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Retroactive Funding Adjustment Procedures

Procedure
Purpose: 

To outline the when retroactive funding adjustments are appropriate and the procedures by which they are requested, reviewed, and approved.

Applies to: 

All University of Kansas departments who have funded a payroll transaction on the Lawrence campus and its reporting units

Campus: 
Edwards
Lawrence
Juniper Gardens
Parsons
Yoder
Topeka
Policy Statement: 

The need for a retroactive funding adjustment (RFA) is created when an employee is paid on the correct position number but from an incorrect account code (i.e., funding source) for one or more pay periods. After reviewing the information below, if you need additional assistance, please contact Payroll Office 785-864-4385 (payroll@ku.edu).

RFAs are not part of a regular business process.

It is imperative that employees are accurately funded before they begin to work and the Personnel Action Form (PAF) is processed in a timely manner. In some cases unavoidable circumstances make this impossible. In those cases there are generally only two options: processing a Budget Transfer Form (BTF) or requesting an RFA to the Payroll Office. An RFA is a system-generated accounting transaction to move original accounting entries to different funding.

RFAs will not be processed:

  • For student non work-study funding to work-study funding (fund 709)
  • For only employer fringe cost for GTA/GRA student insurance.
  • When same department/fund but different cost center
  • For a specific dollar amount

Procedures:

The BTF is available at www.budget.ku.edu/. This form is used to transfer appropriations from a department/cost center, position or pool to another department/cost center, position or pool. In RFA cases, the form is used to allocate funding to cover an existing incorrect expenditure. Allocations cannot be transferred across funding sources (i.e., 003 into 099 and the reverse), in such cases consult budgetary personnel for guidance. A budget transfer can replace the need for an RFA. If a budget transfer cannot be used to accomplish the desired end result, including all items that affect grant funding, an RFA will need to be submitted to the Payroll Office.

Grant funded RFAs should be routed to KU Research Post-Award Services.

Requesting an RFA should be the final solution to correcting an incorrect charge and may only be allowed when a BTF cannot be processed. In certain situations, a correcting journal entry may be processed instead. Please contact the Payroll Office (785-864-4385) or your KU Research Post Award Services Team (for grant funded situations) for guidance; these offices will make the final determination. Examples of this situation could involve fringe or low dollar amounts.  (If a correcting journal entry is utilized, the details must contain sufficient information to substitute/support the original transaction to stand alone in case of audit selection in the G/L, and the journal process includes the same information described below for an RFA.)

The RFA  request must include the following:

  1. Submit a completed PAF (Personnel Action Form)  with the correct information and explanation of funding change.
  2. A OAC HR PAY Report of Gross and Fringe for each payroll period being adjusted.
  3. On the PAF (Personnel Action Form) or on a separate attachment you need to include the following:
    1. The original funding (Account Code and if applicable Pool ID)
    2. Payroll Period(s) affected (begin and end dates)
    3. Gross dollar amounts for each payroll period and overall total.
    4. The request for an RFA should be explained in the PAF form OR an additional document. Detailed documentation should explain why the request is required and how the new fund allocation should be applied.

Any RFA requests that are 45 days prior to the current pay period will be reviewed for approval by the following individuals through normal workflow. Payroll or KUCR will forward documents which meet this criterion as outlined below:

KU Non-Grant RFA requests must be reviewed and approved by Financial Services, University of Kansas.
Grant RFA requests must be reviewed and approved by the Assistant Vice Chancellor, KU Research.
KUCR Non-grant requests must be reviewed and approved by the Chief Financial Officer, KU Research/KUCR.

Should the request be denied, the RFA/PAF form will be returned to the department and alternative funding change methods must be used.

Contact: 

Financial Services - Payroll
payroll@ku.edu
785-864-4385

Approved by: 
Vice Provost for Finance
Approved on: 
Monday, January 7, 2002
Effective on: 
Monday, January 7, 2002
Review Cycle: 
Annual (As Needed)
Keywords: 
RFA, funding adjustment, retroactive funding, funding, check, warrant, payroll
Change History: 

02/17/2023: Updated contact section.
04/16/2021: Updated Contact and owning unit sections from Comptroller to Financial Services.
03/12/2019: The title of VP for Administration and Finance no longer exists. Future approvals will be made by the Chief Financial Officer and Vice Provost for Finance. 
02/16/2016: Removed reference to specific individuals and left titles in section that addresses whom to contact for specific requests.
01/2014: Policy and procedures revised to articulate when RFAs are appropriate and when they are not, and to outline requirements for KUCR approval.

Financial Categories: 
Accounting
Personnel: Affiliates/Volunteers Categories: 
Compensation
Personnel: Faculty/Academic Staff Categories: 
Compensation
Personnel: Staff Categories: 
Compensation

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