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Cornell University
Division of Financial Services
Accounting
  • About
    • Contact
    • News
  • Chart of Accounts
    • Transaction String
    • Accounts
      • Sub-Accounts
    • Object Codes
      • Sub-Object Codes
      • Revenue Object Codes
    • Function Codes
    • Fund Groups
    • Charts
    • Organizations
    • Using Sub-Accounts and Sub-Object Codes for Activity Tracking
    • Managing Accounts
  • Topics
    • Abandoned Property
    • Accounts Payable
      • AP Payment Schedule
      • Direct Deposit for Reimbursements
      • Check and Electronic Payments
      • Foreign Currency Payments
      • Help for Payees
      • Help for BSCs
    • Accounts Receivable
      • Interdepartmental Billings
        • Authorized Direct Charge Processors
      • Registering Cornell in an External Entity’s Payment System
      • Writing Off Uncollectable Receivables
    • Deposits
    • External Organizations
    • Gift Funds
      • Indirect Cost on Gifts
      • Receiving Gifts
      • Gift Restrictions
      • Managing Restricted Gift Accounts
    • Interdepartmental Activity
    • Inventory Accounting Guidelines
    • Lease Classification
    • Petty Cash and Cash Drawers
    • Plant Construction Funds
    • Reconciliation Guidelines
      • Reconciling Asset and Liability Object Codes
      • Monitoring Operating Activity
      • Object Code Reviews
      • Correcting Unknown Variances
    • Reserve Accounts
    • Revenue Classification
      • Tuition and Student Fees
      • Government Appropriations
      • Grant and Contract
      • Gifts and Contributions
      • Medical Services
      • Investment Earnings
      • Auxiliary Enterprises
      • Educational Activities
      • Other Sales and Services
      • Interdepartmental Revenues
      • External Organization Income
      • Accounts Receivable
      • Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and Bad Debt Expenses
      • Accruals/Deferred Revenue
      • Revenue vs. Expense Reimbursement
      • Revenue Matrix
    • Transferring Funds
    • Travel Advances and Prepaid Expenses
    • WCM Accounts
      • Processing Entries to WCM
  • Invested Funds
    • Current-Year Long-Term Investment Pool Rates
    • Prior-Year Long-Term Investment Pool Rates
    • Investing in the Long-Term Investment Pool
    • Investment Glossary
  • Year-End
    • Account Reversion
    • KFS Payment Processing E-docs (DV, PREQ, PCDO)
    • Cash Deposits at Year-End
    • Revenue and Expense Year-End Accruals
    • Deadlines
  • forms
  • CU policies
  • training
  • KFS Support
  • e-SHOP

In this section

  • Abandoned Property
  • Accounts Payable
    • AP Payment Schedule
    • Direct Deposit for Reimbursements
    • Check and Electronic Payments
    • Foreign Currency Payments
    • Help for Payees
    • Help for BSCs
  • Accounts Receivable
    • Interdepartmental Billings
      • Authorized Direct Charge Processors
    • Registering Cornell in an External Entity’s Payment System
    • Writing Off Uncollectable Receivables
  • Deposits
  • External Organizations
  • Gift Funds
    • Indirect Cost on Gifts
    • Receiving Gifts
    • Gift Restrictions
    • Managing Restricted Gift Accounts
  • Interdepartmental Activity
  • Inventory Accounting Guidelines
  • Lease Classification
  • Petty Cash and Cash Drawers
  • Plant Construction Funds
  • Reconciliation Guidelines
    • Reconciling Asset and Liability Object Codes
    • Monitoring Operating Activity
    • Object Code Reviews
    • Correcting Unknown Variances
  • Reserve Accounts
  • Revenue Classification
    • Tuition and Student Fees
    • Government Appropriations
    • Grant and Contract
    • Gifts and Contributions
    • Medical Services
    • Investment Earnings
    • Auxiliary Enterprises
    • Educational Activities
    • Other Sales and Services
    • Interdepartmental Revenues
    • External Organization Income
    • Accounts Receivable
    • Allowance for Doubtful Accounts and Bad Debt Expenses
    • Accruals/Deferred Revenue
    • Revenue vs. Expense Reimbursement
    • Revenue Matrix
  • Transferring Funds
  • Travel Advances and Prepaid Expenses
  • WCM Accounts
    • Processing Entries to WCM

See also

  • Sponsored Financial Services
  • Capital Assets
  • Cost Analysis

Revenue Matrix

Recommended Criteria for Distinguishing between Gift/Contribution, Sponsored Contract/Grant and Educational Activity/Other Revenue

The classification of the revenue does not determine the central office (i.e., Office of Sponsored Programs or Alumni Affairs and Development in Ithaca, Office of Sponsored Research Administration or Office of External Affairs at Weill Cornell Medical College) with prime proposal and stewardship oversight. This is determined by the policies promulgated by those offices.

Revenue Characteristic Gift/Contribution Sponsored Contract/Grant Educational Activity/Other
Resource Provider (source of funds)
  • From a private individual
  • From private, non-governmental organizations, including foundations (in most cases), corporations or other organizations
  • Externally funded/from an outside source
  • Governmental/quasi-governmental source (at any level)
  • External entity
Benefit to Resource Provider
  • No direct economic benefit or other tangible benefit comparable to the value of the gift; indirect benefits cannot negate a gift
  • Expect nothing of value in return, other than recognition and disposition of the gift in accordance with their wishes
  • No deliverables, though donor may request copies of publications that result from research supported with donated funds and ask to be acknowledged in such publications
  • Reciprocal transfer of something of value (direct economic benefit) to the sponsor
  • Serves the primary business or mission interest of the sponsor, whose basic activities are integrally related to the research plan-benefit received
  • Studies on substances, products, or processes owned by the sponsor
  • Investigator is obligated to convey rights to tangible or intangible properties resulting from the project. Tangible properties include equipment, records, technical reports, theses, or dissertations. Intangible properties include rights in data, copyrights or inventions.
  • Expense is perceived by the organization as a “cost of doing business” rather than a charitable gift
  • Economic or tangible benefit equivalent to the value of the resources provided
  • Agreement cannot involve intellectual property, human research participants, laboratory animals, radioactive or hazardous materials, or biohazards, including recombinant DNA
  • Expense is perceived by the organization as a “cost of doing business”
Involvement of Resource Provider
  • Enter into the transaction voluntarily and does not retain any implicit or explicit control over the funds after transfer
  • May place restriction on use of the gift (e.g. specific purpose, program, department, etc.), but cannot require to be asked to approve programs or activities
  • Irrevocable; resource provider relinquishes the right to reclaim the gift or any unused remains (on rare occasions, if the university cannot meet the donor restrictions, unexpended funds are returned to the donor)
  • May ask to be acknowledged in resulting publications
  • May identify an individual, generally in a university relations or philanthropic function of an organization, as a point of contact for communications only
  • Sponsor maintains “lingering control” over fund use
  • Sponsor must give approval for programs/activities sponsored by the funds
  • Can disallow and demand repayment of any funds they deem to have been expended for purposes other than direct support of defined activities, and retain the right to revoke the award in part or in total
  • Have discretion to examine the expenditures of the grant/contact funds
  • Have rights and access to the results of the performance
  • Corporate sponsors may identify a technical monitor who is responsible for monitoring performance, arranging research visits and providing liaison between the university and corporate research teams
  • Involvement of customer dependent on the nature of the transaction and contract terms
University Commitment
  • University has fiduciary responsibility to carry out the wishes of the donor
  • Binding agreement in which the university agrees to specific set of terms and conditions
  • May includes indemnification or other legal accountability terms
  • Binding agreement in which the university agrees to provide goods or services in exchange for monetary compensation
  • May includes indemnification or other legal accountability terms
Specificity of Terms and Conditions
  • Resource provider seeks advances in research, education or outreach, but specific ways funds are used and methods of implementing the intent of the donor are left to the discretion of the university.
  • May outline a specific project or research plan and budget
  • Well-defined objectives, strategies, work plans and/or deliverables
  • Specific statement of work/objectives
  • Obligated to a specific line of scholarly or scientific inquiry
  • Specific project or research plan and budget
  • Generally, specific statement of work or deliverables is defined
Period of Performance
  • Funds may be intended for use in specific timeframe, but not held a specific period of performance
  • Defined with “start” and “stop” dates; must reach objectives in specified time frame
  • Period of performance may be used for defining allowability of expenditures or other purposes
  • Agreement may indicate expected date of delivery
Persons Performing  Activities
  • Can be directed by the donor to support the work of a specific department or faculty member, but in these cases, the department or faculty member has broad discretion as to the specific utilization of the funds
  • May identify key personnel or project leader
  • Sponsor identifies a technical monitor
  • Key personnel named in the proposal
  • Involves an identified university faculty as academic project leader
  • University has full discretion over who performs the work
Accounting and Reporting
  • Generally none, though donor may request annual progress reports or use of funds (types of activities supported, types of expenses, etc.)
  • Only in unusual circumstances are unexpended funds are returned to the donor
  • Special accounting required if donor receives goods or services that are more than a token value; the gift valuation must be decreased by the value of the goods and services given back to the donor
  • Fiscal accountability is required, including a line item budget that identifies expenses by activity, function, or project period
  • Award includes budgetary constraints such as limits on budget categories, or the sponsor requires prior approval or other controls over expenditures.
  • Requires return of any unused funds at the end of designated performance period.
  • Required progress, technical or detailed financial reports during or at completion of the activity (to show actual use of money and property provided)
  • Generally none
Other
  • Generally formalized with gift agreement signed be donor
  • Additional funding may be provided at the discretion of the donor.
  • Generally not from a competitive proposal or application process
  • Agreement requires endorsement by a university official
  • May be renewed contingent on such things as technical review or satisfactory progress
  • Stipulates that expenditures must qualify for the basic research tax credit
  • Agreement requires endorsement by a university official

Division of Financial Services

377 Pine Tree Road, East Hill Plaza
Ithaca, NY 14850

Hours:  8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday

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