While every effort is made to assure that the charges to each sponsored project are correct, errors do occur. In addition, the nature of sponsored projects is such that activities overlap, and it is sometimes necessary to reallocate charges after they were initially assigned to a specific project by processing a cost transfer. For further guidance, please refer to the discussion of cost transfers.

University financial policies require monthly account reconciliation. Reviewing account activity on a regular basis will help ensure that expenditures are within appropriate limits and guidelines. Further, regular monitoring of sponsored projects helps to:

• confirm the availability of project funds as needed;
• ensure that costs are consistent with the project schedule and incurred between the start and stop dates of the project;
• uncover errors in either the project budget or expenditures, whether those errors are caused by an end user, a service department, or any other system-generated source;
• avoid overdrafts, which will ultimately need to be funded from non-sponsored sources;
• provide comfort that the expenditures are in compliance with the sponsor's spending terms and conditions
• ensure that any necessary cost transfers and corrections are made in a timely manner;
• maintain a clear audit trail for the future; and
• allow for problems to be timely noted and dealt with.