The Effort Certification System (ECS) replaces the paper-based Personnel Effort Report (PER). It was developed to simplify the process of reporting the effort expended on sponsored research projects, and to improve the University's compliance with OMB Circular A-21, section J10.
Certification of effort is one of the financial management responsibilities that a Project Director accepts when he or she accepts a sponsored research project. By certifying effort, the project director or a designated knowledgeable individual verifies that the amount of compensation received by those working on the project is reasonable in relation to the effort expended on behalf of the project.
The paper-based Personnel Effort Reports (PER) were only sent out to researchers with federally-funded sponsored projects. However, the Effort Certification System requires certification for all sponsored projects, not just federally-funded projects. This is because the University must adhere to the principles of the federal government's Cost Accounting Standards. These standards require consistency of treatment between types of funds; that is to say, since the University requires certification for federally-sponsored funds, to be consistent the University must require certification for all types of sponsored funds. The result is that researchers who previously did not need to sign PERs -- those with awards from state or local agencies, other universities, industry, foundations and other non-federal sponsors -- are now required to certify effort as their federally-funded colleagues have always needed to do.
| Effort Certification System | Personnel Effort Reports | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Electronic | Paper |
| Frequency of Certification | Semi-Annual | Monthly |
| Sources of Information | Payroll, Clearing Account System, and OSP Cost Sharing records | Payroll records only |
| Distribution | E-mail notification sent to authorized certifiers | Paper reports manually sorted and distributed by campus mail |
| Availability of Information | Electronic signature stored at each stage of certification | Signed reports must be returned to Accounting and Financial Management by campus mail |
| Accuracy of Information | Data audits ensure appropriateness of changes stored | Relies on knowledge level of person reviewing |
| Payroll Changes | Longer certification period reduces impact of short-term fluctuation between workload categories | Even small variations in workload within a month can require payroll changes |
| Compliance with A-21 | Higher compliance anticipated because reminders and follow-up emails will be sent | Level of compliance varies based on whether signed PERs returned after being sent out |
| Authentication of Signatory | All electronic signatures are authenticated by the High Assurance UT-EID. Only the PI or a knowledgable individual designated by the PI can final certify effort | Unable to control or verify that a knowledgeable individual has actually signed PER |
Many of the column headings are clickable links which provide help in popup windows. If you wonder about an amount or percentage, and the column heading over it is clickable, you can get an explanation in a pop-up window.
If you have a technical problem with any of the pages (not an accounting-related problem), please e-mail: oa.it-cg@austin.utexas.edu
This is the address for the IT team who maintain this service. Please say which page you were on, describe what happened, and quote any error messages if possible.
If you have an accounting-type question about the system, please read through the Tutorial and check any relevant Help popups first.
Note: The Office of Accounting and Financial Management does not review the effort information displayed in ECS - that is the responsibility of each PI and/or his or her delegates. Also, no additional transactions will appearing during the time the system is open for access. That is to say, if someone in your area has made payroll modifications after the fact which affect the current certification period (which is a six-month period in the recent past), those retroactive transfers will not be automatically incorporated into ECS. If retroactive payroll changes have been made, you should make manual adjustments in ECS (click "Adjust" on the Project Detail page) to reflect any redistribution of effort.
If your question is still not answered, email: ecs@austin.utexas.edu
Please try to classify your question as an accounting question (about effort, payments, accounts, etc.) or a technical question (a web page is broken), and use one of the email addresses above.
If the PI of the project is no longer affiliated with the University and a new PI has not been assigned, then another individual needs to be identified who will take responsibility for the effort certification. The best alternative would be a Co-Investigator, if the project has one. Barring that, the department chair or head of the research unit should certify the effort. If this is the situation, please contact ecs@austin.utexas.edu to request ECS authorization for the designated replacement certifier.
In ECS, the total the person was paid by the University during the certification period is the 100% figure, regardless of whether the person was working full time or part time. So an employee appointed paid from only one research project with no other source of payment by the University will have 100% effort from that project, even if he or she only works on a 50% appointment.
The percent of effort on a project is the amount the person was paid from that project divided by the amount the person was paid by the University from all sources. So for example, if a third of a person's pay in a certification period was from a certain project, that person's percentage on the project will appear as 33.33%. More details, please.