Certification process for principal investigators reinstated

BY BARBARA PALMER

The quarterly principal investigator (PI) certification process that was suspended in January is being reinstated, Anne Hannigan, associate vice president in the Office of Research Administration, told faculty principal investigators in a memo today. Hannigan requested that Autumn Quarter (including September) and Winter Quarter expenditures be certified by May 31, 2004.

The certification process was suspended Jan. 30, due to difficulties in getting complete and usable expenditure reports from Oracle financial systems.

"We have corrected known data issues and believe that data accuracy has now returned to pre-Oracle levels," Hannigan wrote in a memo dated April 14. "Additional expenditure statement changes released with March statements and retroactively affecting earlier statements greatly improve the clarity of statements."

Hannigan asked investigators to take a conservative stance while certifying statements because of the number of months that have elapsed since the expenses were incurred.

In the memo, Hannigan pointed to improvements that appear on March statements that test users in schools and department have indicated will make account reconciliation much easier. "The newly added quarterly report will help faculty and staff to more easily understand at a glance what has happened since the implementation of Oracle financials, and will be helpful to all who have financial management responsibilities," the memo said. Improvements will continue to be made, Hannigan said.

"These last seven months have been extremely difficult, and you have been very patient," the memo said. "We will continue to work with you to understand your needs and to deliver the kind of management information you need."