Fiscal Manager Training Program
Budget and Financial Accounting
2/8/10
Purpose of this session

Help you to:



Perform the fiscal responsibilities of a P1
Direct your P2’s and P3’s in performing
and reviewing the work
Increase your PSoft Financials
knowledge and skills so you can utilize it
in your work
Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:





Explain chartstring components
Make better budget & accounting
decisions using proper chartstring values
Get to specific answers via standard
reports and tools
Identify optimum tool or report to use
from selection
Use increased functionality in PSoft
Financials
Agenda





Session 1: Chartstring Components
Break
Session 2: Tools and Reports
Lunch
Hands On Workstations
Why is it important to use correct values?






Reduces rework and corrections
Prevents funding & payment delays
Helps data be easily, logically found
Ensures correct access/security
Aids financial analysis and planning
Provides more accurate internal &
external reporting
Chart of Accounts - PS
ChartField
Definitions
Fund
Global classification of a managed resource
Fund Source
Identifies specific resources from operations,
sponsors, donors
Dept ID
Program
Project/Grant
Department or responsibility center
Formal (named) and informal Programs
Sponsored programs and capital projects
Function
Program service or supporting activity classification
Property
Buildings
Account
Asset, Liability, Net Asset, Revenue, Expense
classifications
Fund
Fund
Source
DeptID
Program
Project/
Grant
Function
Property
Account
Manage By Fund Groups

‘Funds’


Concept used by Not-for-Profit industry
Manage and track resources






Unrestricted operating/general funds
Donors
Granting agencies
Government appropriations
Monitor operations
Control over University’s assets
Fund
Fund
Source
DeptID
Program
Project/
Grant
Function
Property
Account
Fund Groupings







Operating/Auxiliaries
Restricted Gifts
Sponsored Programs
Endowment Income
Endowment (Corpus)
Plant
Agency
1xx & 3xx
2xx
500
6xx
7xx
8xx
9xx
See hand outs for detailed definitions
Fund Concepts & Complexity

Important to understand concepts
and complexity of each




Unique budget checking methodology
Unique set accounting rules
Unique set of year end closing rules
Important when requesting budgets for
new initiatives or managing budget
Examples
Fund:
100
Operating
220
Gifts
Restricted
920
Agency
Budget
Checking
Method
GL_EXP_TRANSLATE
GE_EXP_TRANSLATE
AG_EXP_TRANSLATE
Accounting
Rule
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted Funds
Stewardship of
Funds
Cash basis
Custodial funds
Year End
Closing Rule
No Carry
Forward
Unexpended
gift balance
carry forward to
next FY
Carry Forward
Excess Funds to
Next FY
Common Issues - Fund




Understanding fund responsibilities
among multiple finance offices
Restrictions on moving budgets between
specific funds
Determining if Agency fund (9XX)or BC
Operating fund (1XX)
Gift or operating revenue
Understanding Fund Sources
Fund Source




Further defines financial resources
associated with the Fund
Identifies fund sources from operations,
sponsors, donors, agencies
Tracks funds received from donors or
sponsors with unique or specific purposes
5 digits
Fund
Fund
Source
DeptID
Program
Project/
Grant
Function
Property
Account
What Fund Sources represent by fund

Funds 1XX – Tuition Supported


Funds 2XX, 6XX, 7xx – Named gift


Named scholarship, named endowment
Fund 500 – Funding designation


VP Pools, Reserve Funds
Federal, State, Corp/Foundation
Fund 9XX – Agency designation

Student group, Association, Conference
Fund Source ranges



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10000 – 11999
12000 – 12999
13000 – 29999
30000 – 69999
70000 – 79999
90000 – 99999
University
Sponsored Activities
Gifts
Endowment/End Inc
Plant
Agencies
Common Issues – Fund Sources



00000 is NOT a valid value on
revenue or expense transactions
Fund sources are generally not
shared across funds
Fund sources are a required
element of the HR account code
Department v. Program Creates
Departments
Programs
-Track funding/spending uniquely
-Track funding/spending uniquely
-New responsibility center
-Responsibility under existing dept
-Permanent and ongoing
-Permanent or temporary
-Perm BC budgeted positions
-Non BC budgeted salaries
-Has its own physical location
-No separate physical address
-Unique security access
-Falls within security of related dept
-Always want to retain history
-May/may not want to retain history
-Rev/exp linked for most auxiliaries
-Rev/exp linked for most depts.
-Crosses funds
-Crosses funds, depts. & functions
Use Budget or Controller Offices for advice if unsure
Requesting New Departments

Seek appropriate approvals




Path is Dean, VP, EVP/President
Via email or EVP memo to Budget
Complete necessary information
Form on Budget website

http://www.bc.edu/offices/budget/forms.html
Common Issues - Departments




Proper approvals for setup and
changes have not been obtained
Have not thought through security
impacts
Department movement, reorgs not
well planned or timed
Don’t understand what department
value drives in all university systems
Requesting New Programs

Seek appropriate approvals



Only requires dept responsible person
Via email to Budget
Complete necessary information to
create


Helps determine proper fund and
function placement
Form on Budget Office Website


http://www.bc.edu/offices/budget/forms.html
Submit via email with proper approval
Common Issues - Programs

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Assumption that all program
revenue has equal expense offset
When to use associated budgets
Duplication of same programs
across funds
Using correct program Seq# in HR
Programs with revenue or expense
that cross fiscal years
When to use Dept Defined programs
Understanding Functions


Tracks university-wide and departmental
revenue/expense activities
Designates the purpose of the transaction
as it applies to federal and other external
(and internal) reporting requirements



Statement of activities (P&L)
IPEDS
Accreditation reporting
Fund
Fund
Source
DeptID
Program
Project/
Grant
Function
Property
Account
Understanding Functions

Revenue Function codes (begin with ‘0’)
011 - Tuition and Fees
021 - Auxiliary Revenue
031 – Sponsored Research
041 – Sales and Services
051 – Other Revenues
061 – Private Gifts
081 – Investment Income
Understanding Functions
Statement of Activities - Revenue
Understanding Functions

Expense Function codes
101 - Instruction
201 – Academic Support
202 – Libraries
301 – Research
501 – Auxiliaries
60x – General Admin, Info Tech, Development
609 – Operations and Maintenance
90x – Student Aid (901 – UG; 902 – Graduate)
Understanding Functions
Statement of Activities - Expenses
Common issues - Functions


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Expense functions are used in revenue
transactions or vice-versa
Agency Funds use ‘999’
Departments CAN have more than one
function
Incorrect functions are established in error
-if caught, may not get funded but
“clog” up views and searches
-if not caught, funding lost or forgotten
Functions are not part of the HR account
code translation
Understanding Accounts
Account

Specifies the balance sheet accounts
(i.e. asset, liabilities, net asset) or
operating accounts (i.e. revenues and
expenditures) on financial transactions
Fund
Fund
Source
DeptID
Program
Project/
Grant
Function
Property
Account
Account Groupings


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1XXXX - Assets
2XXXX – Liabilities
3XXXX – Net Assets
4XXXX – Revenue
5XXXX – Expenses (Salary/Fringe)
6XXXX – Expenses
7XXXX - Allocations
Common issues - Accounts

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Parent/child problems
Should not transfer > revised budget
from an account
Should not be depositing checks
into expense accounts
Payments should not be made from
revenue accounts as a general rule
Common issues - Accounts



Paying individual for service using a
salary account on AP Voucher
Understanding budget checking
level of control (track v. control)
Accounts set as “budget only” will
not allow rev/exp actuals to post
Why Use Associated Budgets?
Fund 111- Operating

System automated

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Get to use all revenues

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Reviewed for carryforward eligibility
all collected revenues
are made available
Higher-level budget rollups


no “real” budgets
spending allowed based
on income received
Get to use all revenues

fewer accounts control
budget balances
Closing rule


all collected revenues
are made available
Higher-level budget rollups


no “real” budgets
spending allowed based
on income received
Fund 9XX - Agency

System automated
fewer accounts control
budget balances
Closing rule

Carry-forward to next FY
Requesting Associated Budgets

Operating

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Request Budget to set up Program
Define association
Not available to auxiliary areas
Agency

Request Controllers Office to set up
Common issues – Assoc Budgets




Don’t realize separate ACR
report/query for Fund 111/920
Confuse budget rollups which differ
by fund
Assumption of carry forward
eligibility on non agency funds
Don’t know budget transfers can be
made with $0 revised budget
HR Acct Code Translation


Where is it used?
Every HR transaction involving
funding or payment contains
this 25 digit code
Why is it necessary?
Systems with different versions
of chartstring configurations
need to talk to each other
HR Acct Code Translation


What are the components?
22502-100-10000-51100D001
What is a sequence number?
Identifies the order in which HR
account codes are created
and the key identifier
Common Issues – HR Acct Code
Wrong budgets get charged due
to “guessed” sequence number
 Errors require payroll redistribution
which leaves bad data on systems
 Creates incremental work to fix
 Missing data holds up payment
 Users are not aware there is a
query in HR which does translation

See handout for detailed scenario
Review Exercise
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Function
Sequence Number
Associated Budget
Agency Fund
Fund Source
Dept Defined Program
A.
B.
C.
D.
Match the name of
the chartfield
component with the
description
E.
F.
Informal way to track a
budget uniquely w/in a dept
Last 4 digits of the HR
account code that
translates HR to Financials
Functionality w/in PSoft that
links revenue received with
automated ability to spend
Fund grouping where BC
acts as custodian; uses own
tax ID but BC systems
Designates rev/exp purposes
for external reporting
Further defines financial
resources or funding support
w/in a fund
End of section I: Key Points

Understanding chartfield components
ensures they are correctly set up and
properly used resulting in:



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Reduced rework
Prevented time delays
More useful information, esp. better reports
Greater ease of use
Better management of resources
HR account code is the equivalent of a
Financial chartstring in the HR system &
must also be set up and used with care
Reports and Tools
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Budget Inquiry Details Drill Down
ACR - Queries/Report
Account Range Queries
Transaction Detail Inquiry and Report
NVision Revenue and Expense/ACR
HR Queries in Financials
HR Queries/Inquiry in HR
Use of Excel download cube and Add to
Favorites Hyperlink
Reports, Queries and Inquiries

Reports- formatted, static, download?

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Queries- raw data, dynamic, downloads

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Vista
PeopleSoft BC Reports
PeopleSoft nVision
Account Range Query
HR Queries in Financials
HR Queries in HR
Inquiries- screens/views (download cube )

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Budget Detail Inquiry
Transaction Detail Inquiry
HR Inquiry
Budget Inquiry Details Drill Down

What does it look like?
Budget Inquiry Details Drill Down

Why is it helpful?


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Reflects real-time activity
Able to search for full chartstrings with
limited known components
Can see budget associations
Can drill down to transaction data
For Associated Budgets – can see
revenue received on expense budget
Budget Inquiry Details Drill Down

How is it used?




Verify most recent budget balances &
actual activity
Then realign dollars, make purchases or
do financial analysis
Quick view of individual budget lines
Able to view chartstring combinations
Common Issues



Don’t use % spent numbers as tool
Don’t understand how to use the
drill down capabilities accurately
Do not select correct ‘Ledger
Group’for parent and child levels
ACR - pdf

What does it look like?

BC Reports > Commitment Control > ACR Report
(Student Salaries)
ACR - Query

What does it look like?

BC_GL_ACR_STDNT_SLRY
ACR - VISTA

What does it look like?

Budget Actual Compare Gen Univ: Dec-2009
ACR

Why are they helpful?




Basic view of chartstring level budgets
for each department/program/FS
Displays OB, RB, Temp/Perm, Actual,
Encumbrances, BBA for each unique
budget
Depending on role - version for ‘All
Salaries’ or ‘Student Salaries’
Different options of output based on
need
ACR

How are they used?
 View Department budgets
 BC Report – pdf




Need an easy to read report with totals
Can produce for current / prior periods
without going to VISTA / run anytime
Criteria selection – limits/expands output
Queries


Downloadable to excel / can manipulate
Versions single dept, multiple departments
Common Issues


Wild card capability is only on
function and account on ACR ALL &
STDNT SLRY Queries
On query excel output – Cannot use
‘auto sum’ calc for Actuals column
due to parent/child duplication
Account Range Query

What does it look like?
Bud & A 9
BC
Temp
VP
Code Dept Descr
Perm
Original Xfers &
Fund Fund Source Program Descr
Function Budget Account
Xfers & Revised
Account Descr Budget Adjs
Adjs
Budget
Actuals
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
00000
No Program 101
64001
General^
6160
-500
0
5660 3333.06
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
00000
No Program 101
64010
Advertising
4000
0
0
4000 835.00
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
00000
No Program 101
68300
Printing^
2000
0
0
2000
0.00
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
00000
No Program 101
68370
PCard
0
500
0
500
84.87
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
00000
No Program 101
68900
Travel^
8000
0
0
8000 2547.36
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
17134
C21 Online 101
64001
General^
53600
-3738
0
49862 8503.68
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
17134
C21 Online 101
64010
Advertising
28300
0
0
28300 10789.00
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
17134
C21 Online 101
68370
PCard
1300
0
0
1300 219.21
AVP 051201 Inst Religious Ed Pastoral Min 100 10000
17134
C21 Online 101
68900
Travel^
21000
0
0
21000 576.57
Account Range Query

Why is it helpful?



Allows for multiple chartstring retrieval
by revenue or expense account ranges
Easy to dump to Excel and sort or total
Get to see all existing chartstring
combinations with associated dollars
Account Range Query

How is it used?

Analyze accounts by groupings

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

Salaries
Aid
Allocations
Use wildcards in dept parameter to pull
in totals at school or VP level
Can figure out where to capture $ for
savings across unit (e.g. 2% operating)
Can do comparisons of % share of
division’s dollars
Common Issues



Does not contain child level detail
No ability to put a parameter in for
program
Complaints of too much data
Transaction Detail Inquiry - TDI

What does it look like?
Transaction detail cumulative to date
Transaction Detail Report - TDR

What does it look like?
Transaction detail for only current month selected
Transaction Detail Inquiry & Report

Why are they helpful?

Provides transaction level detail behind
data on ACR and other reports






Budget
Actual
Encumbrances
Balance available
Useful descriptions / Reference info
Student salary vs. all salary

Control ability to see salary detail
Transaction Detail Inquiry & Report

How are they used?



Research deposits and charges in
question
Allows you to analyze and review
spending at the transaction level
Identify errors
Common Issues
TDI
 Users don’t understand ‘Source’ or
‘Entered by’ fields
 Will see budgets and actuals on different
screens if parent/child relationship
 Don’t scroll far enough or view beyond
initial displayed (5) rows
 Must select each unique chartstring to
view activity
Common Issues
TDI/TDR
 Salary detail by payroll and not person
 Data is only thru prior day
 Issues with dates
VISTA Reports

Why are they helpful?







Electronic version of month end reports
Archived history
Search criteria
Preformatted for readability
Download / print to pdf
ACR
TDR
Vista

http://www.bc.edu/offices/fvp/psfinancial/home.html
nVision Revenue and Expense

What does it look like?
nVision ACR

What does it look like?

2009-12-31 ACR IREPM
nVision Reports

Why are they helpful?


Keeps final year end version each year for
history
See numbers at various roll up levels





Division, school, dept groups, or at dept
Compare current and prior years at same
point in time on Rev Exp
Displays revenue and expenses in one view
In Excel and already formatted with subtotals
and totals
Eventually able to drill down to detail
supporting summary numbers
nVision Reports

How are they used?




Provide high level perspective of a VP,
division or school, down to department
For P1’s, those able to view entire area
To assist in preparation of annual
budgets
Helpful in doing forecasting
Common Issues




Only 1xx & 3xx funds
All funds reporting is needed and
very complicated to supply
Lowest breakout is at the
department level (no programs/FS)
Moving around between reports
requires going back to the
beginning of the dept path
HR Queries in Financials

What are they?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
BC_HR_DEPT_ACCT_OT
BC_HR_DEPT_EMPL_OT_DTL
BC_HR_PAYCK_DATA
BC_HR_SALARY_DRILL
BC_HR_SALARY_DRILL_CHECK_DATE
BC_HR_STDNT_SALARY_CHECK_DATE
BC_HR_SUPP_PAY
OT and Check Data Queries

What do they look like?
BC_HR_DEPT_EMPL_OT_DTL
BC_HR_PAYCK_DATA
HR Queries in Financials

Why are they helpful?



See HR data without leaving Financials
Able to see employee salary detail v.
summary level payroll journal entry
Assist those with salary admin role to
research salary info w/out calling HRSC
HR Queries in Financials

How are they used?




To understand why certain positions or
salary lines may be overspent
To determine if employee has received
pay and in what paycheck
To view summary department OT
To view Individual employees OT in
dollars
HR Queries/Inquiries in HR

What are they?
1. Active Budgeted Positions
2. Encumbrance Inquiry
3. Position Budget Actuals by HR
account
HR Active Budgeted Positions

What does it look like?
BC_HR_MGR_ACTIVE_BUDGETED_POS Query
HR Queries/Inquiries in HR

Why are they helpful?



Provide extensive information on
individual position budgets & actuals
Salary data brought into financials at
payroll journal or budget account level
Only place can see position level
information
HR Queries/Inquiries in HR

How are they used?




To find payroll or encumbrances
problems/errors
To get non-financial data that is only
stored in HR system
To assist with Merit Review
For position planning/forecasting
Common Issues




Access issues, even to those with
salary admin role
Timing problems when comparing
HR and Financials numbers
Data is too inclusive
Data can contain executive level
salary info
Excel Download Cube

Why is it helpful?


How is it used?



Can take data and download to excel
format
Click on icon
Data moved to excel file
Where is it found?

On most inquiries
Add to Favorites hyperlink

Why is it helpful?



How is it used?



Provides easier navigation for end users
Saves time going to frequently used
screens
Navigate to PS screen
Save navigation as ‘favorite’
Where is it found?

Most PeopleSoft screens
Review Exercise
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
ACR
Nvision Reports
Transaction Detail
Budget Inquiry
OT and Check data
Account Range Queries
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Match the name of
the report/inquiry with
the description
F.
Explains why salary lines may
be overspent
Basic view of multiple
accounts in chartstring level
budget and actual data
Is in Excel and includes
subtotals and totals
Way to see range of
accounts grouped together
Helps analyze and account
for charges
Used to verify most recent
budget/actual balances
End of section 2: Key Points

Reports and Tools




Understand Report vs. Query vs. Inquiry
Be aware of the options and recognize
what is optimum for your needs
Hands on exposure to use tools yourself
or to direct those P2’s under you
Understand some shortcuts or tools to
help overall functionality
More Information

PeopleSoft Financials BC website


Budget Office website


http://www.bc.edu/offices/budget/
PowerPoint Presentation


http://www.bc.edu/offices/fvp/psfinancial/
http://www.bc.edu/offices/fvp/psfinancial/
Handouts

http://www.bc.edu/offices/fvp/psfinancial/
Hands on Training Workstations