Invoicing and Financial Reporting

Learn about the invoicing and financial reporting process on sponsored projects at Columbia University.

Details

In accepting a sponsored award from a Federal or non-Federal entity, the University is obligated to comply with all applicable regulations promulgated by the sponsor. Among those obligations is the requirement to submit deliverables in the form of invoices or financial reports. SPF is the central administrative office responsible for managing the preparation and submission of these deliverables, and for obtaining information from the Principal Investigator or Department Administrator necessary to satisfy deliverable requirements.

In general, SPF prepares and submits all interim and final financial deliverables, with the exception of projects with a “Department” bill type.

To ensure the accuracy of deliverables submitted to sponsors, Principal Investigators, and Department Administrators must continually monitor and reconcile their sponsored project’s budget, expenditures, and payments. Additionally, a series of reviews and validations must be performed in accordance with the following schedule:

  • Quarterly: Principal Investigators must perform and attest to having reviewed each project’s financial statements
  • Annually: Department Administrators must provide to SPF a validation of the finalization, accuracy and appropriateness of expenditures charged and payments applied to the project
  • Final (at end of project): Principal Investigators and Department Administrators must provide to SPF a validation of the finalization, accuracy and appropriateness of expenditures charged and payments applied to the project

The quarterly validations follow a schedule set by each administrative unit or department. The annual / final validations are due to SPF by deadlines based on the project type and sponsor, generally 20-30 days prior to the sponsor’s deliverable due date. Annual / final validations must be submitted to the SPF Finance and Compliance Manager:

  • 90 days after the anniversary / expiration of each project for NIH and NSF grants and cooperative agreements;
  • 60 days after the anniversary / expiration of each project for all other prime awards; and
  • 40 days after the anniversary / expiration of each project for subawards.

In certain circumstances, a sponsor may require a deliverable earlier than the standard timeline allows. In these cases, a validation is due to SPF 5 calendar days in advance of the sponsor’s deadline. SPF may also require additional information in order to satisfy a sponsor’s deliverable requirement, and such information is due to SPF by the deadline specified in SPF’s notification.

Department Bill Types

Projects with this bill type require unique information that positions the department as the office best suited to preparing the invoice. In these circumstances, the department must prepare the bill in advance of the deadline and send it to their SPF Finance and Compliance Manager for review, signature, and submission to the sponsor. The bill must be prepared in accordance with the guidance provided in the Department Billing Memo.

Guidance

To learn more about invoicing and financial reporting, see the University’s Sponsored Projects Handbook.

Contact

Contact your Sponsored Projects Finance (SPF) Finance and Compliance Manager for information about invoicing and financial reporting.

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