Managing IFR Accounts
Presented by the Accounting and
Budget Offices
Training Objectives
Defining
what IFR Programs are.
How are they funded?
IFR Policies and Procedures.
What kinds of reports are
available?
What are IFR accounts?

IFR’s are self-supporting accounts that support
activities related to the campus’ missions.

These types of accounts have clear and defined
income/expenditure relationships.

A unique aspect of them is their ability to carry
forward cash balances from one fiscal year to
another.

Fringe benefits and administration overheads are
additional charges the IFR accounts must bear,
except for accounts that have received
appropriate waivers.
How do IFR accounts acquire
allocation?

The Budget Office submits an IFR budget request to System
Administration in Albany. Previous year’s expenditure activity is a
primary determinant in deciding how much allocation a campus
will receive. On top of this System Administration usually builds
on an inflation factor and increases for programmatic changes (new
or expanding programs)

IFR worksheets are completed by account managers either online
into the Campus Budget Module (CBM) system or on to hardcopy
forms.

The VP Coordinator reviews department’s IFR worksheets and
compiles that information into a request that is reviewed by the
University Budget and Accounting Offices.

The Budget Office compiles each VP area’s submissions into a
campus file which is transmitted to Albany.
System Overview
IFR Policies and Procedures
General IFR Guidelines:



IFR accounts should basically have one purpose and one
revenue source.
Don’t forget to budget for the overhead and fringe benefit
charges your accounts may be liable for.
– IFR administrative overhead charges are assessed on IFR revenue
rather than expenses.
– Fringe Benefits are assessed on expenses.
IFR account will need $54,872 in revenue to cover a $30,000 in
Personal Service:
$30,000 Personal Service
$30,000 x 55.48%
$16,644 in Fringe Benefit
($30,000 +16,644)x 17.64%
$ 8,228 in Administrative Overhead
IFR Policies and Procedures
General IFR Guidelines – cont’d:

Remember it is the allocation balance in your account
which allows you to expend funds – Not the cash balance
in the account.
IFR Policies and Procedures - cont’d
Key Points of Stony Brook’s IFR Deficit Policy:



IFR accounts should maintain positive accrued cash balances. The
expenses charged to an IFR account should be covered by the revenue
which that account takes in.
IFR accounts which develop cash deficits as of 6/30 will have one
year to eliminate that deficit. If the deficit is not eliminated in that
year the Budget Office may reduce that VP area’s state allocation.
This is NOT something that a Vice President would like to have done
to their budget….
The President does NOT like to hear that IFR accounts have been
allowed to be run into deficit conditions.
Reports
 Online
inquiries
– SMRT
 Monthly
reports
– Account Expenditure Summary (AES)
– SMRT Month-End Management Report
Any questions? Just ask.
Any questions? Just ask.

Q. When, should an IFR account be used? Stony Brook Foundation (SBF)
account? Faculty, Student Association (FSA) account? Research Foundation
Service and Facility (S&F) account?

A. An IFR account should be used when ever the activity is state activity.
All activity should go through an IFR unless there is an approved exception as
stated below.


SBF accounts should only be used when the revenue is from gifts or
contributions.
FSA accounts should be used for




a) one-time events of short duration, i.e. conferences;
b) benefit of individual students, faculty or staff members or appropriately recognized
organizations;
c) may not be used when funds are state.
S&F accounts should be used when activity is 100% research-highly
technical research. May include some third party activities.
Any questions? Just ask.

Q.
How do I open an IFR account?

A.
Along with your VP coordinator:
Determine what the account is to be used for. How much revenue will
this account generate? What will your expenses (budget) be? This
information should be shown on the “IFR Allocation Worksheet” (see
web link).
Upon VP approval, the VP coordinator will submit the request to
Accounting for processing.
Accounting will inform you and all interested parties once the account
has been created.
1)
2)
3)
Any questions? Just ask.
If the IFR account will be for a service that you will be charging a user fee, there are
additional steps:
1)
Determine what the account /service is for.
2)
Obtain approval from your Dean or Chairperson
3)
Submit request to VP area for approval.
4)
Contact Accounting (Kathie Diehl) to work with the account director to determine the
user fee. This will be achieved by determining the projected annual expenses and the
annual unit of service (i.e. annual hours, annual analyses). This information will be
input on the rate schedule (see attached) to determine the rate.
5)
Once the rate has been calculated, it is then submitted to the VP area for their review
and approval. The VP coordinator will request Accounting to create the account.
6)
Accounting will submit to the University Controller for final approval.
7)
While awaiting the University Controller’s approval, Accounting will submit the
request to the SUNY System Administration to create the account.
8)
Upon final approval, Accounting will inform you and all interested parties of the
account.
Any questions? Just ask.

Q.
What are the fringe benefit and overhead rates?

A. The Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) and the Division of Budget
analyze the actual fringe benefit costs on an annual basis. After the rate is computed,
OSC notifies all state agencies of the rate specific to a fiscal year and agency.
The Fringe Benefit rate is assessed on expenditures. [Exception: SUTRA Summer
and Winter accounts have fringe assessed on revenue.]
Revenue, not expenditures, is the basis for charging IFR Overhead assessments.
State Fringe Benefit
Federal Fringe Benefit
Overhead Assessments
Fiscal Year 12/13
51.68%
50.16%
15.00%
Fiscal Year 13/14
55.48%
58.75%
15.00%
Any questions? Just ask.
 Q.
 A.
How is the assessment charged to the account?
Fringe benefits are assessed on expenditures, except
for SUTRA Summer and Winter accounts. The IFR
Overhead assessment is charged on the revenue. As
the revenue is deposited to your account, the
assessment is charged. The charge is a direct reduction
to your account’s cash balance. It DOES NOT affect
your account’s allocation.
Any questions? Just ask.

Q. My account has plenty of cash, yet Purchasing says I do not
have enough money for my order. Please explain.

A. When Purchasing processes a purchase order, they make an
encumbrance against your account’s allocation, NOT your cash.
When you request your account’s initial allocation, your request
should be based on your anticipated annual revenue and
expenditures. If your cash is greater than anticipated, you may
request, through your VP coordinators and ultimately the
Accounting Department, additional allocation. Basically, you
need your allocation to spend your cash, and you need your cash
to get your allocation!
Any questions? Just ask.

Q. How come it seems to take so long to see my cash deposits?

A. All deposits are made at the campus Bursar’s Office. Every
15th and 30th (or 31st) of the month a revenue summary report is
generated identifying the total of all deposits made to each
account. The Accounting Office reviews this report and
subsequently enters the revenue information into the SUNY
system. When you look at your AES report’s cash page or the
SUNY system, the cash amounts reflected for each month are for
the last 15 days of the prior month and the first 15 days of the
current month. For example, if you look at the month of January,
the cash would be for the periods of December 16–31, and
January 1-15.
Any questions? Just ask.
 Q.
How do I know the detail of the total cash per
month?
 A.
Along with your AES reports, each IFR account
receives a copy of the IFR Collections Analysis report.
This gives the detail information.
Any questions? Just ask.
 Q.
An error was made and a deposit went into the
wrong account. How can I get it corrected?
 A.
Just contact or e-mail Kathie Diehl or Joan Petrick
in the Accounting Department explaining the error and
indicate the correct account. Accounting will process a
transfer of cash between the accounts. A transfer of
cash may generate assessments.
Any questions? Just ask.
 Q.
Unspent allocation was removed from my account.
How can they take my money?
 A.
When IFR allocation is in short supply and
projections indicate that you will not require all of your
requested allocation, some may be transferred to other
accounts that are short at the VP coordinator’s
discretion. This does not mean that your money has
been taken; your cash balance is unaffected.
Any questions? Just ask.
 Q.
There was unspent allocation at the end of the year.
Did I lose that money?
 A.
Unlike State Purpose funds, IFR accounts do not
“lapse.” Although the allocation is unspent, the cash
balance rolls forward, and is one of the factors used to
determine the account allocation for the following year.
Any questions? Just ask.
 Q.
Why do I have to keep a log of all usage of the
services my center provides?
 A.
An account director is responsible for keeping logs
of all information supplied on the rate schedule for the
service center. This includes the expenses as well as
the annual units. The information maintained in the logs
will be required during the campus rate review process.
This is an audit requirement.
Any questions? Just ask.

Q. What is Excess External Revenue and why must I keep a log
for the collection of Excess External Revenue?

A. Excess External Revenue is the revenue collected in excess of
the external rate. (Revenue in excess of break even point – Profit)

* The excess external revenue may be kept by the department
and used at the department’s discretion. The account director is
responsible for maintaining logs, which identify the amount of
external revenue collected. During the rate review process the
logs are used to identify the amount of external revenue, which
may be contained in the account balance. This is also an audit
requirement.
Office Contacts
 Initial
Allocation/Campus Budget Module (CBM)
– Diane Thide
 Midyear
Budget Office
2-6090
Allocation Adjustments
– Kathie Diehl Accounting Office
 Revenue/Expense
2-6040
Questions
– Kathie Diehl Accounting Office
– Joan Petrick Accounting Office
– Lolita Sung Accounting Office
2-6040
2-1304
2-5716
Web Links
 IFR
Accounting (Manual, Worksheets, Contacts)
http://www.stonybrook.edu/accounting/ifr
 Introductions
to State Accounts
http://www.stonybrook.edu/accounting/help/state_accounts.shtml
 Allocation
and Expenditure Object codes
http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Admin/HRSForms.nsf/pub/ACTD0012
 SMRT
User Manual
http://www.stonybrook.edu/budgetoffice/management.shtml
ACCOUNTING OFFICE CONTACTS
KATHIE DIEHL
SENIOR FINANCIAL MANAGER
STATE AND IFR ACCOUNTING
JOAN PETRICK
LOLITA SUNG
INCOME FUND REIMBURSABLE
(IFR) ACCOUNTING INCLUDING
REVENUE, OVERHEAD
ASSESSMENTS AND RATE
SCHEDULES
EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTING
www.accounting.sunysb.edu
For valuable information regarding
Accounting Services, please check out
our website.
ACCOUNTING OFFICE
632-6040
GUIDE TO PROBLEM RESOLUTION
BUDGET
ALLOCATIONS - FORM 1
ALLOCATIONS - INTERCHANGE
2-6090
ACCOUNTING
REPORT INQUIRIES
JOURNAL ENTRIES
ALLOCATION CHANGES
2-6040
PROCUREMENT
REQUISITIONS, PURCHASE ORDERS
VOUCHERS
VENDOR CALLS
CLARIFICATION OF FREIGHT
CHARGES (OBJ CODE 5010)
PETTY CASH TRANSACTIONS
2-6010
BURSAR
CASH RECEIPT INQUIRIES
(IFR COLLECTION ANALYSIS)
2-9316
HUMAN RESOURCES
APPOINTMENT DISCREPANCIES
2-6140
PAYROLL
QUESTIONS - OVERTIME, STANDBY
2-6180