Administrator & Department Responsibilities

The Post Award Research Administration - Roles & Responsibilities Guide outlines the roles and responsibilities of the Principal Investigator/Account Holder, Department Chair and/or Dean, Department/Faculty Administrators, and Research Finance and Financial Services.

As research funds are awarded to individual Principal Investigators and/or to the institution, the university has a stewardship responsibility to ensure the funds are utilized for the designated purposes for which they are awarded and to comply with corporate and sponsor policies and guidelines.

This shared responsibility is distributed to several stakeholders, including the Principal Investigator, the departments and faculties, Financial Services and other central operations.

It is the responsibility of the Manager (in which is sometimes delegated to a Financial Officer) in each department to ensure Research funds are spent according to Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, Western University and/or externally funded expenditure policies.

It is also expected that Managers/Financial Officers will provide general administrative assistance and financial oversight to ensure that Researchers are aware of these policies and procedures that exist so they can make informed decisions when approving expenditures.

Please note that in a case where multiple policies exist for a similar expenditure, the stricter policy will supersede the other expenditure policies.

Managers / Financial Officers Suggested Tasks:

To help Schulich Managers appropriately manage Research funds within their departments, below are some suggested duties to be completed on a regular basis:

Run Research Overspent Reports monthly and follow up on all overspent projects

How to Run Research Overspent Reports:

  1. Login to PeopleSoft Financials.
  2. Navigate to Main Menu – Manager Self Service – Manager WorkCentre.
  3. In the ‘Manager WorkCentre’ list on the left, click ‘Queries’.
  4. Under ‘Research (Fund 2)’ click ‘Overspent Projects’.
  5. If you have any issues running this query, please contact Schulich Finance.

Department Responsibilities:

It is the department's responsibility to run and review Research Overspent Reports.

Although these funds are held in projects designated to the Researcher, the departments administrative teams are meant to oversee the proper use and treatment of these funds.

Following up on overspent projects ensures that the Researcher is aware of the over expenditure.

Check for the ‘Budget End Date’ versus the ‘Project End Date’. If the ‘Budget End Date’ is March 31, 2021, but the ‘Project End Date’ is March 31, 2025, it would be reasonable to confirm whether the Researcher is expecting additional funding.

Small overspent amounts (less than $10,000) may be considered reasonable if additional funding is expected within the year.

Anything over $10,000 or a re-occurring lesser monthly deficit will be followed up by Schulich Finance and a reasonable explanation and a plan to recover the deficit is expected from the Manager or Financial Officer within the department.

It is important to have the Researcher provide a reasonable timeline in which the deficit will be cleared.

If a Manager or Financial Officer is finding it difficult receiving a reasonable response from a Researcher, please contact Schulich Finance.

Complete Journal Entries (as required) to move expenses from one project to another

How to Complete Journal Entries:

Department Responsibilities:

It is expected that Managers or Financial Officers will provide general financial administrative assistance to Researchers. 

It is the responsibility of the Manager or Financial Officer to receive written approval (through email confirmation is fine) to move expenses to or from a project for audit purposes.

Print/PDF Research Financial Statements monthly

How to Run Research Financial Statements: 

Department Responsibilities:

It is the department's responsibility to print all Research Financial Statements (either paper copy or PDF) each month and send statements to the corresponding Researcher for review.

It is recommended for the Manager/Financial Officer to review these statements as well to ensure there are no clear ineligible expenses being applied.

Review and Approve Research Expense Claims

How to Review and Approve Research Expense Claims: 

 TIP: Print this checklist out for each expense claim and check off the requirements as you review and approve the claim.

Department Responsibilities:

It is the department's responsibility to check speedcodes to ensure eligibility.

If an ineligible expense is approved incorrectly within the department, reimbursement of the expense may be requested by Schulich Finance.

Ultimately, the Researcher, Manager and Financial Officer within a department are responsible for the correct financial and administrative treatment for Research projects within Schulich Medicine & Dentistry.

When a department has eligibility questions, requires guidance or advice, or has any other questions or concerns about the treatment of Research funds; please contact Schulich Finance.

Helpful Resources

Other Useful Queries in the ‘Manager WorkCentre’:

GL Transactions by Project –Helpful for seeking approval from Researcher to move specific expenses from one project to another

GL Transactions by Speedcode – Helpful for seeking approval from Researcher to move specific expenses from one project to another

GL Transactions by Dept – Helpful to track down a specific expense perhaps charged to an incorrect research speedcode.


Other Helpful Resources:

List of Non-Salary Expense Accounts most commonly used for Research:

List of Salary Expense Accounts to Use (please do not use others for reporting/upload purposes)