CONTROLLER'S OFFICE

Research & Cost Accounting

Fund Setup Process

Initial Award

To set up an initial award in the Oracle financial system, Research & Cost Accounting (RCA) requires: the award documents, including all exhibits and attachments; and the proposal documents, which include Rice's Internal Processing Form (IPF), the proposal budget, the budget narrative, the scope of work, and the cost sharing budget (if applicable).

The initial budget in iO will be the entire project budget, unless there are restrictions on future funding or deliverable requirements by the sponsor. 

The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) sends the award and proposal documents via email to the Principal Investigator (PI), the Department Administrator (DA), and RCA.

Notice to Department

Once the fund has been set up, RCA sends an email to the PI, DA, and OSP notifying them that the coding for the newly awarded grant or contract has been entered into iO and is available for data entry by the department.

Advance Spending Fund

There are occasions when commitments or expenses need to be incurred before a fund has been established. For example, an award document has not been received by OSP but there is relative certainty that it is forthcoming.  In such cases, the Principal Investigator or Department Administrator can, with the approval of their Dean, request an Advance Spending Fund. Using an Advance Spending Fund will allow for proper coding of expenses and reduce the number of cost transfers and salary redistributions.

See Advanced Spending Fund for more information.

Amendments to Awards

To amend an award, RCA must receive an email notice of an amendment from SPARC. RCA staff will then:

  • Update iO modules with new end date,close date and budget changes as needed
  • Notify the department that updates have been completed. 
  • Upload associated documents to the iO grants module