Weinberg Finance Staff Info Session Summer 2015 July 14, 2015
Use of Restricted vs. Unrestricted Funds Using restricted funds before using unrestricted funds is a guiding principal of our budget management. Effective management and stewardship of endowed and gift funds are critical to our ability to raise additional money. Preference must be given to restricted funds over unrestricted funds, either through direct charging or transfers. Special attention should be paid to the use of endowed funds for which ARD prepares donor stewardship reports.
Unrestricted Funds & FY15 End of Year Transfers With chair/director consultation, departments / programs should assess what gift/endowment resources can be maximized for appropriated budget relief and complete transfer journals prior to ED Mon, Aug 31. FY15 resulting college-wide performance will show higher reserves in unrestricted, appropriated funds and improve compliance to utilize donor funding. FY16 appropriated budgets have been loaded into NUPlans (per June 2015 communications), will be reflected in Cognos in Sep 2015, carryforwards will post in early ct 2015. Contact Dean s ffice finance team with questions/concerns.
Procurement Card Policy & Training Requirements Weinberg College application process & policy Reconciliation requirements Common expenses vs. unallowable expenses Annual training will be mandatory for cardholders starting Fall 2015
Payroll Summer Activity Processing/Workflow/Communication concerns current, specific examples to Traci (t-pickerell@northwestern.edu) by end of this week. Paper payroll journals (for changes from longer than 90 days ago) will be due to Payroll by Friday, August 7. Allow at least 24 hours for each level of approval needed. Review Vista 16b to assess payroll suspense; Dean s ffice will communicate with non-deployed areas to ensure that corrections are made.
Payroll Vista Demo
Cognos General Ledger Report Demos GL068 Financial Summary GL005 Summary Budget Status GL008 Revenue & Expense Activity (monthly version, CSV YTD version)
Cognos Supply Chain Report Demos SC016 pen Encumbrance SC026 Expense by Submission & Workflow Status SC031 Expense Report Approval Summary
Monthly Budget Reconciliation Key bjectives (4 Rs): Confirming that financial activity is recognizable, right, reasonable, & reviewed. NU Reconciliation Policy Weinberg reconciliation templates Reconciliation Log Reconciliation Detail ption Reconciliation Summary ptionweinberg reconciliation templates Relevant Excel courses (HR Workplace Learning): HRD159: Beyond the Basics HRD188: Sorting, Filtering, Subtotals, Pivot Tables
Fiscal Year-End Tasks & Deadlines Weinberg College Financial Checklist (see handout) University-wide closing calendar (to be distributed early Aug)
Financial Controls Disclosure must be made to WCAS Dean s ffice for any of the following: Fraud or suspected fraud affecting the University involving management, employees, vendors, or others. Violations or possible violations of laws or regulations. Regulatory agency visits or inquiries due to possible violations of laws or regulations. Changes to operations or key personnel which have impacted internal controls. Unrecorded or inaccurate transactions in the University s financial system.
Important Dates University Year-End Finance Info Exchange (Evanston Campus) Aug 6 (time, location TBD) Detailed calendar (with deadlines for all Payroll & NUFIN transactions) to be distributed Members of central administrative finance units (including Bursar s ffice, AP, FFRA, Security) will be on-hand to discuss procedures and answer questions Dept/Prog Finance Year-End Meetings By appointment in late July, August Contact any member of Dean s ffice Finance team