MISSION
To provide professional administrative and accounting support to the faculty, staff and students who are involved in various research activities at Texas Southern University; and to enhance compliance consciousness in the area of research grants by promoting the highest standards of ethics and integrity through awareness, training, education, monitoring oversight, and appropriate responses to confirmed violations.
OVERVIEW
Research Financial & Compliance Services is a department within the Office of Research which functions as an accounting and administrative office. This Division is responsible for the post-award administration of grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and all other extramural sponsored programs awarded to the University. Research Compliance activities are included as an integral element related to post award services, substance and subject research, and general institutional compliance; the unit reviews and monitors grant-related activities, thereby assuring conformity to federal and state regulations and institutional policies.
Post-Award Services
- Training and assisting Principal Investigators, Project Directors, and their administrative staff regarding fiscal policies and procedures related to grants and contracts administration
- Establishing General Ledger (G/L) fund numbers in the Banner System for each sponsored project
- Budget set up and approval based on extramural funding
- Budget transfers
- Compliance review of all transactions on grants and contracts, i.e. Omni Circular OMB A-81 and OMB Circulars A-21, A-110, and A-133
- Monitoring cash position and effecting appropriate cash drawdowns and invoices based on expenditures
- Preparing and submitting Financial Status Reports (FSR's)
- Monitoring project expiration dates and seeking extensions/budget revisions from funding agencies
- Assisting with subcontract monitoring and process carryover of fund balance requests.
- Conducting outreach and educational efforts to foster a culture of regulatory compliance by educating investigators, and others engaged in substance and/or subject research
- Monitoring effort reporting certifications; liaising between Office of Research and Institutional Compliance to enforce accurate reporting of effort certifications.
- Monitoring proposal budgets to ensure that equipment is correctly categorized based on the cost threshold of $5,000 or greater
- Review of the equipment inventory, periodically
- Ensuring the accurate and timely close-out of all sponsored projects
- Providing training and obtaining certifications regarding Financial Conflicts of Interest