Accounting Month Closed for January 2022-You may now review your Management Reports in EOR

The most recent accounting month is now closed. Your Management Reports are complete and ready for your review. For most departments/units, review and approval should follow the steps outlined in this memo. Some departments/units have alternate procedures in place to accomplish review and approval. Check with your unit’s accountant and/or the liaison listed at the bottom of your Management Report if you have questions about review and approval.

To proceed, please check both your PROJECTS and ACTIVITIES.

TO MAKE CHANGES, correct errors, etc.: Contact your departmental administrator as soon as possible (e.g. to prevent delay in posting your changes, please do not wait for the PAR forms).

MARK the Projects/Activities you have reviewed. (This does not necessarily indicate the transactions are correct, only that you reviewed them). There are only two approved methods to indicate Evidence of Review, and both are completed using the EOR web application

  1. Select reviewed activities/projects, and click button “Mark Reviewed,”
  2. Select reviewed activities/projects, and click button “Indicate Review PDF.”

Either action leaves a data indicator that review is complete. Signed review PDFs should be retained in your files for as long as you retain other Management Report documentation.

A new Guideline has been published to offer clarification to Policy 3-003: Authorizations and Approvals Required for Financial Transactions.

This Guideline is meant to improve internal controls across campus as it outlines:

  1. Account Executives (AEs) and PIs remain primarily responsible for monthly review of their Management Report and submission of EOR (Evidence of Review) – even if they have chosen to delegate this authority.
  2. This responsibility cannot be delegated to an individual who also has the authority to initiate financial transactions.
  3. GFA (Granting Financial Authority) is an application found on CIS that has been recently enhanced to allow AEs and PIs to make separate delegations for financial transaction approval and Management Report Review. (Follow these instructions to delegate authority)

Review and approval of these monthly reports is a key element in the University’s system of internal controls, and is further explained in University Policy 3-003, Authorizations and Approvals Required for Financial Transactions. – See Section III.F.

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January 2022 BPAG Minutes Are Available

The BPAG minutes from the January 14, 2022 BPAG meeting are now available on the Financial Services Technology Support website.

January 2022 Meeting Minutes

  • Concur, Jagger Review
  • Website Redesign
  • Kronos (UKG)
  • W-2
  • Changes to Surplus & Salvage Schedule of Percentages
  • New Gift Card Procedure
  • OneU Updates

To learn more about BPAG, click here.

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KN95 Masks Available

Thanks to a decision by University Administration, General Stores has KN95 masks available at no charge to University Departments and Clinics.

These are currently on a weekly allocation at five (5) boxes of 50 individually wrapped masks per department. More are expected next week and allocations will increase. All no-charge items are available for will-call or for delivery with any purchase.

980280 – Mask, KN95, Earloop, 50/Box, Individually Wrapped.

Place an order through General Stores by either:
Calling – 801-581-8671
Emailing – csr@stores.utah.edu
Visiting – https://finance.apps.utah.edu/uofu/fin/stores/

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Gift Card Purchases and Requirements

The University has created a Gift Card Procedure surrounding the purchase and control of gift cards purchased by campus and hospital departments.

P3-100D Gift Card Purchases and Requirements is effective January 15, 2022 and can be found in the Regulations Library. This Procedure has been created to outline the approvals and controls that must be in place when gift cards are purchased. This Procedure applies to all academic and administrative units of the University and to all methods used when purchasing gift cards. 

Gift cards may not be purchased using personal funds, and will NOT be eligible for reimbursement in ePR, so gift cards MUST be purchased using PCards or UShop. 

Procurement and Contracting Services has also created a number of forms to be used when these purchases occur, as well as documents describing the procedures departments should follow. These documents can be found here.

If you have any questions, please contact:

PCardpcard@purchasing.utah.edu | 801-587-7859

UShopushop@utah.edu | 801-585-2255

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Accounting Month Closed for December 2021-You may now review your Management Reports in EOR

The most recent accounting month is now closed. Your Management Reports are complete and ready for your review. For most departments/units, review and approval should follow the steps outlined in this memo. Some departments/units have alternate procedures in place to accomplish review and approval. Check with your unit’s accountant and/or the liaison listed at the bottom of your Management Report if you have questions about review and approval.

To proceed, please check both your PROJECTS and ACTIVITIES.

TO MAKE CHANGES, correct errors, etc.: Contact your departmental administrator as soon as possible (e.g. to prevent delay in posting your changes, please do not wait for the PAR forms).

MARK the Projects/Activities you have reviewed. (This does not necessarily indicate the transactions are correct, only that you reviewed them). There are only two approved methods to indicate Evidence of Review, and both are completed using the EOR web application

  1. Select reviewed activities/projects, and click button “Mark Reviewed,”
  2. Select reviewed activities/projects, and click button “Indicate Review PDF.”

Either action leaves a data indicator that review is complete. Signed review PDFs should be retained in your files for as long as you retain other Management Report documentation.

A new Guideline has been published to offer clarification to Policy 3-003: Authorizations and Approvals Required for Financial Transactions.

This Guideline is meant to improve internal controls across campus as it outlines:

  1. Account Executives (AEs) and PIs remain primarily responsible for monthly review of their Management Report and submission of EOR (Evidence of Review) – even if they have chosen to delegate this authority.
  2. This responsibility cannot be delegated to an individual who also has the authority to initiate financial transactions.
  3. GFA (Granting Financial Authority) is an application found on CIS that has been recently enhanced to allow AEs and PIs to make separate delegations for financial transaction approval and Management Report Review. (Follow these instructions to delegate authority)

Review and approval of these monthly reports is a key element in the University’s system of internal controls, and is further explained in University Policy 3-003, Authorizations and Approvals Required for Financial Transactions. – See Section III.F.

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Travel & Reimbursement Services Holiday Hours

During the Winter Break ALP days – December 28th and 29th – Travel Agents will be available from 8am to 5pm to help with your travel needs. During those hours, please call 587-9005 for assistance. If it is after hours, please call the Christopherson Business Travel After Hours Assistance line at 1-888-739-7011.

Travel Services (non-travel agents) will be closed from Dec 24, 2021 through January 2, 2022.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding travel, please contact us at 581-7142 or travel_questions@utah.edu before December 24.

CBT Agency business hours are Monday–Friday 8am to 5pm. Please call CBT After Hours during the weekends, holiday, or U closure days for help with existing reservations or help with a new reservation with an approved Request ID. 

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

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Purchasing and UShop Winter Break Notice

During the campus closure from December 24, 2021 through January 2, 2022, please note the following applying to Purchasing, UShop, Contract Management, and PCard:

    • UShop punch-out/catalog purchases, PCard transactions, and other non-restricted transactions under the small purchase threshold ($5,000) can still be made/processed with the appropriate departmental approval(s) during the holiday closure period.
    • If you have not already initiated a procurement process for a transaction required to be ordered prior to the end of the year, we strongly recommend you contact the appropriate buyer as soon as possible to discuss your procurement need.  
    • During this closure, staff will generally not be available by email or phone.  For urgent procurement matters arising during this closure, please call or email Terri O’Toole at 801-581-8992 or totoole@purchasing.utah.edu

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

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Payments and Processing During Campus Closure

With the recent announcement that the University will close the full week of December 27-31, we want to reach out to communicate the impacts this has on payments and payment processing.

  • Non-urgent payments should be submitted as usual but please consider that our processing time requires up to 10 business days.
  • Payments that must be released prior to the end of the year should be submitted as soon as possible and probably with expedited processing.
    • Next-day service will require submission before 1:00 on December 22nd.
    • Same-day service will require submission before 1:00 on December 23rd.

Please remember that the processing clock starts when a request is received by Accounts Payable with:

  • complete documentation
  • all departmental and administrative approvals complete
  • and, if applicable, a chartfield for expedite fees.

Feel free to contact our office if you have any questions or concerns. We wish you all a safe, relaxing, and fun-filled winter break!

Email:  ap@admin.utah.edu

Phone:  (801) 581-6976

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Sigma-Aldrich – Contract Renewed!

We are pleased to announce that Sigma-Aldrich has returned to UShop as a contracted supplier! This means that when you place orders in UShop for Sigma-Aldrich, the contract is already applied and your orders proceed up to $50,000, and also include completely electronic processing. This punch-out also includes electronic invoicing, meaning the invoicing is already taken care of for you, so no need to forward invoices to Accounts Payable for processing.

Please reach out to ushop@utah.edu with any questions. 

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Purchasing Update – October 2021

The Utah procurement code has undergone several changes during the past few years, which have been communicated in BPAG meetings and in transactional situations where applicable. Since some of the code changes require updates to University procurement policy and rules, that effort is underway. We anticipate the policy review/approval process may take several weeks. 

Policy changes are primarily in three categories:  1. Updates to match current statutes;  2. Clean-up since the last changes in 2013;  3. Reductions and simplifications, where possible.

In cases where university policy is currently outdated as compared to Utah code, Purchasing is following the code statutes as required by law.  Examples include:

  1. Simplifications to the request for proposals (RFP) process, which include streamlining the “intent to award notice” and eliminating a “cost-benefit analysis”.
  1. Emergency procurements – public posting is now required, similar to sole source or solicitation postings. 30-day completion of work requirement.
  1. Restrictions and the exception process for equipment leasing – equipment leasing is generally prohibited, but an exception process is articulated.

With questions regarding this update, please feel free to contact Glendon Mitchell, Sr. Director of Procurement and Contracting services at gmitchell@purchasing.utah.edu or a member of the Purchasing team at 801-581-7241.

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