Cost transfers are more commonly known as journal entries at Colorado College. They represent the act of transferring expenses from one account to another. Cost transfers can include payroll or non-payroll expenses.

At the federal level, cost transfers are extremely sensitive. As noted in the Uniform Guidance, (200.405(c)) "Any cost allocable to a particular Federal award under the principles provided for in this part may not be charged to other Federal awards to overcome fund deficiencies, to avoid restrictions imposed by Federal statutes, regulations, or terms and conditions of the Federal awards, or for other reasons."

When auditors review transactions under sponsored research accounts, they will closely review cost transfers within the grant fund for proper documentation, timeliness, and allowability. Any deficiencies in these areas may result in a denial of payment or a need to return funds to the sponsor.

If you need to request a cost transfer (journal entry) for your grant, please

• contact the Tax and Compliance Manager for approval
• submit the cost transfer request within 90 days of the original charge in order to be considered timely. (Inappropriate expenses to a grant can be removed at any time.)
• include a detailed explanation of why the transfer is taking place
• include documentation of the specific costs being transferred. (This includes the date of the original charge, copies of invoices or accounts payable vouchers. The Tax and Compliance Manager needs to ensure that actual, identifiable expenditures are being transferred, not just lump-sum amounts.)

And remember: Expenditures being transferred to a sponsored program account must be directly accountable to the research being performed and must have occurred within the grant period.

Remaining balances on sponsored research projects may not be transferred to any other account. Federal regulations require remaining balances to be returned to the funding agency when the grant ends.