Research Finance

 

SPF FC ("Account") Set-up Instructions:

With the funding award letter or grant contract, you can complete the Term of Reference for the account (http://insite.albertahealthservices.ca/frm-18986.doc) and send both documents to Filoza Bandali (Filoza.Bandali@ahs.ca).  Filoza can help to answer any questions you might have for completing the TOR document.

A unique functional centre is then set up to hold these funds.  AHS holds these Special Purpose Fund (SPF) accounts on behalf of the fund recipient and the funds are administered according to the funding letter/contract. Expenses and invoicing are managed slightly differently than the AHS operational accounts:

• Invoices require a payment requisition form (http://insite.albertahealthservices.ca/frm-09703.xls) and does not go through Markview
• Expense claims are manual via the expense claim form (http://insite.albertahealthservices.ca/frm-09704.xls) submitted to ResearchExpenses@ahs.ca and does not use iExpense
• If you require staff or an operational account to be reimbursed for approved expenses (ie. payroll, services, supplies, etc.), this is completed via a journal entry and your BAS rep will need to be involved to move the expense from the operating account to the SPF account.

Expenses are firstly approved by the structure set up by the TOR and once they are submitted, the research finance team will verify expense eligibility and seek further signatures from the AHS delegation structure.  For example,  if you are the grant holder but you would like for a Manager or another delegate to have the ability to approve and sign for the expenses, this needs to be documented in the TOR.  The delegate can then sign off the expense claim form and submit it to ResearchExpenses@ahs.ca.  Once the finance team receives the expense claim form, they review it for eligibility and will ask Marc Leduc or Kathryn Todd to sign for RIA and will process the claim.

Detailed information for AHS research ​​accounts

1.            Relevant AHS Finance Policies

1. AHS accounts will be administered in accordance with all applicable Alberta Health Services policies, including but not limited to Research Special Purpose Fund Account Deficit Management Policy (#1150-01), and Practice Support Document Management and Oversight of Research Expenses for Travel, Hospitality and Working Sessions Standard (#RESEARCH-001).

2.            Account Set-Up

1. The researcher or research manager receives award/funding letter.
2. The  researcher, administrator or finance manager fills out AHS Terms of Reference (TOR) template
1. AHS TOR template http://insite.albertahealthservices.ca/frm-18986.doc
3.  It is important that whichever manager or other delegate who is to have the ability to approve and sign for the expenses that this is documented in the TOR
4. The completed TOR and award/funding letter is sent to AHS Finance often by an administrator and their relevant account-opening form (i.e. NACTRC form 18986)
1. Filoza Bandali (Filoza.Bandali@ahs.ca)
5. AHS Finance opens a Functional centre to hold funds
6. A Special Purpose Fund (SPF) account number is generated and returned to the researcher, administrator and/or Finance Manager

3.            Invoice Generation 

1. Invoicing is performed through AHS finance
2. Researcher submits a payment requisition form to AHS finance (not Markview)
• http://insite.albertahealthservices.ca/frm-09703.xls
• Forms are submitted to ?
3. An invoice is generated by AHS finance
4. An invoice is sent to vendor for payment
5. AHS finance receives payment from vendor

4.            Research Expense Claims

1. Note**: Reimbursements from SPF accounts cannot be processed through iExpense and must be done manually through the process outlined below.
2. Researcher submits expense claim form manually by email (not iExpense)
• Allowable expenses for claims  https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/Assets/about/policies/ahs-pol-expenses.pdf     
• AHS employees can complete the AHS Travel, Hospitality and Working Session expense claim form OR for non-AHS employees, download and complete the AHS Payment Requisition form 
  
3.  If not the PI, the delegated research team approver/signatory outlined in the TOR
   
• Submit claim form to ResearchExpenses@ahs.ca
  
4. AHS finance verifies expense eligibility
5. AHS Signatures requested (Delegated financial authority (i.e. Marc Leduc)
   
6. Expense claim processed and reimbursement made
   

5.            Expense Transfers 

1. Includes reimbursing operational accounts for approved expenses (ie. payroll, services, supplies, etc.)
2. Local BAS rep makes a journal entry for transfer of expense from operational account to the SPF fund
3. Expense is transferred from one account to another

6.            Non-PO Purchase Requisitions

1. Researchers wanting to make a non-PO purchase from their SPF account fill out AHS Purchase Requisition Form
• AHS Purchase Requisition Form  http://insite.albertahealthservices.ca/frm-02089.doc   
2. Researcher emails form to AHS Finance
• Filoza Bandali (Filoza.Bandali@ahs.ca)
3. AHS Finance performs BAS sign-off by verifying expense eligibility and the SPF account balance
4. AHS Finance forwards to RIA delegated authority for sign-off
5. RIA delegated authority returns the signed requisition
6. AHS Finance processes the purchase requisition

REFERENCES

• Related Procedures & Documents
• Travel, Hospitality, and Working Session Expenses-Approval, Reimbursement, and Disclosure (Policy #1122)
• Research Special Purpose Fund Account Deficit Management Policy (#1150-01)
• Practice Support Document Management and Oversight of Research Expenses for Travel, Hospitality and Working Sessions Standard (#RESEARCH-001)