The Research Finance team ensures that researchers receive the support they need to manage their grants and awards in compliance with the policies of Tri-Council and other external funders. The support services provided by the Research Finance team include:
- Communicating with researchers regarding any financial considerations related to their research projects and suspension of such projects;
- Interpreting the financial policies and procedures of Trent University and external agencies and answering queries relating to these;
- Preparing and producing financial reports, as required for funding from external agencies, to ensure grant expenditure compliance with the funding agencies’ guidelines or budget parameters;
- Administering research accounts by establishing account numbers, monitoring revenue and expenditure, and maintaining the research project database, which in turn, provides grant holders with the necessary financial tools to accomplish their research goals;
- Preparing monthly journal entries for research accounts where corrections are necessary to reflect an accurate balance in each account and aiding in the monthly distribution of the statements for research accounts on a timely basis;
- Providing assistance when unspent funds need to be returned to the sponsor by confirming the actual balance to be transferred after ensuring all related expenditure have been allocated to the account, and preparing the journal entry once the transfer has been authorized;
- Responsible for the reconciliation of University receivable accounts for funding and research invoicing and ensuring the timely remittance of funds from various agencies;
- Recording research overhead and reconciling overhead accounts; and
- Working closely with the Office of Research & Innovation on pre-award financial budgets and ensuring proper valuation of in-kind contributions included in applications for funding approval.