The Grants Management (GM) Financial Report Tool [3] offers new features in its latest upgrade, thanks to customer feedback and innovations by University Information Services, specifically Samantha Fildish, principal solutions manager, and Ty Barwick, senior enterprise application developer.

The recent upgrades bring significant functionality to improve accessibility, data validation, and reporting efficiency.

New Features

• Download all sections of the report in Excel format for more flexibility and ease when analyzing and sharing report data.
• Find any outstanding encumbrances in a new section on the Financial Validation page, offering a quick and clear overview of any unspent funds related to purchase orders.
• Click drillable links for the Indirect Expense fields, making it easier to validate facilities and administrative fees and investigate any exceptions.
• View any expenses posted before the project start date or after the project end date. Clicking on these amounts reveals detailed transaction information, including dates, descriptions and any associated invoices.
• Maintain a list of common sensitive account codes for the GM Financial Report Tool to look for and call out during processing.

These enhancements, while subtle, significantly improve the usability and depth of information available to users of the GM Financial Report Tool. Grant accountants and project administrators have shared their enthusiasm for the tool in surveys, saying:

“My team has been very happy with the tool; it saves us time with both drafting and reviewing financial reports.”

“This tool adds an extra layer of efficiency and confidence when it comes to completing financial reports.”

“It's not just the filling out of the financial report but the review of the expenses, which can be very heavy. This tool helps a lot with this task.”

The GM Financial Report Tool was custom-built by University Information Services in the Grants WorkCenter to simplify the financial reporting process for grant accountants and project administrators. It was designed for the Federal Financial Report but has been found useful in other aspects of financial reporting.

Whether you’re looking for more comprehensive downloads, better visibility into encumbrances and indirect expenses, or easier validation of project expenses, these updates help streamline the grant management process and support more efficient financial oversight.

All grant accountants are encouraged to explore the new features [3] and continue providing feedback for future improvements.