Procedure: ARIES record establishment and milestone management

Purpose

This procedure informs the requirements, roles and responsibilities of establishing ARIES records and the management of ARIES milestones.

Definitions

ARIES is the ANU Research Information Enterprise System used to manage the research and non-research activities and outputs across the university.

Local Area is the relevant College or Research School, including but not limited to finance, research management and school administration staff.

Milestones are contractual obligations that the University must fulfil. ARIES stores the due date and status of each milestone and generates automatic email reminders based on the data recorded.

Performance Obligations are contractual obligations that the University must fulfil before revenue can be recognised in accordance with accounting standard AASB15.

Procedure

Establishment of ARIES record

1. The local area in collaboration with the University’s Research Contracts Office in Research Services Division is responsible for:

• creating an ARIES record when an application or proposal for funding is submitted;
• creating the ARIES record in accordance with the Mandatory ARIES Grant Checklist; and
• providing the required ARIES data on initiation of project funding including, but not limited to:

Table 1: Required ARIES data

2. Further information on establishing a record in ARIES is found in the ARIES Grant Manual.

3. Research Accounting is responsible for:

• entering the relevant income natural account code via the contract tab into the ARIES record;
• entering and activating the approved GLC in the ARIES record; and
• routinely reviewing ARIES records ensuring audit requirements and financial milestones have been entered correctly in the contract tab.

ARIES milestone management

Research milestones

4. The local area is responsible for:

• initiating milestone reports to capture research milestone requirements and take action as required;
• adding relevant research documentation to ARIES record, in collaboration with Research Services Division when required;
• updating ARIES research milestones with relevant completion dates; and
• submitting required research milestones (i.e. research report, ethics approval) to funds provider.

Financial milestones

5. The local area is responsible for:

• initiating milestone reports to capture financial milestone requirements and take action as required;
• preparing financial statements;
• adding relevant financial documentation to the ARIES record;
• updating ARIES financial milestones with relevant completion dates, where Financial Shared Services have not taken this action; and
• submitting required financial milestones (i.e. invoices, certified financial statements) to funds provider.

6. The FSS Accounts Receivable team in Financial Shared Services (FSS) are responsible for updating the ARIES milestone with the completion date and invoice number. If there is no milestone in ARIES at the time of raising the invoice it is the responsibility of the local area to update ARIES.
7. Research Accounting is responsible for:

• reviewing the prepared financial statement;
• certifying financial statements;
• adding relevant documents to the ARIES record including working papers and the final certified financial statement; and
• sending the certified financial statement to the local area for distribution to funds provider.

Audit milestones

8. Research Accounting is responsible for:

• initiating milestone reports to capture audit requirements;
• advising local areas of action required, ensuring sufficient time is provided for local areas to perform their required tasks and meet audit time constraints;
• liaising with local areas and the Corporate Governance and Risk Office (CGRO) to achieve completion of required internal audits;
• liaising with local areas and the University’s appointed service provider to achieve completion of required external audits;
• adding the certified audited financial statement and relevant audit documents to ARIES record; and
• sending the certified audited financial statement to local area for distribution to funds provider.

9. The local area is responsible for:

• completing the pre-audit checklist;
• completing the Payroll Costing Analysis reconciliation if relevant;
• providing relevant information requested by auditors;
• updating ARIES audit milestones with relevant completion dates; and
• submitting the certified audited financial statement to the funds provider.

10. Financial Shared Services are responsible for

• providing financial documentation requested by auditors.

Revenue Recognition Assessment and Performance Obligations

11. The Corporate Finance and Financial Reporting (CFFR) team in Finance and Business Services (F&BS) is responsible for:

• completing the revenue recognition assessment using the Revenue Assessment form;
• attaching the completed Revenue Assessment form in the Documents Tab in ARIES;
• updating the Obligations Tab in ARIES based on conclusions reached in the Revenue Assessment form, including entering Performance Obligations (where applicable); and
• the monthly revenue recognition calculation that is posted in the University’s Financial Information Management System (ES Financials).