific activity, expressed as a percentage of an individual’s total work time compensated by the University.