Grant-Related Expenditure Approval and Monitoring Procedure

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to describe the process by which grant-related expenditures are approved and monitored.

Procedure

After formal, written notification of award is received by the Office of Sponsored Programs, a grant account is created according to the start/end dates established by the funding agency. While each agency maintains guidelines regarding expenses incurred prior to the start date, Davidson's policy is to disallow charges incurred prior to the receipt of an official award letter.

Grant-related expenditure requests are initiated by personnel working directly on sponsored projects.  Each grant-related expense must be reviewed for compliance with institutional and sponsor guidelines and approved by the Grants Coordinator prior to being charged as a direct cost to a sponsored project.  The Grants Coordinator will ensure availability of funds prior to approving transactions. The Accounts Payable Coordinator is a secondary reviewer who monitors all expenses against college policy prior to payment. 

On at least a quarterly basis, the Grants Coordinator will review the general ledger and grant-related budget vs. expenses for each sponsored project for errors and/or omissions.  The budget vs. expenses report will also be provided to the PI for review.  Any clerical errors will be corrected at this time. If obligations have been incurred in excess of the funding available, the Post Award Manager will work with the PI to determine an alternative funding source to move expenditures.

Any single expense (goods) of $5,000 or more must follow the capital purchase request policy, and is initiated by the PI and approved by the Department Chair, Associate Director for Academic Administration, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Director of Physical Plant (if applicable), Chief Information Officer (if applicable) and Director of Sponsored Programs.

Adopted: November 18, 2015
Last Revised:  September 19, 2022
Last Reviewed:  September 19, 2022