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Accountants who like their jobs—go figure by Dick Peterson Public Relations If there are only a handful of people in the world who really enjoy their job, David Welch is convinced they all work for the Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting. “I’ve been blessed with a good staff,” he said with a quiet smile. “Most of them I’ve hired during the past five years I’ve been here. They’re a well-educated and well-trained staff that focuses on service to the customer.”  And apparently, they like what they do. Grants and Contracts Accounting is the linchpin in the complex system that transfers grants and contract funds to the investigators and ensures each research sponsor that the funds are being spent according to the terms of each grant or contract. “We do the financial reporting and billing,” Welch said. He explained that when an investigator receives a grant, the money does not come in a big check to be deposited in some laboratory or department account. It’s not even on campus or in an MUSC checking account.  When an investigator receives a grant or enters a contract, he actually receives authorization to purchase supplies, pay salaries, travel, procure equipment or perform any number of activities according to the specifications of the grant or contract. Welch’s office, in turn, first determines if the expenditure is authorized by the grant, then bills the sponsor for the amount and reimburses the university. “Most of our work is with the federal government,” Welch said, “and involves assuring our sponsors that we have followed their regulations.” That puts the Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting between department business managers on the one hand and research sponsors and granting agencies on the other. And it places the office in a traffic cop’s position to be perceived as both an impediment and expediter in the management of research at MUSC. Maybe it’s the breakfast they like. It was Randy Trussell’s idea for the Grants and Contracts Accounting team to have breakfast together once a week. They do it on Thursdays because some on the team have opted for flex time, work longer hours and take Fridays off. Could it be the flex time they like? Maybe they like going out together once a month. Or is it the intramural softball team they’ve formed? “We do lots together,” Welch said, adding that there’s a curious small-world-isn’t-it connectedness among people in the office. Pointing to names on the office organizational chart, he described relationships like “she went to high school with her sister,” or “his mother and my mother were best friends back in Georgia.” Maybe that’s what makes the chemistry work in Grants and Contracts Accounting. Could it be the excitement they like?  “This is a busy place,” Welch said. “We’re in fast motion all day long.” Office accountant Cathy Carroll says on a typical day, between phone calls asking questions about grant regulations, she sets up grants sent to her by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. “I read the grant and its guidelines and regulations, fill out the necessary paperwork, and set up the accounting key under which money can be spent for such things as lab supplies, travel, personnel, equipment, and so forth.” Once everything is done to set up the grant, she calls the department to say they’re authorized to spend funds. After that she monitors the grants she has set up to determine how the funds were spent and reports to the grant sponsors on a quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. Once the money is spent, she closes the account.  But the phone calls are a frequent interruption. “It’s usually from departments asking about regulations and guidelines, arguing points, making additions to accounts and entering them into SmartStream (accounting software). “We interact with departments all over the university, and with many it’s a love-hate relationship. They love us when we set up their grants for them, and they hate us when we can’t let them do what they want to do.” But Carroll adds that there is usually a way to accurately and legitimately account for an expenditure an investigator wants to make. “I know that eventually I will have to do the audit function to be sure that expenditures hold up to audit scrutiny,” Carroll said. “The departments rely heavily on Grants and Contracts Accounting to do what they want with their funding. Usually we can find the most appropriate way to do what they need.” “None of us are bored,” Welch added, “And none of us are ever caught up.” And there’s an operations manual in progress. “They’re writing it, I’m not,” Welch said. “And we have a quite active quality improvement council.” Welch said it’s common to see members of the office voluntarily take work home with them so research projects can continue without delay. So, why do they like their accounting job so much?  Maybe it’s just the kind of people they are. Welch cites with pride the full participation in a recent community service project led by Rosemarie Eisenhauer and Randy Trussell’s weekly stint cooking food at a local homeless shelter. “I came here after 32 years at Georgia Tech and have been able to come up with a good staff, one that I’m very comfortable with,” Welch said. “I’m most fortunate.”