[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 112 (Monday, June 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34386-34387]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14049]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Implementation of Federal Financial Report--Upcoming Mandatory 
Use of the Federal Financial Report System in the eRA Commons

AGENCY: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of 
Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Purpose

    Beginning October 1, 2012, CDC will implement the expenditure data 
portion of the Federal Financial Report (FFR) in the Electronic 
Research Administration (eRA) Commons. The transition to use the FFR 
for reporting expenditure data includes new reporting dates for annual 
FFRs, and reporting of cumulative data only.

Background

    The Office of Management and Budget has consolidated the Financial 
Status Report (FSR or SF-269/SF-269A) and the Federal Cash Transaction 
Report (FCTR or SF-272/SF-272A) into a single form known as the Federal 
Financial Report (FFR or SF-425/SF-425A). Since January 1, 2010, CDC 
grantees have been required to report cash transaction data via the 
Payment Management System (PMS) using the FFR cash transaction data 
elements. The FSR/FFR module allows grantees to electronically submit a 
statement of expenditures associated with their grant to the sponsor of 
the grant via eRA Commons. The new eRA Commons system was piloted with 
5 Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) institutions that assisted 
CDC with feedback and testing during the Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 
2011.
    The Electronic Research Administration (eRA) was established by the 
National Institutes of Health (NIH) in response to the Government 
Paperwork Elimination Act requiring federal agencies to pursue 
electronic means of production. The intent of eRA is to provide for 
secure receipt, review and administration of electronic grants. The eRA 
Commons offers a meeting place for grantees tracking research grants 
administration information and applications and will now be used by 
grantees to submit their FFRs.

DATES: The effective date is October 1, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Technical Information Management 
Section (TIMS), Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, 2920 Brandywine Rd, NE., Atlanta, GA 30341; 
telephone (770) 488-2700; email @ [email protected].

Implementation

    All CDC Financial Expenditure data due on/after October 1, 2012 
must be submitted using the FFR via the eFSR/FFR system in the eRA 
Commons. All Federal Reporting in the Payment Management System is 
unchanged. All new submissions should be prepared and submitted as 
FFRs.
    CDC's implementation of the FFR retains a financial reporting 
period that coincides with the budget period of a particular project. 
However, the due date for annual FFRs will be 90 days after the end of 
the calendar quarter in which the budget period ends. Note that this is 
a change in due dates of annual FFRs and may provide up to 60 
additional days to report, depending upon when the budget period end 
date falls within a calendar quarter. For example, if the budget period 
ends 1/30/2012, the annual FFR is due 6/30/2012 (90 days after the end 
of the calendar quarter of 3/31/2012).
    Due dates of final reports will remain unchanged. The due date for 
final FFRs will continue to be 90 days after the project period end 
date.
    Grantees must submit closeout reports in a timely manner. Unless 
the Grants Management Officer (GMO) of the awarding Institute or Center 
approves an extension, grantees must submit a final FFR, final progress 
report, and

[[Page 34387]]

Final Invention Statement and Certification within 90 days of the end 
of grant period. Failure to submit timely and accurate final reports 
may affect future funding to the organization or awards under the 
direction of the same Project Director/Principal Investigator.
    FFR (SF 425) instructions for CDC Grantees are now available at 
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. For further information, 
contact [email protected]. Additional resources concerning the eFSR/
FFR system, including a User Guide and an on-line demonstration, can be 
found on the eRA Commons Support Page: http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/grants/eramain.shtm.

Getting Started--eRA Commons Registration

    The submission of FFRs to CDC will require organizations to 
register with eRA Commons (Commons) (https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/). CDC recommends that this one time registration process be 
completed at least 2 weeks prior to the submittal date of a FFR 
submission.
    Organizations may verify their current registration status by 
running the ``List of Commons Registered Organizations'' query found 
at: http://era.nih.gov/commons/. Organizations not yet registered can 
go to https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/registration/registrationInstructions.jsp for instructions. It generally takes 
several days to complete this registration process. This registration 
is independent of Grants.gov and may be done at any time.
    The individual designated as the Principle Investigator (PI) on the 
application must also be registered in the Commons. The PI must hold a 
PI account and be affiliated with the applicant organization. This 
registration must be done by an organizational official or their 
delegate who is already registered in the Commons. To register PIs in 
the Commons, refer to the eRA Commons User Guide found at: http://era.nih.gov/commons/index.cfm.

Inquiries

    General questions concerning using the eRA Commons should be 
directed to the eRA Commons Helpdesk at: eRA Commons Help Desk Web: 
http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/eRA/. (Preferred method of contact).
Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552
Phone: 301-402-7469
TTY: 301-451-5939
Hours: Mon-Fri, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Email: [email protected].

    Dated: June 5, 2012.
Alan A. Kotch,
Director, Procurement and Grants Office, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 2012-14049 Filed 6-8-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P