[Plsfaculty] FW: Action Required: Effort Certification Reports Pending Approval in UAccess Financials PLEASE APPROVE BEFORE YEAR END

Thu May 15 10:33:56 MST 2025

Hi Everyone,
Please see the email below regarding effort certifications, if you have questions or concerns feel free to reach out to the business office.
Thanks Jen

From: Holan, Tabatha M - (tholan) <tholan at arizona.edu>
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2025 10:10 AM
To: SPCS-financialcompliance <SPS-financialcompliance at email.arizona.edu>
Subject: Action Required: Effort Certification Reports Pending Approval in UAccess Financials PLEASE APPROVE BEFORE YEAR END

Dear Principal Investigators, or Fiscal Officer

This is a reminder from Sponsored Projects Services (SPS) that there are effort certification reports in your UAccess Financials Action List that require your review and approval.

Effort certification is a federally mandated process that confirms the accuracy of salary charges on federally funded awards. A report is generated for each employee paid from a federal grant or contract on which you are listed as Principal Investigator (PI). Timely approval is essential to ensure compliance and accurate financial reporting. The University of Arizona's fiscal year ends 6/30/25 and critical changes may be on a report pending your review.

Important Notes
- The current certification cycle was due Monday, March 24. However, this may be your first notification.
- Some reports may be from prior certification cycles and still require your attention.
- Changes to effort reports may need to post within the current fiscal year-please review promptly.

How to Approve Effort Reports
A step-by-step guide with screenshots is attached. Below is a summary:
1. Log in to UAccess Financials:
   https://financials.uaccess.arizona.edu
   - Off-campus users must connect via the UA VPN: https://vpn.arizona.edu
2. Access Your Action List:
   - Click the "Action List" button (top left).
   - Log in with your UA NetID and password.
3. Filter for Approvals:
   - Use the filter in the top right of your Action List.
   - Under "Action Requested", select "Approve" and click "Filter".
4. Review and Approve:
   - Click the Document ID to open each report.
   - Review the pay distribution. If accurate, click "Approve."
   - If inaccurate, do not approve. Contact your business officer for corrections.

Common Technical Issues
- Off-campus access: Ensure VPN is set to UA SSL VPN.
- Retired or DCC employees: Contact your business officer to approve via email.
- System downtime: UAccess Financials may be unavailable after 7 PM MST.
- Browser issues: Disable cross-site tracking (especially in Safari or Chrome) or use private or incognito mode. How to disable cross-site tracking these steps depending on your browser:
On Mac:

     *       Go to Settings > Safari.
     *   Then below Privacy & Security.
     *   Disable the option Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
On Chrome browser:

     *   Go to Settings.
     *   Click Cookies and other site data under the Privacy and security option.
     *   Turn Send a "Do not track" request with your browsing traffic off.
Effort Certification Overview
Effort certification confirms that salary charges to federal awards reflect actual work performed. Reports are generated every six months and must be approved by both business officers and PIs. Federal auditors regularly review these reports, so timely approval is critical.

Attachments Included
- Effort Certification How-To Guide
- Clearing Multiple FYIs
- Setting Up Email Notifications for Effort Reports

Questions or Training
Why am I just hearing about this deadline?
A RAMtalk was sent out in January communicating an upcoming creation and a deadline for Salary Expense Transfers. After that communication was sent to the Fiscal officers. Fiscal Officers and departments send reminders to their PIs. The reports first route to Fiscal Officers, and only after all the Fiscal Officers have approved, do they route to the Principal Investigator. For that reason, we ask Fiscal Officers to complete their approvals as soon as possible to ensure our PI's have ample time to review and approve.
What is effort reporting?
Effort reporting is a process by which the salary charged to a sponsored project is certified as being reasonable in relation to the effort expended on that project. "Effort" is the proportion of time spent on any activity, expressed as a percentage of an individual's Total University Effort.
Why do I need to approve?
As a recipient of federal funding, the University of Arizona is required to comply with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements, as well as other federal requirements, for certifying effort expended on sponsored awards. You have been identified as a PI on a federally funded award. These are salary expenses that have already posted. You are certifying these employees and often yourself, have worked on the specific project. You are only approving effort on your account. The line will have your name under the account number. If anything does not look correct, please reach out to your department for clarification and any necessary correction.
Federal grants policy does not allow delegation of PI approvals to business personnel. Delegations require firsthand knowledge of the sponsored award.

Why am I getting this? I thought I already approved.
An effort report will be created for every employee working on your federally funded report. Since the reports are dependent on when the Fiscal officer(s) approves, you may have to log in to approve more than once.

- Policy or system questions:
  Contact SPS Financial Compliance: SPCS-financialcompliance at arizona.edu<mailto:SPCS-financialcompliance at arizona.edu>
  - Tara Gonzales, Senior Manager - tgonzale at email.arizona.edu<mailto:tgonzale at email.arizona.edu>
  - Tabatha Holan, Principal. Sponsored Projects Administrator - tholan at email.arizona.edu<mailto:tholan at email.arizona.edu>
  - Nathalie Zepeda, Principal. Sponsored Projects Administrator - nathaliez at arizona.edu<mailto:nathaliez at arizona.edu>
  - Phone: 520-626-6000

- Interactive training:
  Effort Certification Training Portal: https://upktraining.uits.arizona.edu/odstrack/content/financials/toc0.html

- Policy details:
  Effort Reporting Procedures: http://research.arizona.edu/administration/managing-projects/effort-reporting
Thank you for your attention to this important compliance requirement.

Thank you,
Tabatha Holan  [paw]
Grant and Contract Analyst, Principal, Financial Compliance Services
p. 520.626.6442 |e. tholan at arizona.edu<mailto:tholan at arizona.edu> | Hrs: M-Th 8 -5:30 & F 1:30-5:30
Sponsored Projects Services<http://www.rgw.arizona.edu/> | The University of Arizona<http://www.arizona.edu/> | Ethics & Compliance Hotline<hotline.arizona.edu> | 866.364.1908
Upcoming OOO:
Land Acknowledgment<https://click.comms.arizona.edu/?qs=54f04291fd12444332ba4c96370cab681d1e8a1a5f911832346d91fd58219e8c5cb864a29c41f7d751d589f0ebbe6f25a3eca3d7ad6e8695>
We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O'odham and the Yaqui. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.

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