The bonus payment issue is obviously a sensitive one around the country.
For those of us who deal with private practioners who are not compensated
as faculty members, it is a political problem and a legal problem.
However the question I understood Rebecca to ask was aimed at applying
IDC to the payment.  Our position is that it is applied.  We must account
for the payments; we are liable for the execution of the study; and we must
make the appropriate reports to IRS and FDA on the conduct of the study.
All of this requires overhead expense.  As it is, we do not collect a
fully loaded indirect cost rate on these studies.

Any payment to a prinicipal investigator is income and should be treated
as such.  A bonus is no different to the IRS than a salary. Of the auditors
that I have dealt with, they would see this no differently and would ask
why the special treatment had occurred.

Lynn Gibson
Baylor Research Institute
Dallas, Texas
xxxxxx@baylordallas.edu