RFEP (CASRAI)
Research Finance & Effort Reporting Certification — Professional
What you earn
The credential itself
Pass the examination and CASRAI issues this certificate and the post-nominal RFEP (CASRAI), signed by the Programme Director and verifiable by anyone, permanently, from the code on its face.
CASRAI Certification
Certificate of Professional Competence
This is to certify that
Dr. Amelia R. Hartley
has completed the prescribed programme of study and passed the examination in
Research Finance & Effort Reporting — Professional
and is admitted to the designationRFEP (CASRAI)
Certifications
RFEP (CASRAI) — Research Finance & Effort Reporting, Professional
CASRAI·Issued Mar 2026·Credential ID CASRAI-RFE-2026-6SYED2
casrai.org/verify/CASRAI-RFE-2026-6SYED2
Every certificate is issued under the signature of Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, MD, Programme Director of CASRAI Certification, who sets the syllabus, blueprint and pass mark for this credential.
It certifies that its holder passed the CASRAI examination for this course on the date shown, scored against the blueprint and pass mark published on this page — and anyone can confirm it from the verification code, without an account and without contacting us.
About this credential
What it covers
Body of knowledge
Exam blueprint
The exam is assembled to these weights on every attempt. They are published before purchase because a blueprint you cannot see is not a blueprint.
| Domain | Proportion of exam | Weight | Items |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost accounting framework, consistency and disclosure1 | 12%≈ 4 items | ≈ 4 | |
| F&A rate development, proposal and negotiation2 | 18%≈ 6 items | ≈ 6 | |
| Cost pools, bases and MTDC mechanics3 | 12%≈ 4 items | ≈ 4 | |
| Compensation, effort and payroll certification4 | 20%≈ 7 items | ≈ 7 | |
| Service, recharge and specialized service facilities5 | 10%≈ 4 items | ≈ 4 | |
| Cost sharing, program income and unallowable cost screening6 | 14%≈ 5 items | ≈ 5 | |
| Financial reporting, cash management, closeout and audit readiness7 | 14%≈ 5 items | ≈ 5 | |
| Total | 100% | 35 |
Item counts are approximate. Each attempt draws a fresh form to the weights above, so the exact number of items per domain varies between attempts.
Syllabus
13 modules, 13 lessons
Every lesson and every learning outcome is listed. The lesson bodies open on enrolment; nothing else about the course is withheld.
13 modules · 13 lessons · 100 h
Lesson material opens once you are enrolled. The full syllabus and every learning outcome are shown here so you can judge the coverage before you pay.
Module 1
1
1 lesson · 6 h
- Locked.The costing frame: why research costs what it costs6 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [R] Explain the full-costing premise underlying US federal research funding and distinguish direct, indirect (F&A) and unallowable cost.
- [R] Name the four major functions of an institution used in Appendix III and place departmental research correctly.
- [An] Explain to a non-specialist why a 54% F&A rate is not a 54% surcharge and why it is not profit.
- [R] Describe the structural difference between the US percentage-of-base model, the UK per-FTE TRAC/fEC model, the EU flat-rate and lump-sum models, and the Canadian and Australian block-funding models.
- [An] Identify which national model a described costing practice belongs to.
Module 2
2
1 lesson · 8 h
- Locked.Cost Accounting Standards, consistency, and the DS-2 that left Part 2008 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [A] Determine whether an institution is subject to CAS under §200.419 and which standards apply.
- [R] State the substance of 48 CFR 9905.501, 9905.502, 9905.505 and 9905.506.
- [An] Apply 9905.502 to a proposed direct charge and determine whether it breaches consistency in like circumstances.
- [R] State that the DS-2 requirement was deleted from 2 CFR Part 200 by the 2024 revision, that §200.419 was retitled, and that the surviving authority is 48 CFR 9903.202, with 9903.202-1(f) governing educational institutions.
- [An] Explain why "$50 million triggers a DS-2 under 2 CFR 200" is now a false statement, and state what $50 million does still trigger.
- [A] Identify a divergence between disclosed practice and actual practice and quantify the exposure.
Module 3
3
1 lesson · 10 h
- Locked.Anatomy of an F&A rate10 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [R] Name the F&A cost pools used for IHEs under Appendix III and describe what each contains.
- [R] Identify the allocation base appropriate to each pool.
- [A] Trace a cost from the general ledger through a pool to a rate component.
- [A] Compute a rate component from a pool total and a base.
- [An] Explain the effect of the administrative cost cap on an institution's recoverable rate and identify who bears the unrecovered cost.
- [A] Read a negotiated rate agreement and state exactly what it permits.
- [An] Explain why on-campus and off-campus rates differ and apply the institution's definition to a borderline project.
Module 4
4
1 lesson · 10 h
- Locked.Building the proposal: pools, bases and the space survey10 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [A] Assemble a rate proposal from an institution's audited financial statements and reconcile the two.
- [A] Design and supervise a space survey and convert its output into a functional allocation of space.
- [An] Evaluate the defensibility of a space survey and identify its weakest assumption.
- [A] Compute building and equipment depreciation for the rate.
- [A] Exclude unallowable costs from the pools and evidence the exclusion.
- [An] Model the rate consequence of a proposed institutional decision (a new building, a change in graduate tuition remission policy, a reorganisation of administrative units).
Module 5
5
1 lesson · 6 h
- Locked.Negotiation, rate types and rate agreements6 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [R] Distinguish provisional, final, predetermined and fixed-with- carry-forward rates and state when each is appropriate.
- [A] Determine the cognizant agency for indirect costs for a given institution.
- [An] Anticipate the three challenges a negotiator is most likely to raise against a supplied proposal and prepare a documented response to each.
- [A] Model the multi-year financial effect of a proposed settlement.
- [A] Draft a written rebuttal, citing §200.414(c)(1), to a pass-through entity that seeks to cap the institution's indirect rate below its negotiated rate.
- [A] Advise a small subrecipient on the de minimis election under §200.414(f) and compute the consequence.
- [R] State the §200.415 certification requirement and who signs.
Module 6
6
1 lesson · 10 h
- Locked.MTDC and base mechanics10 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [A] Compute an MTDC base from a complete budget and from an actual ledger.
- [A] Apply the $50,000 per subaward rule correctly across multiple subawards and multiple budget periods.
- [R] List every MTDC exclusion.
- [A] Classify a purchase as equipment or supply using the lesser of the institution's capitalisation level or $10,000.
- [A] Derive the allowable direct cost from a total award ceiling (the "backing in" computation) and verify it.
- [An] Detect a double recovery where a cost appears both as a direct charge and inside an F&A pool.
- [A] Reconcile budgeted to actual F&A recovery and explain the variance.
Module 7
7
1 lesson · 8 h
- Locked.Compensation, institutional base salary and salary caps8 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [R] State the §200.430(i)(2) definition of institutional base salary.
- [A] Compute the salary chargeable to an award from IBS and a committed effort percentage.
- [A] Apply a salary cap and compute the capped charge, the over-the-cap component, and the cost-sharing consequence.
- [R] State that the NIH cap is imposed by the annual appropriation act at Executive Level II of the Federal Executive Schedule, and that since FY2025 it applies to indirect salaries in cost pools as well as to direct salaries.
- [A] Apply §200.430(i)(3) to a proposed intra-institutional consulting payment.
- [R] Describe fringe benefit rate construction under §200.431 and the treatment of leave.
- [An] Evaluate whether a proposed supplemental compensation arrangement is allowable.
Module 8
8
1 lesson · 12 h
- Locked.Effort and payroll certification as a system12 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [R] State all six §200.430(g) documentation criteria.
- [An] Explain why "effort reporting" is an institutional design choice and not a regulatory mandate — the phrase "effort report" does not appear in §200.430 — and identify what the regulation actually requires.
- [A] Evaluate a described certification system against each of the six criteria and identify which it fails.
- [An] Compare periodic after-the-fact effort certification, payroll certification, and system/exception-based approaches, and recommend one for a described institution with reasons.
- [A] Reconcile committed effort, charged salary and certified effort, and investigate a variance.
- [A] Remediate a certification reporting more than 100% of an individual's activity.
- [A] Determine whether a reduction in a key person's effort requires sponsor prior approval, and identify the governing provision.
- [A] Process and document a salary cost transfer that will survive audit.
- [An] Design a monitoring routine that detects certification failure before the auditor does.
Module 9
9
1 lesson · 8 h
- Locked.Service, recharge and specialized service facilities8 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [A] Determine whether an activity is a specialized service facility under §200.468, a recharge centre, or neither.
- [R] State the §200.468(b) conditions verbatim in substance: charged directly on actual usage; a schedule of rates or established methodology that does not discriminate between federal and non-federal activities; designed to recover only aggregate costs; adjusted at least biennially; accounting for over- and under-applied costs of previous periods.
- [R] State that §200.468 contains no dollar threshold and that materiality under (b)/(c) is a judgement.
- [A] Build a break-even rate from a cost base and projected volume.
- [A] Compute and carry forward a surplus or deficit.
- [An] Evaluate whether a proposed differential between internal and external user rates is defensible, and identify what the surplus from external sales must not be used for.
- [An] Detect double recovery where facility equipment also sits in the F&A equipment pool.
- [A] Treat an institutional subsidy correctly.
Module 10
10
1 lesson · 6 h
- Locked.Cost sharing and program income6 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [An] Distinguish mandatory, voluntary committed and voluntary uncommitted cost sharing, and state the accounting treatment of each.
- [An] Explain why voluntary uncommitted cost sharing must not be tracked in the accounting system, and quantify the rate consequence of getting it wrong.
- [A] Value and document a third-party in-kind contribution under §200.306.
- [A] Determine whether unrecovered indirect cost may be used as cost sharing and what approval is required.
- [A] Classify program income and apply the correct method under §200.307, including the default.
- [A] Handle program income arising after the period of performance.
Module 11
11
1 lesson · 6 h
- Locked.Unallowable cost screening at scale6 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [A] Design a screening process across a full transaction population and document it.
- [R] Identify the accounts and transaction types carrying the highest unallowable-cost risk.
- [R] State the treatment of the principal unallowables and cite the section.
- [An] Apply 48 CFR 9905.505 to determine whether an unallowable activity must still bear its allocable share of indirect cost.
- [A] Quantify a rate adjustment under §200.411 arising from unallowable costs discovered after negotiation.
- [An] Evaluate a supplied screening process and identify its blind spot.
Module 12
12
1 lesson · 5 h
- Locked.Cash management, financial reporting and closeout5 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [A] Prepare and reconcile an SF-425 Federal Financial Report.
- [A] Manage drawdowns to minimise the time between drawdown and disbursement, and reconcile cash on hand.
- [A] Compute interest on advanced federal funds and apply the retention allowance.
- [R] State the §200.328 reporting deadlines: annual reports 90 calendar days, quarterly and semi-annual 30 calendar days, final financial report 120 calendar days after the end of the period of performance, subrecipients 90 calendar days to the pass-through entity.
- [A] Manage a closeout backwards from the period-of-performance end date.
- [A] Handle a post-closeout adjustment under §200.345.
Module 13
13
1 lesson · 5 h
- Locked.Single Audit readiness and finding response5 h · Locked
On completion you will be able to
- [A] Compute federal awards expended and determine single audit applicability against the $1,000,000 threshold at §200.501(a).
- [A] Prepare a SEFA and reconcile it to the general ledger and the financial statements.
- [R] Describe §200.518 major program determination and the effect of the Research and Development cluster.
- [A] Locate the applicable Compliance Supplement part for a program.
- [An] Analyse a finding into condition, criteria, cause, effect and questioned costs, and write a corrective action plan addressing cause.
- [A] Assess §200.520 low-risk auditee eligibility and name the behaviours that preserve it.
Assessment
How the exam works
The exam is closed-book and multiple choice. Each attempt draws a fresh form to the domain weights above, so no two attempts are the same paper and no answer key circulates. The pass mark is 70% and is fixed — there is no curve, no quota and no adjustment by cohort.
Scoring is immediate. You are shown your overall result and, for every item, the option you chose, the correct option and the reasoning behind it — whether you passed or not. A failed attempt may be retaken after 90 days. The wait exists so a retake is a second attempt at the material rather than a second attempt at remembering the paper.
Forms are assembled to the blueprint above or not at all: where a domain cannot yet be sampled to that standard, the exam declines to start rather than issue an unbalanced paper. Your material and progress are never affected, and there is no time limit on when you sit.
Passing candidates are issued a certificate with a verification code. Anyone can check that code on our public verification page without an account and without contacting us.
Certifying authority
Signed by Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, MD
CASRAI’s certification programme is academically and medically directed by Dr. Diana Nieves Castro, MD, Programme Director, who sets the syllabus and blueprint for this credential and signs every certificate issued under it.
CASRAI has maintained the terminology and reporting standards of research administration for over a decade. It assumed leadership of the CRediT contributor-roles taxonomy in 2014 and carried it through to adoption as ANSI/NISO Z39.104-2022, now in use by publishers, funders and institutions worldwide. This examination is drawn from that body of work.
What the credential certifies: that its holder passed the CASRAI examination for this course on the date shown, scored against the blueprint and pass mark published above — verifiable by anyone, permanently, from the code on its face.
