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SEFA Tutorial

Lesson 3: Overview of Classifying Federal Funds

Classifications of Federal Revenues in SEFA and USAS

Federal Revenue Classifications

Federal Funds Received SEFA Web Application Classification USAS Classification
Directly from federal government Direct revenue Direct federal revenue
From an NSE NSE pass-through revenue Direct federal revenue
From another agency Interagency pass-through revenue Federal pass-through revenue

Each federal expenditure or expense transaction entered into the SEFA web application must disclose whether the expenditure transaction is either a:

  • Direct transaction
  • NSE pass-through transaction
  • interagency pass-through transaction

USAS recognizes both direct federal expenditures/expenses and awards passed-through to an NSE as expenditures. The COBJ used for these expenditure transactions may vary based on the expenditure classification and agency policy. Interagency pass-through federal expenditure entries must use COBJ 7971 for non-operating expenditures or COBJ 7978 for operating expenditures.

Federal Expenditure Classifications

Federal Funds Spent SEFA Web Application Classification USAS Classification
By the receiving agency Direct expenditures Varies by expenditure classification
Passed-to an NSE NSE pass-through expenditures Varies by expenditure classification
Passed-to another agency Interagency pass-through expenditures Federal pass-through expenditures

Examples:

  1. Sample Agency XXX receives a grant directly from the federal government and spends 100% of the award on allowable expenses. The agency records direct federal revenue in both the SEFA web application and in USAS. The agency also records the direct expenditures in the SEFA web application and in USAS (the COBJ used in USAS varies depending on the classification of the allowable expenditure). Sample Agency XXX records a:
    • Direct federal revenue in:
      • SEFA web application
      • USAS
    • Direct expenditures in:
      • SEFA web application
      • USAS (the COBJ used varies depending on the classification of the allowable expenditure)
  2. Sample Agency XXX receives a research grant from the federal government and chooses to pass the award to State University YYY.
    Sample Agency XXX records:
    • Direct federal revenue and interagency pass-through expenditures in:
      • SEFA web application
      • USAS
    • Interagency pass-through revenue in USAS
    • Direct expenditures in:
      • SEFA web application
      • USAS (the COBJ used varies depending on the classification of the allowable expenditure)
  3. Sample University YYY receives a federal grant passed-from an NSE. The state university also records the direct expenditures in the SEFA web application. The expenditure COBJ in USAS varies by the classification of the allowable expenditures.
    Sample University YYY records:
    • NSE pass-through revenue in the SEFA
    • Direct federal revenue in USAS
    • Direct expenditures in:
      • SEFA web application
      • USAS (the COBJ used varies depending on the classification of the allowable expenditure)

Next: Fund Types