1. Understanding Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Costs
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

2. UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration
F&A Basics
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

3. UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration
What is F&A?
Direct Cost: Any cost that can be specifically identified with a particular project, program, or activity or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily and with a high degree of accuracy.
F&A Costs: Costs for common or joint objectives that cannot be readily identified with an individual project, program, or organizational activity.
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

4. F&A Costs are otherwise known as…
Overhead Costs
Indirect Costs
Sub 9H – at UCLA only
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

5. UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration
Types of F&A Bases
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

6. Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) Base
MTDC component is the base against which the federally negotiated rates are applied, and is derived by excluding certain costs from the Direct Cost total.
MTDC exclusions include:
Equipment
Patient Care
Alterations/Renovations
Space Rental
Tuition Remission/Fees
For Non-UC subawards, any amount beyond the first $25,000 TC of each subaward.
The total cost (TC) of subawards to other UC campuses
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

7. Total Direct Cost (TDC) Base
F&A calculated on the total of all direct costs of a project. There are no exclusions.
Most non-federal F&A rates are based on Total Direct Cost (TDC), not MTDC.
e.g. Pharm sponsored Clinical Trials (26% TDC), Non-profit Foundations, etc.
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

8. What is the “Current F&A Base Code”?
How do I find it?
Summary-By-Sub/Overhead Rate field
COP/Approp & Financial tab
AIS/OASIS – FS00 – Table AF (Account/CC-Fund Table)
What do the letters mean (i.e. J, B, C)?
Base & Object code Table for Indirect costs
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

9. Current F&A Rates & Cost Returns
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

10. UCLA’s Current F&A Rates
Research On-Campus - MTDC
54% - thru June 30, 2017
55% - 07/01/2017 – 06/30/2018
56% - 07/01/2018 – 06/30/2019
Research Off-Campus – 26% MTDC
Instruction On-Campus – 37% MTDC
Instruction Off-Campus – 26% MTDC
Clinical Trials – 26% TDC
Federal Teaching – 8% MTDC
NIH Training (T’s & F’s) and Ks Grants
Current F&A Rate Agreement – dated 05/03/2017
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

11. Annual Indirect Cost Return
What is it?
What is it based on?
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

12. UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration
F&A Reconciliation
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

13. Why Does F&A Need to be Reconciled?
Unbudgeted changes can occur:
PI spent the $ on an item that is excluded from F&A, but was not originally budgeted. EXAMPLE: Unbudgeted equipment. See Scenario 1
PI did NOT spend the $ allocated to an excluded item, but rather, spent it on an item NOT excluded from F&A. Example: Budgeted equipment. See Scenario 2
F&A rate changed during the project period, but may not have been changed in the UCLA financial system. Use F&A Reconciliation Tool
PI moved from on-campus to off-campus space, or vice-versa. Use F&A Reconciliation Tool
Item was not correctly Object Coded in the UCLA financial system. Use F&A Reconciliation Tool
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

14. Two F&A Tools Available
1) FPM/QDB F&A Reconciliation Tool
This report is also run automatically in the Smart Closeout Tool/PAMS
2) 9H Reconciliation Adjustment note located at the bottom of the FPM/QDB Summary by Sub Report
Run both reports frequently throughout the life of the award.
Do NOT assume the reports are correct. Do some research to determine WHY before making any adjustments.
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

15. Two Type of F&A Reconciliation: Appropriations & Expenditures
Which Tool Do I Use?
Use the Summary-By-Sub report* for the 9H reconciliation note located at the bottom of the report.
Why does this happen?
Actual expenditures differ from budget.
Be sure to research and understand what happened prior to making adjustment
How does it get adjusted/fixed?
FM can prepare a TOF
*Be sure to always enter the full FAU into QDB. Do not enter an “*” in the Account of Costcenter field. This will return incorrect results.
Expenditures
Which Tool Do I Use?
Use the F&A Reconconliation report in QDB
Why does this happen?
Incorrect F&A Rate was charged to expenditures
How does it get adjusted/fixed?
EFM must prepare a journal entry adjustment. FM can request.
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

16. Links from Today’s Class
OCGA’s F&A Website
Base & Object Code Table for F&A
FPM/QDB F&A Reconciliation Tool
Past F&A Rates
Links from Today’s Class
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration

17. Survey Link http://goo.gl/forms/C3gdjsL5y1
We appreciate if you would take a few moments to complete a short 5 question survey to help us improve your training experience. Thank you!
UCLA Department of Medicine Office of Research Administration