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Cost Transfers

A cost transfer is an expense that is being moved from one account to another after the expense was initially recorded in GL (General Ledger). Expenses should be charged to the correct sponsored project account when first incurred. However, at times it may be necessary to transfer an expense to/from a sponsored project subsequent to the initial recording of that expense. Such transfers require careful monitoring for compliance with University of Maine policy, federal regulations and policies, and the federal cost principles that underlie all fiscal activities of sponsored projects.

A cost transfer invites the assumption that the expense was not handled properly when initially charged to GL. The expenses being transferred require thorough documentation to support the transaction. It is critical that the transfer is timely, complete, and complies with allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and consistency requirements.

Cost transfers are generally prepared by the principal investigator (PI) or the designated project account manager and can be both for labor (Labor Distribution Adjustments “LDA”) and non-labor (Cost Adjustments “CA”) type expenses involving sponsored projects accounts. If the expense is being moved to or from a sponsored project account (project number starts with 540****), the cost transfer request MUST come to ORA for review. If the transfer of the expense does not involve a sponsored project account, then the request must be submitted through the Office of Budget & Business Services.

Additional Resources

 University of Maine Administrative Practice Letters:

Uniform Guidance: