Title
Office of Sponsored Programs - 500.14, Procedure 1 - Cash Advance Requests & Reconciliations
Corresponding with:
Purpose
This procedure details the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) steps to request and reconcile a Cash Advance related to a sponsored project. The UNC Finance Division’s Policies and Procedures Manual should be followed for requesting and reconciling cash advances for non-sponsored activities.
Expectations of Cash Management
- All advances for domestic use must be reconciled within 60 days after receipt of the advance, unless required sooner for reporting purposes.
- All advances for foreign use must be reconciled within 90 days after receipt of the advance, unless required sooner for reporting purposes.
- A project may only request a third advance if the other advances are in compliance with this operating standard.
- Advances must be reconciled in a timely manner per this procedure and as required to comply with the reporting requirements of the agreement.
Procedure
I. Requesting a Cash Advance
Transaction Creation
- Create a campus voucher requesting the amount of the Cash Advance using account code 559510
- Complete and attach the following documents to the transaction: all cash advance forms linked below are available on the OSP Forms and Tools webpage.
- Submit this voucher for approval
Wire Transfers in Foreign Currency
Approval Process
- Assigned OSP pre-audit technician receives Cash Advance request
- The request is reviewed for completeness and allowability on the project by the assigned Sponsored Project Specialist
- OSP pre-audit technician approves or rejects the request
- The transaction will be subject to rejection without all required documents
- If approved*, the request is submitted to Accounts Payable for approval and processing
- For Foreign wires, the voucher is created by Accounting Services
- Payment is submitted to the Cash Advance recipient by Accounting Services
*Cash advance requests to a third-party institution or University foreign facility should not exceed 25% of the applicable subagreement budget of the initial award period. Requests exceeding this amount require additional approval from the Assistant Vice Chancellor in OSP and must be accompanied with sufficient justification. The total dollar amount of the advance and subaward, and the timing of the subaward will be considered in the review.
II. Reconciling a Cash Advance
Transaction Creation
Create a Campus Journal in ConnectCarolina
- Create reconciling journal moving expenses from account code 559510 to the appropriate account code for the type of expense
- Complete and attach the following documents to the journal transaction:
- Cash Advance Settlement Cover Sheet (version dated 9/26/2018)
- Cash Advance Voucher and Settlement Inquiry Screen
- Copy of all relevant receipts, invoice, and/or other expense documentation
- Reconciliation of Cash Advance for Study Subjects (version dated 2/20/2017)
- Copy of Reimbursement Check advances with unspent balances only
- University Deposit Inquiry Screen showing the balance refund advances with unspent balances only
- For unspent balances, send reimbursement check directly to OSP and include the OSP Deposit Memo. Cash is not accepted.
- Submit journal for OSP Pre-Audit approval with sufficient time to meet the reconciliation deadline
- Reconciling journals may be rejected if all required forms and documentation from the list above and applicable to the transaction are not provided. Additional documentation which sufficiently supports the allowability of the expenses in the reconciliation, including study logs, if applicable, may be provided in lieu of required documentation in rare cases, subject to OSP Pre-Audit approval.
Approval Process
- OSP pre-audit technician reviews the journal documentation for completeness and allowability
- The transaction will be subject to rejection without all required documents
- OSP pre-audit technician approves or rejects the reconciliation journal
- If rejected the advance may be reconciled to non-sponsored funds
Contact Information
For questions regarding this procedure and its related operating standard, please contact SponsoredPrograms@unc.edu.
For questions regarding Pre-Award management or Post-Award administration, please contact the assigned Sponsored Projects Specialist (SPS).
For invoicing, reporting and other financial matters, please contact the assigned Sponsored Projects Accountant. OSP Staff assignments are found in RAMSeS or on the OSP website.
History
Document History
Date |
Revision |
03/01/2023 |
Revised to redirect links for cash advance request and reconciliation forms to OSP website. |
07/01/2022 |
Revised to reflect new office name. |
04/19/2022 |
Revised to clarify advances to third parties and reconciliation timeliness. |
|
12/04/2020 |
Revised to clarify supporting documentation requirements. |
10/16/2019 |
Revised to remove requirement of mailing original documentation to OSP Pre-Audit; electronic attachments in the reconciliation journal satisfy documentation requirement. |
05/15/2018 |
Revised to coincide with the release of the new OSP Website. |
02/28/2018 |
Revised operating standard to clarify reconciliation expectation of foreign advances and to allow for a third advance. |
08/28/2017 |
Revised operating standard to clarify expectations of cash advance management, updated hyperlinks to Procedures and Related Operating Standards, and Contacts. |
05/29/2013 |
Revised procedure to include link to OSP Guidance related to Finance Division Policy 302: General Receipts and Deposits. |
01/06/2011 |
Revised policy to clarify authorization required by Principal Investigator. |
05/30/2010 |
Revised policy to conform to Finance Division newly revised Policy 307 – Cash Advance. |
12/22/2009 |
Revised policy to include the compensation threshold that must be reported to Accounting Services. |
09/04/2009 |
Changed title of policy from Compensation for Study Subjects to Cash Advances to reflect additional types of requests for advances. |
The operating standards in the Office of Sponsored Programs Operating Standards & Procedures Manual supersede any OSP operating standards, procedures and appendices previously included in the University Business Manual, a publication of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Division of Finance.