Salary certification is completed electronically through eDACCA (Distribution by ACCount)—a tool in SAP Payroll that allows Directors, Administration and Finance (DAFs) and Principal Investigators (PIs) to review monthly and quarterly salary reports and certify quarterly reports in order to comply with Financial Review and Control and Payroll Certification policies. The eDACCA application replaces the paper DACCA in the Legacy Payroll System.
Review preliminary Quarterly eDACCA
  • Each quarterly eDACCA must be certified by an appropriate individual, which MIT defines as an “an individual with direct knowledge of the work performed.” Electronic certification must be performed by either:
    • eDACCA Certifier: An individual with direct knowledge of the work performed (usually the cost object supervisor). No supporting documentation is required when the Certifier certifies the Quarterly eDACCA.
    • eDACCA Administrator: An individual who is authorized to electronically certify the Quarterly eDACCA by proxy, and who is responsible for retaining supporting documentation signed by the certifier.
  • If a DLC administrator needs to make changes to salary distribution for weekly and semimonthly paid employees and students, the administrator should use the electronic Salary Distribution System (eSDS).
  • The individual certifying the quarterly eDACCA is responsible for reviewing and confirming that changes reflected on the quarterly eDACCA were made in eSDS prior to certification. The DLC administrator keeps the signed quarterly eDACCA on which the certifier or cost object supervisor has indicated changes on file. The eDACCA certifier or eDACCA administrator can create a PDF of the eDACCA by printing to Adobe PDF from the eDACCA web page. The PDF can be electronically annotated/signed by the certifier using Adobe Acrobat. The edited PDF file then can be saved electronically in a shared drive or LAN folder or printed out and filed by the administrator as back-up documentation.
Review Monthly eDACCA (eDACCA Certifier)

VPF strongly encourages a monthly review of salary expenses by DLCs as outlined in MIT's Financial Review and Control (FRC) procedures.

Monthly eDACCAs list all of the payroll activity for the month for a particular cost object. The review should include identifying any salaries posted to suspense and performing a timely transfer of those salaries to appropriate cost objects. The eDACCA is available in Atlas where you can enter changes to your payroll using the electronic Salary Distribution System (eSDS). Refer to the HR/Payroll Cutoff Schedule for Calendar Year 2022 in the related links below.

  • The certifier, who has direct knowledge of those working on the project, indicates any changes in salary distribution, including additions or deletions of individuals, and alerts the DLC administrator to changes that need to be made.
  • The DLC administrator makes the changes in eSDS as the monthly eDACCAs are reviewed.
  • For example, during the period October 1 through December 31—for the first quarter eDACCA— the DLC administrator electronically certifies the quarterly eDACCA as the proxy. The individual certifying the quarterly eDACCA is responsible for reviewing and confirming that changes reflected on the monthly eDACCAs were made in eSDS prior to certification.
  • The DLC administrator keeps the signed monthly eDACCAs on which the certifier/cost object supervisor has indicated changes on file. The DLC administrator does not distribute the quarterly eDACCA to the certifier or cost object supervisor.
Email backup for certification by proxy
  • There may be times when the certifier is not in close proximity to the proxy and approval to certify by proxy is needed urgently to meet quarterly certification guidelines. In these instances—and on an exception basis—an email from the certifier to the proxy may be used as backup to support proxy certification.
  • When email is used as backup, be sure to include the following wording: “Regarding Q1 (or Q2, Q3, Q4) eDACCA for cost object 1234567, I have reviewed the information contained in the eDACCA. I certify the charges are correct, with any exceptions communicated to my DLC administrator, in accordance with the Institute’s certification policies.”
  • Alternately, the certifier can sign and date the eDACCA and email a scanned electronic version of the signed eDACCA to the proxy.
Retain documents to support certification
  • Be sure the backup that supports certification by proxy is easily retrievable for audit purposes.
  • File documentation for all DLC cost objects together rather than within individual cost object or supervisor files.
  • Be sure that electronic backup to support proxy certification is easily retrievable for audit purposes. You must collect and retain this documentation in an electronic format, such as on a server that is regularly backed up, or retain printed versions of appropriate documentation with original signed eDACCA files.
  • Review MIT's Financial Record Retention Policy.

The Details

Review preliminary Quarterly eDACCA
  • Each quarterly eDACCA must be certified by an appropriate individual, which MIT defines as an “an individual with direct knowledge of the work performed.” Electronic certification must be performed by either:
    • eDACCA Certifier: An individual with direct knowledge of the work performed (usually the cost object supervisor). No supporting documentation is required when the Certifier certifies the Quarterly eDACCA.
    • eDACCA Administrator: An individual who is authorized to electronically certify the Quarterly eDACCA by proxy, and who is responsible for retaining supporting documentation signed by the certifier.
  • If a DLC administrator needs to make changes to salary distribution for weekly and semimonthly paid employees and students, the administrator should use the electronic Salary Distribution System (eSDS).
  • The individual certifying the quarterly eDACCA is responsible for reviewing and confirming that changes reflected on the quarterly eDACCA were made in eSDS prior to certification. The DLC administrator keeps the signed quarterly eDACCA on which the certifier or cost object supervisor has indicated changes on file. The eDACCA certifier or eDACCA administrator can create a PDF of the eDACCA by printing to Adobe PDF from the eDACCA web page. The PDF can be electronically annotated/signed by the certifier using Adobe Acrobat. The edited PDF file then can be saved electronically in a shared drive or LAN folder or printed out and filed by the administrator as back-up documentation.
Review Monthly eDACCA (eDACCA Certifier)

VPF strongly encourages a monthly review of salary expenses by DLCs as outlined in MIT's Financial Review and Control (FRC) procedures.

Monthly eDACCAs list all of the payroll activity for the month for a particular cost object. The review should include identifying any salaries posted to suspense and performing a timely transfer of those salaries to appropriate cost objects. The eDACCA is available in Atlas where you can enter changes to your payroll using the electronic Salary Distribution System (eSDS). Refer to the HR/Payroll Cutoff Schedule for Calendar Year 2022 in the related links below.

  • The certifier, who has direct knowledge of those working on the project, indicates any changes in salary distribution, including additions or deletions of individuals, and alerts the DLC administrator to changes that need to be made.
  • The DLC administrator makes the changes in eSDS as the monthly eDACCAs are reviewed.
  • For example, during the period October 1 through December 31—for the first quarter eDACCA— the DLC administrator electronically certifies the quarterly eDACCA as the proxy. The individual certifying the quarterly eDACCA is responsible for reviewing and confirming that changes reflected on the monthly eDACCAs were made in eSDS prior to certification.
  • The DLC administrator keeps the signed monthly eDACCAs on which the certifier/cost object supervisor has indicated changes on file. The DLC administrator does not distribute the quarterly eDACCA to the certifier or cost object supervisor.
Email backup for certification by proxy
  • There may be times when the certifier is not in close proximity to the proxy and approval to certify by proxy is needed urgently to meet quarterly certification guidelines. In these instances—and on an exception basis—an email from the certifier to the proxy may be used as backup to support proxy certification.
  • When email is used as backup, be sure to include the following wording: “Regarding Q1 (or Q2, Q3, Q4) eDACCA for cost object 1234567, I have reviewed the information contained in the eDACCA. I certify the charges are correct, with any exceptions communicated to my DLC administrator, in accordance with the Institute’s certification policies.”
  • Alternately, the certifier can sign and date the eDACCA and email a scanned electronic version of the signed eDACCA to the proxy.
Retain documents to support certification
  • Be sure the backup that supports certification by proxy is easily retrievable for audit purposes.
  • File documentation for all DLC cost objects together rather than within individual cost object or supervisor files.
  • Be sure that electronic backup to support proxy certification is easily retrievable for audit purposes. You must collect and retain this documentation in an electronic format, such as on a server that is regularly backed up, or retain printed versions of appropriate documentation with original signed eDACCA files.
  • Review MIT's Financial Record Retention Policy.