Updated PeopleSoft Grants Implementation Information

Posted November 21, 2012 in Accounts Payable, Grants and Contracts Accounting, Travel and tagged , , .

Prepare for PeopleSoft Down-time…

Refer to Financial Changes Coming for:

  • The latest information for anticipated downtime…
  • FS services affected by Grants related upgrades...
  • Other information you may need to STAY IN THE KNOW…

Ask UsPlease ASK US if you have any questions.

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Critical Information for University Expenditures

Posted November 16, 2012 in Accounts Payable and tagged , .

PeopleSoft Financials Downtime

An extensive PeopleSoft software implementation and conversion is planned which will render core PeopleSoft Financials, and associated applications, unavailable for a period.

Timing

This conversion process will commence on Monday, December 10, immediately following the close of the November accounting month. The December accounting month will not be opened until after the conversion is completed. It is anticipated that the conversion will be completed by Monday, December 17, and PeopleSoft will again be available on Tuesday, December 18. Any changes to the schedule will be communicated on the FS webpage and via FS News.

Accounts Payable:

Next Day & Same Day Deadlines

  • Dec 7: 1:00pm – Deadline for Next Day requests for December 10th availability
  • Dec 7: 12:00pm  – Deadline for Same Day requests for December 7th availability

Key Dates

  • November 30 -Scholarship & Fellowship payments released (ordinarily released on Dec 3).
  • Dec 1 – 7  – All financial transactions must use a November Accounting Date
  • Dec 8: – Final check and direct deposit production (Hold for pick-up available on the 10th)
  • Dec 10  – November Accounting Month closed, and conversion process begins
  • Dec 10 – 17  – Conversion process underway, and PeopleSoft Financials unavailable
  • Dec 18 – PeopleSoft Financials available

Unavailable Services: Dec 10 – 17

  • PeopleSoft Financials, accessed either directly or via data interface
  • AP payments, including AP Satellite offices, via either check or Direct Deposit
  • Travel payments via either check or Direct Deposit
  • Income Accounting checks
  • All Financial & Business Services Web Applications, e.g. Management Reports, Voucher and Payment Search.

Emergency Payments: Dec 10-17

  • Wire Transfer – Domestic ($20 processing fee)
  • Wire Transfer – International ($25 processing fee)
  • Special Hand Check – $50,000 limit per check- Available for payments required by law, regulation, threat of penalty, or court ordered. Request for payment must include explanation of emergency requirement as well as approved Payment Request and back up documentation. Personal reimbursements will not be processed as an emergency. These emergency requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the Manager of Accounts Payable, Perry Hull, or in cases involving travel, Kori Wetsel, Manager of Travel.

Ask UsPlease ASK US if you have any questions.

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Q1 FY 2013 Unit Market Value for Endowment Projections

Posted November 16, 2012 in Endowment & Investment Accounting, Financial Reporting and Accounting.

The ending quarter endowment pool unit market value for September 30, 2012, is $202.69 per unit. This information is necessary for Method 2 of projecting endowment income and is provided quarterly through FS News. All other factors in the instructions remain the same through the fiscal year. For detailed instructions on how to project endowment income, please click here. The instructions are available there now for fiscal year 2012-2013.

Ask Us a Question If you have any questions or feedback just ask us!

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Key Personnel Effort and Fiscal Responsibility Reminder for Principal Investigators

Posted November 6, 2012 in Grants and Contracts Accounting, Management Accounting and Analysis and tagged , .

EFFORT:

Each department should ensure the appropriate level of effort of Key Personnel on projects. Key Personnel include all Principal Investigators and others specifically listed on the awarding document. Auditors of grants and contracts review Key Personnel to ensure the appropriate effort is charged as budgeted on federal awards. Normally a person’s home department has the knowledge of the amount of estimated, accumulated, and reported effort for each Key Person.

Please take the time to review the percent of effort budgeted for Key Personnel on federal awards. Key Personnel must provide effort at the level budgeted. If there is a reduction of effort for Key Personnel greater than 25% of the budgeted amount, it is necessary to obtain the appropriate approval from the awarding agency.

FSTSCAL RESPONSIBILITY:

A Project should be completed within the time and budget constraints.

Remember Monthly Management Reports should be reviewed promptly. It is the responsibility of each responsible person to review his/her monthly Management Reports. Your review (or that of your designee) MUST be documented.

A Project is to be charged with only those costs that are allowable and appropriate to the Project, following all applicable federal and state laws and University regulations, policies, and procedures.

Ask Us a QuestionIf you have questions, please contact the representative in Grants and Contracts Accounting responsible for your project.

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October Momentum Newsletter

Posted October 9, 2012 in Financial Services and tagged .

The Momentum Newsletter is published quarterly and is meant for the use and benefit of the University of Utah Campus Community.

A full printable version of this newsletter is also available to forward to your colleagues.

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AP Checks on Friday, October 5

Posted September 28, 2012 in Accounts Payable and tagged .

Due to the scheduled move of the Park Building Data Center, and the associated unavailability of Campus Information Services and PeopleSoft, special deadlines apply to expedited requests for payment received on Friday, October 5. Requests for same-day payments on Friday must be received by Accounts Payable prior to 9:45am Friday.

Ask UsPlease ASK US if you have any questions.

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Accounting Deadlines Extended Because Of Data Center Move

Posted September 27, 2012 in Financial Reporting and Accounting, Purchasing Card and tagged .

University Information Technology has announced that the Park Building Data Center will move to the new facility starting at noon Friday, Oct. 5, and finishing by 7 a.m. Monday, Oct. 8. During this time Campus Information Services will be unavailable. Financial & Business Services will extend the deadlines of:

to October 8th at 5 PM.  All other transaction deadlines, including Journal Entries, remain unchanged.  Journal Entries, including eJournal, are still due Thursday October 4, 2012. 

As always, check the Accounting Calendar for important financial dates and deadlines. The Financial & Business Services Calendar also displays these updated changes.
Ask UsPlease ASK US if you have any questions.

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Work-Study Deadline 09/30/12

Posted August 31, 2012 in Payroll and tagged .

Work-Study funded students must be placed in their first fiscal-year job no later than 09/30/12. Departments intending to employ a work-study student for the 12/13 fiscal-year must submit their Job Referral Notice (JRN) requests no later than 09/30/12. Students without a current fiscal-year JRN by 09/30/12 will lose their work-study funding and cannot be hired in the work-study program.

Payroll accounting for work-study employees must be correct by the pay period ending 09/30/12. If the payroll accounting is not correct, the student may lose their work-study funding and the employer will not be able to hire the student as a work-study employee after 09/30/12.

Please review your records for the following:

  1. You must have a current JRN. The JRN authorizes the student to work for a specific department for a specified period of time. The JRN also indicates the authorized account number that must be used in order to utilize work-study funding.
  2. The chartfield distribution on the e-PAF must include the Org ID and account number that is authorized on the JRN.
  3. Please be aware that wages charged to any ORG ID and/or account number other than those authorized on the JRN, are an indication that the student is not set up as a work-study employee. Carefully review your payroll reports. Errors not resolved with the FWS Coordinator during the subsequent pay period may cause the student to lose their work-study funding.

If you have any questions regarding this notice or about a student’s work-study status, please contact the FWS coordinator at .

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P-Card Program Update – Small Dollar Purchases

Posted August 9, 2012 in Procurement and Supply Management, Purchasing Card and tagged , .

Change in State Law:

The Utah Legislature revised the Utah Procurement Code (laws affecting the University of Utah purchasing practices) during the past legislative session. Most of the changes become effective on May 1, 2013. The Purchasing Department is working jointly with the Board of Regents, Office of General Counsel and other schools in the state to ensure that new University Policies and Procedures and those of other state institutions of higher education conform to the new state law. We will be formally communicating these changes in procedure and policy to the campus during the coming months.

A number of changes to the code involve specific and detailed language with regard to how procurements are to be carried out by state entities. One of the areas addressed in more detail by the new code specifically addresses small dollar transactions, which include P-cards as well as other methods (Limited Purchase Orders, Payment Requests, Reimbursements, etc.).

The new law includes penalties for persons who knowingly and intentionally split small dollar transactions to circumvent bidding requirements. University Rule R3-100D prohibits spitting transactions and current state law prohibits this practice.

Special Audit of Potential Split Transactions:

The Purchasing Card program at the University actively audits all cardholders at least annually. In the past, a few cardholder violations have been identified where transactions were split into one or more payments to circumvent card limits resulting in cancellation of cards or other penalties.

The University is currently conducting an audit of all P-Card (and other small dollar) transactions for the past 18 months to ensure that this practice (splitting transactions that violate bid limits or card limits) is not occurring. As questions regarding potential violations are identified, cardholders and reconcilers may be contacted to resolve these issues. Most of these contacts will be via email and it is important that any potential questions raised by P-Card auditors are resolved in a timely manner.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss an apparent splitting of a transaction that you have discovered, please contact Glendon Mitchell, Associate Director of Purchasing at 801-587-3784 or Jane Scott, P-card Manager at 801-581-6622.

As a reminder, individuals with responsibility for the monthly review of P-card holder transactions are acknowledging that expenditures were incurred for official University business and were in accordance with University policies. Thank you for your continued appropriate use of this important procurement tool and please share this information with others in your department.

If you have any questions, Ask Us! Ask Us

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New Associate Director of Grants and Contract Accounting

Posted July 30, 2012 in Controller, Grants and Contracts Accounting.

Financial & Business Services is pleased to announce that Ken Erickson is joining the Controller / Financial Management department. Effective August 1, 2012, Ken will be the Associate Director of Grants and Contract Accounting and will report directly to Laura Howat, University Controller.

Ken is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a Master of Accountancy degree in Financial Accounting and Auditing. Ken also has a Bachelor of Science degree from BYU in Accounting.

Ken has broad experience in public accounting (in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City with Deloitte Touche), in the private sector – primarily in manufacturing and aerospace (in Dallas, TX and Cleveland, OH), and in the worldwide public sector (research grants and government contracts – with the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, other U.S. agencies, and with multiple research and development entities and labs in the U.S., in Canada and in the United Kingdom).

Ken was most recently the Corporate Controller (and prior to that the Director, Internal Audit) at Corrpro Companies, Inc., in Medina, Ohio (the worldwide leader in corrosion control and engineering services).

Ken will be relocating to this area. Please join Financial & Business Services in welcoming him to the University of Utah.

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