When is it necessary to make adjustments to effort or payroll distribution?
Anytime that payroll does not accurately reflect how the employee spent his/her time on the certified effort report by a margin of +/- 5%, an adjustment to effort and payroll distribution is necessary. OMB Circular A-21 recognizes that activities that comprise an individual’s total effort (teaching, research, service, administration, etc) are often difficult to separate and that “an exact assessment of factors that contribute to costs is not always feasible, nor is it expected.” Certification must rely on a reasonable estimate of effort during a specified time period, and when estimating, a degree of tolerance is acceptable and appropriate. UCF recognizes this degree of tolerance to be no more than +/- 5%.
