june 2015 fiscal news
DESCRIPTION
CU-Boulder CCO Fiscal NewsTRANSCRIPT
In This Issue
CA
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PUS CONTROLLER’S OFFICE presen
ts FI$CAL NEWS
Area Accounting | Sponsored Projects Accounting | Central Operations
Cost Accounting | Technical Operations
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Fiscal Year End is Here!
Fiscal Year-End Town Halls - June 3
NCURA DRA Workshop Opens the Door for Further Discussions
Help Reduce the Number of ATFs
Procurement Card - Potential Loss of Privilege
Elevate FIN Upgrade
Property Disposal Training
PeopleSoft Finance System Training
Summer Salary: the NSF Two-Month Rule
External Sales and Service Billing and Accounts Receivable
Meet the Team: CCO/SPA’s Compliance Cost Share Team
JUNE 2015
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Campus Controller’s Office www.colorado.edu/controller2 3
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• Finance System campus close for May 2015 – 6:00 pm
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• May allocations run and Finance System closes
• All unposted May Journals will be deleted starting at 10:00 am - copy them into the next period
• Reminder: please do not create, validate, or approve May JEs and PETs after 6:00 pm
• Check for unposted May Journals to correct, approve or delete
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JUNE 2015
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JUNE - JULY 2015
FOR REMAINING DEADLINES AND KEY DATES FOR JUNE 2015 AND JULY 2015 - DURING FISCAL YEAR END (FYE) - PLEASE SEE THE FISCAL YEAR END MEMO
AND CALENDAR ON THE CCO WEBSITE’S FYE PAGE:http://www.colorado.edu/controller/fye-2015-0
Campus Controller’s Office4 www.colorado.edu/controller 5
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Date/Deadline ActivityFriday, June 19 To ensure posting/payment in FY 2015, this is
the last day to submit PA/SSP/NR forms and PO Invoices, and to approve PVs - 6 PM
Tuesday, June 23 To ensure posting/payment in FY 2015, this is the last day to provide campus approval for employee travel/expense reimbursements in Concur - 6 PM
Thursday, June 25 To ensure posting/payment in FY 2015, this is the last day to provide campus approval for Procurement Card expense reports - 6 PM
Friday, June 26 Fund 30, 31 and 34 JE deadline for 1st Preliminary Close - Noon
Monday, July 6 1st Preliminary Campus Close - 6 PMThursday, July 9 Final PET cut-off - NoonFriday, July 10 Fund 30, 31 and 34 JE deadline for 2nd
Preliminary Close - NoonMonday, July 13 2nd Preliminary Campus Close - 6 PMThursday, July 16 Fund 30, 31 and 34 JE deadline for Final Close
- Noon
Departmental Close for FY2015 - 6 PM
Departments should have all FY2015 transactions recorded by this date. Begin reporting errors over $10K to CCO.
Questions?Please contact your Area Accountant. For more information on FYE closing activities, visit CCO’s FYE 2015 webpage.
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CCO UPDATESJoin CCO as we kick-off Fiscal Year End with our annual year-end Town Halls!
Attend either session to learn what’s new for this year and which essential accounting tasks and processes must be completed in order to close out your FY2015 books.
You do not need to attend both sessions. Town Halls will be held in Hale Science Building, Room 270.
Fiscal Year End Town Halls - June 3
We need your help to reduce the number of ATFs we process on the Boulder Campus each month.
Please review CCO’s April newsletter for details such as why an ATF may not be approved, and how you might be personally liable for the expense or required to return the purchase if it is not approved.
If you have questions regarding a purchase, please contact the appropriate PSC Purchasing Agent by Commodity Listing for assistance.
Help Reduce the Number of After-the-Fact (ATF) Purchases
Date: June 3, 2015
Morning Session: 10:00 - Noon, orAfternoon Session: 1:30 - 3:30 PM
Location: Hale, Room 270 - Map to Hale
Please RSVP and indicate if you plan to attend the morning or afternoon session:[email protected]
June 30, 2015 marks the end of CU’s fiscal year. During this time, CCO works with departments to prioritize year-end responsibilities and ensure expenses and revenues have been recorded to the appropriate SpeedType and in the appropriate fiscal year.
Fiscal year end (FYE) is important for many reasons: accurate reports are essential for decision-making by departments, sponsors, donors, administration, and external stakeholders; audit findings can impact funding levels and our reputation, both of which are based in part on our abilty to maintain clean, transparent financial records.
In order to assist you in completing the tasks and daily activities necessary to properly and accurately close Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, CCO and the Office of University Controller (OUC) have created several helpful resources:
FYE Departmental Memo and CalendarAnnually, CCO develops the year-end Departmental Memo. This robust resource is designed to guide you through the daily activities you must complete in order to have a successful year-end closing. It includes Boulder-specific dates and deadlines, as well as pertinent information and the master departmental calendar. Keep in mind, some dates may be earlier than deadlines noted on the System calendar. This is to allow sufficient time for the campus central offices (CCO, PBA, OCM, etc.), to complete the remaining year-end responsibilities for the campus.
The Memo, and all of the year-end information is available on CCO’s website.
FYE 2015 InfoPacket for Departments Provided by the OUC and the Procurement Service Center (PSC), the InfoPacket is comprised of several related sets of instructions that identify processing deadlines for purchasing and payables, and also show sample year-end transactions on financial statements.
Fiscal Year End Town HallsCCO and the Procurement Service Center (PSC) will provide an overview of the year-end process at two Town Halls on June 3. See the call-out box on the next page for details.
Key Deadlines This chart contains a few of the most critical fiscal year-end deadlines. The comprehensive calendar runs from June through August and is part of the FYE Departmental Memo, which was distributed May 28.
Fiscal Year-End is Here!
Eighty CU-Boulder research administrators from across all colleges, research institutes, the Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) and Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) attended the NCURA workshop “What Department Administrators Need to Know About Research Administration.” This two-and-a-half day workshop was hosted by OCG and SPA and opened the door to future discussions and idea-sharing between these groups.
The workshop examined the foundations of research administration in the context of departmental administration. The program focused on applying best practices to a department administrator’s day-to-day activities and learning about the entire lifecycle of an award.
Topics included:• The unique role of the departmental research
administrator• Discussion of the prior OMB Circulars A-21, A-110 and
A-133 and Uniform Guidance • Tools for successful department administration• Pre-Award administration• Management of the award• Compliance issues• Close-outs• Audits
The workshop was taught by NCURA faculty who shared their real-life experiences.
The faculty for the CU-Boulder workshop were:• Samantha Westcott, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles• Jennifer Shambrook, University of Central Florida• Diane Meyer, Iowa State University
http://www.ncura.edu/Education/TravelingWorkshops/DepartmentalResearchAdministration.aspx
Next StepsOCG, SPA and departmental representatives will review comments from the workshop to determine topics for additional discussion.
NCURA DRA Workshop Opens the Door for Further Discussions
Campus Controller’s Office6 7www.colorado.edu/controller
&TrainingEvEnTs
Join us for PeopleSoft Finance System Training. This course covers basic information on fund accounting, budget theory and how to access and use the system. This includes navigation, Chartfields, reporting and journal entries (JEs).
This month’s class will be hosted on June 9 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Classes are held on the East Campus - Marine Street Science Center (MSSC), located at 3125 Marine Street, Room W179.
To register, please email: [email protected]
PeopleSoft Finance System Training is June 9
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Overall StatusOur current status is green and our go-live date is scheduled for November 10. We are in the testing phase. The next round of testing, which will begin soon, will include testing coordinators and SMEs.
The System team continues to hold small working sessions through September.
TestingPreliminary testing has been completed.
• The System team completed Test Move 2 on April 15 and SMEs should have access to the latest environment
• Test Move 2 provides more functionality and allows for more testing; it is also more structured and could require additional feedback from the testers
If you would like to become a testing coordinator or be involved in the next round of testing, please contact Laura Snyder.
Integrations TestingPlease keep in mind all shadow systems, integrations and portals with connections to the CIW will need to be tested.
The CIW will be ready for shadow system/integrations testing around July 1. This applies to all CIW tables except the Projects_CU table. We will notify you once this table is available.
Elevate FIN UpgradeTrainingPS FIN training is in development:• SME training for new functionality will
begin soon• The OUC team is developing the
training plan for end user training• End user training will begin in August
ODBC• There will be no impact to ODBC
access at go-live, and• Everyone will maintain current access Reporting Strategy and MatrixThe System team developed and delivered a reporting strategy and matrix. This is a comprehensive review of the reporting options and best practices.
We are in the process of assessing campus-wide needs to determine where gaps in reporting exist and options to augment our current reporting tools.
PSLite to m-Fin CrosswalkThe PSLite to m-Fin Crosswalk documentation has been published and the training schedule has been established. Crosswalk documentation is available at: http://www.cu.edu/controller/reporting-system > click on the PSLite tab.
In-person training will be available the 3rd Thursday of every month from May through November (except July). This interactive training offers an opportunity to learn about
the m-Fin platform, discuss tips and tricks and understand the Crosswalk in more detail. The session will allow plenty of time to answer questions from participants.
For the complete training schedule, and Drop in Dates with the m-Fin Team, visit:http://www.colorado.edu/controller/calendar > Select the PSLite to m-Fin Crosswalk tab. Project WebsiteVisit the Elevate website for valuable information regarding the project: http://www.cu.edu/elevate For More Information, Contact [email protected] at 303.492.1842.
Procurement Card - Potential Loss of Privilege “The Procurement Card is a VISA card, issued by US Bank and used by University of Colorado staff, faculty, students, and affiliates to purchase small-dollar items (up to $5,000) for University use. The authorized cardholder is able to purchase directly on behalf of CU, thereby allowing tax-exempt use. Transactions are paid directly by the University to the bank. Use of the Procurement Card is governed by the Procurement Card Handbook.” (See https://www.cu.edu/psc/procurement-card-1.)
The Procurement Card Handbook clearly defines the role of a cardholder: https://www.cu.edu/psc/procurement-card-handbook/roles-and-responsibilities.
Cardholders are responsible for:• Completing required Procurement Card Cardholder
training and certification, Fiscal Code of Ethics training, and Procurement - Purchasing and Contract Management training;
• Ensuring that the policies of the Commercial Card Program are followed, as well as other university policies, state fiscal and procurement rules, and the Procurement Code of Ethics;
• Obtaining the documentation required for their transactions;
• Submitting the monthly expense report;• Protecting the card at all times to prevent unauthorized
use, and not sharing or authorizing others to use the card;• Immediately reporting a lost or stolen card to the bank.
The University is liable for all charges incurred on a lost or stolen card until the time that it is reported as such to the bank. However, fraudulent charges can and should be disputed. If the bank is able to recover fraudulent charges, monies will be credited to the Cardholder’s account; and,
• Notifying the Commercial Card Program and the Approving Official of transfer or termination.
Cardholders can lose their privileges for six months if they repeatedly fail to comply with the rules, regulations and responsibilities set forth in the Procurement Card Handbook.
This loss of privilege occurs when a cardholder:• Fails to properly comply with the rules, and• Has accumulated 150 violation points within 24 months.
Repeat violators on the CU-Boulder Campus may lose their privileges permanently if they have received three suspensions.
What constitutes a violation? • Accepting cash as credit for the return of an item• Purchasing gift cards outside of the guidelines contained
in the PSC Procedural Statement: Gift Cards• Failure to provide the required receipt or sufficient
documentation within 30 days of the transaction date• Inappropriate purchases• Liquor store purchases• Using a Procurement Card to purchase items otherwise
covered by a mandatory price agreement. Refer to the Commodity Listing for a list of goods and services covered by such agreements.
• Personal purchases • Phone cards/long distance and pay-phone calls• Pre-paid parking or meter keys• Split purchases – a purchase in which you split the
transaction into two parts in order to circumvent the Procurement Card limits
• Tax on purchases• Travel and travel-related expenses• Unallowable sponsored project purchases• Un-submitted transactions – those that are not
submitted to an Approving Official within 30 days of the transaction date.
For complete descriptions, please visit: https://www.cu.edu/psc/procurement-card-handbook/violations-and-prohibited-transactions.
Violation PointsPSC Commercial Card Administration will issue 50 points to the Cardholder for each of the following types of Procurement Card violations.• Cash Transactions• Contracts without an Authorized Signature• Inappropriate Purchases• Personal Purchases (Card Abuse/Employee Fraud)• Phone Cards/Long-Distance and Pay-Phone Calls• Pre-Paid Parking and Meter Keys• Sharing the Card• Split Purchases• Travel and Related Expenses• Unallowable Sponsored Project Purchases
Other violations may only warrant a warning unless chronic abuse is noted by the Commercial Card Administration. If chronic abuse is noted, violation points will be issued. The PSC Commercial Card Administration will use their discretion to determine whether chronic abuse exists and how many violation points will be issued. In severe cases, cards made be immediately suspended or revoked.• Cardholders with 150 or more violation points will have
their cards suspended for a period of six months and will be required to complete Procurement Card Cardholder training before their cards can be reinstated.
• Cardholder points will be eliminated 2 years after the points were assessed.
• Violation points will remain in effect even if the Cardholder transfers to a different department.
See https://www.cu.edu/psc/procurement-card-handbook/violations-and-prohibited-transactions.
Loss of Procurement Card Privilege on the CU-Boulder CampusCU-Boulder Campus cardholders whose Procurement Card has been suspended for the third time may lose their Procurement Card privileges permanently. The decision whether to terminate a cardholder’s privileges will be made by the Campus Controller based on the circumstances of each case.
Property Disposal Trainingis June 5
In Module 2 of the Departmental Property Managers (DPM) Certificate Training, learn how to properly dispose of your department’s surplus property. Discover your options: disposals, trade-ins, donations, transfers, etc. Learn how to create disposal requests and how to maintain your department profile. Completion of all three sessions leads to a DPM Certificate.
Join us: Friday, June 5, 2015 - 9:00 - 11:30 AM. Classes are held on the East Campus - Marine Street Science Center (MSSC), located at 3125 Marine Street, Room W179.
Register by email: [email protected].
Questions? Contact: Jack Brubaker at 303.492.7207 or Jilliandra Michko at 303.492.6324.
For more information, visit: http://www.colorado.edu/property/
Campus Controller’s Office8 9www.colorado.edu/controller
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MEET ThE TEaM
Cost Share Accounting is one of three Sponsored Project Accounting (SPA) functions under the SPA Compliance umbrella, along with Cost Transfers and ePERs. “Cost share” refers to the portion of a project that is not borne by the sponsor. Sometimes, the sponsor requires or CU commits in a proposal resources beyond those awarded by the sponsoring agency of a grant or contract. If a federal sponsor requires the cost share, the remaining financial obligation must be met using non-federal funds. This may be a fixed dollar amount, a percentage of project costs or a commitment of a specific level of effort or work performed. This is often referred to as matching and the funds for the cost share should be spent at the same rate as the amount provided by the sponsor.
Cost sharing must occur within the approved project period and expenses must be considered allowable by the sponsor. Federal sponsors, for example, typically do not allow entertainment costs to be paid on Federal grants. Therefore, cost share dollars may not be used to pay for entertainment costs either.
The expenses must be allocable to the project. This means the expenses incurred as cost sharing must directly benefit the sponsor’s project and not some other activity.
Unrecovered Facilities and Administrative (F&A indirect) costs may be used as cost sharing, though only if approved by the sponsor. If the university approves a reduction in the F&A rate that would normally be charged to the sponsor, the sponsor is still required to approve the use of any waived F&A as cost sharing.
Other sources of cost sharing may include faculty time and effort, non-CU Boulder personnel effort or third-party cost sharing through a subrecipient or other collaborating entity.
In order to help you manage your cost share efforts, CCO’s SPA Cost Share Accountants assist with the following:
• Review cost share to ensure CU-Boulder is in compliance with federal statutes, regulations, CU policies and procedures, and terms and conditions of the award
• Monitor all cost share committments• Help to determine if charges are allowable, allocable and reasonable• Create cost share reports for federal and state agencies, and• Provide certifications as necessary for invoicing
For more information, visit the CCO website: http://www.colorado.edu/controller/about-us/sponsored-projects-accounting/compliance/cost-share
Campus Controller’s Office Sponsored Projects Accounting’s (SPA’s) Compliance - Cost Share Team
External Sales and Service Billing and Accounts ReceivableWhen handling external sales and service activities (ESA), keep in mind that the unit accepts a stronger role as the business manager in place of the role OCG and SPA play in sponsored projects. The requirements are not eliminated, but the responsible party changes. The unit handling such activities should have established procedures to support compliance including:
• Written and established internal controls to include adequate separation of duties when performing a fiscal transaction. At least two individuals should be involved with every transaction to ensure adequate review for accuracy and reduction of the risk of impropriety. For example, the same personnel cannot both accept payments and deposit payments
• Written procedures for administering accounts receivables and training staff
When engaging in an ESA with an outside organization, consider the following:
• Every interaction with an external customer affects the reputation and development of both the university’s and unit’s relationship with that customer
• Assess collection risk and determine payment terms to match, including taking advance payments
• Invoice promptly and according to identified invoicing terms. Companies, especially smaller companies, often have funds available during the expected invoicing period; however, those funds may be spent elsewhere if invoicing is not submitted promptly. Additionally, companies may not process invoices if invoicing terms are incorrect. Both situtations could cause a time delay in receipt of payment,
a possible deficit in the SpeedType, or the department may need to pursue collections if the invoice is not paid
• Document any contact with the customer, particularly when invoicing, notifying the customer of upcoming due dates, or sending late notices. In the documentation, include: who was contacted, how they were contacted (email, phone, etc.), and any response essential to verfiy due diligence in collection of payment. If the payment is still not received within 30 days following the due date, initiate collection processing
• The unit is responsible for notifying and managing collections through required processes established by the State of Colorado’s Fiscal Procedures.
• If sales tax is applicable, include as a separate line item on the invoice. Then follow established sales tax reporting requirements to CCO
• If shipping expenses are allowable per negotiated terms, include this line item separately on the invoice
• Revenue and accounts receivable must be recorded at the time of invoicing following all established accounting procedures and guidelines
Units are encouraged to use PeopleSoft’s Billing and Receivable’s module. This can assist with consistent invoicing and appropriate accounting, and offers reports such as aging by customer and customer activity.
Contact the Office of Industry Collaboration for further information.
To read more about accounts receivable and collections for the Boulder Campus, please refer to the Guide, Chapter 12.
Summer Salary: the NSF Two-Month RuleThe National Science Foundation (NSF) recently released two audit reports finding that two universities violated its policy limiting summer salary. In both cases, the universities have been asked to repay more than $1 million. In order to protect CU-Boulder’s interests, please make sure faculty members who are being paid summer salaries from NSF grants are aware of the following NSF rules: • Faculty paid from a single NSF grant over the summer may not exceed more than two months of pay unless explicit approval has
been given by the cognizant NSF official. In particular, faculty should not re-budget to pay themselves additional summer salary which would exceed two months’ worth of salary.
• Faculty paid from multiple NSF grants should not re-budget to pay themselves additional summer salary. The total amount of summer salary paid from all NSF grant sources should not exceed two months unless explicitly approved by NSF.
Note: The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the NSF is stating explicitly: inclusion of summer salary in the list of current and pending support is insufficient to document program officer approval of additional pay. The request to exceed two months must be included in the budget support documentation and specifically approved by NSF in the award notice. Also, the OIG is stating that the FAQ on re-budgeting is not relevant where summer salary is concerned. The FAQ is not considered to be authoritative guidance and does not overrule the Award and Administrative Guidelines.
Both universities are appealing the findings; however, moving forward CU-Boulder’s procedures for summer pay should continue to follow the audit guidelines. Questions related to NSF’s two-month maximum for summer salary should be directed to Denitta Ward, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research & Director, Office of Contracts and Grants, at [email protected] or 303.735.6624.
Campus Controller’s Office3100 Marine Street, 4th Floor, 579 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0579
phone 303.492.3166
email [email protected]
web http://www.colorado.edu/controller