FAQs
1) What is Payroll Confirmation and why do we do it?
Payroll confirmation is the process by which a Principal Investigator (PI) confirms that the salary charged to a sponsored project is reasonable in relation to the total effort expended on that project. Payroll confirmation is required to document the salaries that are funded by sponsored projects. Rather than researchers and PIs maintaining time sheets or logs, payroll confirmation requires PIs to confirm each semester the overall activities (effort) and corresponding salary that were devoted to each project worked on during the semester. Although such documentation is a requirement for federal funding, many private funders have adopted similar requirements. University policy requires labor confirmation on all sponsored projects, regardless of the sponsor.
2) How precise must my effort report be?
Payroll confirmations do not need to be exact, but they must reasonably reflect the percentage of effort devoted to each project, considering all an individual’s sponsored and non-sponsored activities. As federal regulations state, "… it is recognized that, in an academic setting, teaching, research, service and administration are often inextricably intermingled. A precise assessment of factors that contribute to costs is not always feasible, nor is it expected." Labor confirmation is an individual’s best estimate of how effort was spent during the period.
3) Is payroll confirmation just ensuring that the salaries were in fact distributed as indicated on the payroll reports?
No. When confirming payroll, you verify that the salary that was paid (your own or that of your research staff) reasonably reflects the minimum time spent, considering all of an individual’s University activities.
The salary data on the payroll confirmation report comes directly from the University’s Human Compensation System (PeopleSoft) and reflects how salary was originally distributed at the time the funding was received. If the effort provided was greater than 3% more/less than what is shown on the payroll confirmation statement, you must enter a correction. Such an adjustment will require the department administrator or Shared Business Services Center (SBSC) to process a cost transfer to correct the distribution.
4) Should I confirm the statement if the amount is incorrect?
No. You should never confirm a statement that is incorrect. You should contact Shared Business Services or your department administrator to submit a cost transfer to correct the distribution.
5) How do I monitor my payroll throughout the semester so that corrections do not wait until semester statements are released?
Payroll reports will continue to be available in the monthly Project Status Report. These reports should be monitored each month. Any errors should be identified and submitted to your department administrator or SBSC.
6) How will I know when my labor statements are ready to be confirmed and how will I receive ECC notifications?
You will receive an email from the ECC system when your statement(s) have been released for Confirmation. All automated notifications related to ECC will be sent from the email address ReFSECC@ou.edu.
