Finance User Group
October 20th and 21st, 1999
Location: South Central Technical College, Mankato
MINUTES
PRESENT:
Lori Bates
Jan Mahoney
Dawn Belko
Rick Straka
Steve Smith & Jan Marble
Jerry Winans 10/20 only
Dave Thorn
Pat Nordick
Tony Altiero
Gary Myhre
Rich Burke
MNSCU PERSONNEL PRESENT:
Jan Ahmann
Al Finlayson
Kathy Froysland
Rosalie Greeman 10/20 only
Marilyn Hansmann
Dave Lund
Teri Welter
Deb Winter
ABSENT:
Lori Voss
GUESTS:
Dave Neve, Minn. State Univ., Mankato 10/20 only
CURRENT STATUS
•
Review of handout listing MnSCU System Problems - September 13, 1999, detailing
identified cases and causes of bad system data and bad transactions.
•
Missing student payroll transactions.
o Relates to batch processing problems. New scheduler will help eliminate batch
programs running into each other.
o
System office will begin to enter the missing payroll transactions.
• Bad RE transactions from Third Party – used 7040 instead of 9001.
•
Third Party Customer transactions were recorded to a wrong object Code. Raja has written
program to make corrections.
• Bad Financial Aid reversal transactions.
•
Have been identified and have been corrected or will be soon.
• Doubled up XV’s and XG’s.
and
• Doubled up XD’s and CD’s.
•
Batch form is going to QA to allow obj 8600. Should be able to run program in a few
weeks. Users want to be notified before this is run.
• Missing Thrid Party transactions in MAPS. (System Office posted directly into MAPS in
September for FY99.)
•
MAPS program has been fixed but has not been rolled out. Fy 2000 MAPS transactions will
still need to be posted.
• Missing waiver transactions in MAPS.
•
Campuses might experience object code discrepancies in MnSCU to maps reconciliations
because FY99 transactions are being deleted in MAPS if they are entered.
• Old balances in object codes 8600 and 8201.
•
System office has security to fix. Campuses should contact system office.
• Cancelled check program failures.
•
If check is changed to C and transactions couldn’t post and program can’t finish, status
stays as C. System office will look for them and correct them.
• Failing CD’s.
and
• Batch Process problems.
•
Relates to batch processing problems. New scheduler will help eliminate batch programs
running into each other.
• Missing transactions from AR0180UG – (40 students).
•
Have been identified and have been corrected or will be soon. (Same as problem #3).
• Financial Aid – Aid applied (Change FY99 to FY00).
•
Need to modify screens to allow transactions for prior terms.
•
10/21 is the last day to send anything to QA because Uniface 7 and upgrade to database
need to be updated first. After QA has cleared out and testing on the new version is
complete, production databases will be updated.
• Third Party Billing – Will be going to QA this week
• AR0200UG is not working – cannot reprint bills and cannot run and get all bills for customers
that owe.
• CT/CE Exception and Third Party Screen – Will be going to QA this week.
• Grouping of special Course Fees – In QA.
• CI/CA Modules are in Production. Additional reports and screens are still needed. Dave is
working with Intertech to resolve phone bill.
• AR Bug List – Hard Bugs are put to the top of the list above system enhancements. These take a
lot of time to investigate and resolve. Review and send in additional bugs if not on this list.
• The review of Business Rules will incorporate the enhancement requests that have been
requested on that particular subject. Users need to be communicated to what business processes
will be reviewed to encourage users to record enhancement requests so that they can be included in
the business process review.
• Enhancement requests will be reviewed by subgroups. Break the state into four regions. Each
region will invite the other campuses not on the user group to help. Enhancements will be classified
by business function and assigned to the region. Regions will meet in November and be responsible
to classify the business function, approve, hold or disapprove the enhancements to be brought back
to the user group in December.
Marsha and Dave – Saturn Region
Dawn – Mete Region
Jerry and Pat – MNSCU1
Richard – STC2
Finance User Group Goals
Goals for the next year as defined at the August meeting were reviewed and approved.
FINANCE USER GROUP GOALS
1999-2000
1. Get CFO’s back to managing their operation.
2. Keep working to provide software that makes it easier to do business. Complete
development of core business requirements. Review current business practices and
processes to determine if the system is really doing what we want it to do, as well as
addressing items such as segregation of duties and security issues.
3. Expect to have systems that operate efficiently and timely. Identify where there are slow
response time, inefficient design problems, and difficulties where running batch programs
from the regional centers.
4. Strengthen the processes that are relating to other modules. Example: Finance and Financial
Aid User Groups need to work together because of the impact of the systems upon each
other.
5. Expectation is that refresher training and new user training will be available for all modules.
Work with Training to incorporate Best Business Practice ideas for all modules. Create a
mentoring network.
6. Continue to identify all possible functions that could be web-based.
ISRS User Group Work Plan
•
•
Group reviewed plan’s short-term goals. Accepted as recorded.
Note: Facilities User Group has just been formed. The facilities module has just
been assigned to a new developer and will be addressing the definition of a
building and it’s components.
Checkwriter
•
•
Checkwriter functional spec – AP000009 – Technical improvement to the way
credit memos are posted. This enhancement will eliminate the process from
partially posting, and completely reset processes that fail. Check location ID is
added so checks can be printed by check location used on check inventory. This
allows two checkwriting processes to be run from the same bank. Approved by
group.
Credit Memo – right now the cm only shows a total on the stub. Developer had
suggested a report that would show the details. Group approved, with intention to
evaluate utility over time, to determine if this is a viable alternative to having the
information printed on the stub. Report expected to print right after checks.
Student Payroll
•
Requests brought to group:
Check printing program now chooses addresses in a specific order. Enhancement
requested to choose mailing address priorities by pay period.
Inter-campus mailing – request to separate checks or advises for students living on
campus from the other students. Mankato has some international student’s whose
advices were mailed to the student’s overseas address.
Group approved enhancements, but determined that the above requests should be
added to the enhancement lists and allow the group to prioritize with the rest of the
list.
•
•
•
•
#5 from the priority list was discussed – new earnings type for a taxable benefit.
Need to determine the tax reporting requirements for Graduate Assistant’s tuition
waiver. Rosalie will check into this further.
International Student Tax Reporting appears to be missing from the User Group
Report – Short Term Goals. Group concerned about status of this question due to
legal issues. System Office to check with tax person.
Request made for a screen to provide detail for a student’s payroll for a pay period.
Jan Ahmann will modify one of her Access Queries and get it on the WEB. Query
screen request can be added to the enhancement list.
Group would like to review status of Student Payroll Reports priorities.
HelpDesk E-Mail
•
Who manages e-mail addresses that err off from listserv?
Uniface Messages
•
Architects will bring a request to the Standards Committee to see if there is any
interest in posting Weekly Updates in Uniface.
Definition of a Non-student
•
Needed for billing purposes and determining what to include on non student
reports. Suggestion: it should be defined as any customer that is not billed through
the student billing process. Al will look at how student bill determines who to bill.
Clarification of Year Term – Object code changes
Question: What type of reporting do campuses do? Is the year term revenue that is
associated with a business cycle or is it a way to group charges?
Definition recommended by group is to change all "N" term objects with some exceptions
(9000). Deb will check with budget to be sure that they have no issues with this change.
OLA Audit Report – Reviewed report and findings
•
•
•
•
AR_01 Security is an issue. We will send out notice out to campuses that this
security will be changed. This security group will become Table Maintenance
Security.
System Office needs to review which security groups have incompatible functions
and notify campuses which users have them. System Office anticipates this being
ready to send to campuses by December.
Reports need to be developed for cancelled registrations, waivers and uncollectible
or written-off balances. Discussion on whether this could be replicated database vs
standard reports.
Audit report suggested reviewing business processes to determine when negative
receipts are allowed and develop appropriate edits or screens.
Object Code 8605 and Reporting
•
Interfund accrual is not automated so the AC0531CP now has a "Source Module"
option which will allow you to run this report for object code 8605 for Student
Payroll, AR, etc.
FUNDS APPLIED PROCESSING
•
Time necessary to run the initial Funds Applied process at the beginning of a term
was discussed. Winona reported 16 hours to process, necessitating the shutdown
of other accounting functions on campus to complete in that time period. St. Cloud
reported plans to complete processing over a 5 night period would be needed for
Spring term. Several possible alternatives to speed processing were discussed.
Group agreed with Al that the first step need to be a review of the technical
process, for potential tuning as had been accomplished with the registration and
tuition calculation functions. Al to pursue this with Glen Guida.
BUSINESS PROCESS REVIEWS
The following processes were reviewed by the group:
o
o
o
Third Party Money
MAPS to MnSCU Reconciliation
Local Bank Reconciliation
The defined processes will be documented along with related enhancements, and
reviewed by the group at the next meeting.
"Top Ten" DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
HARD BUGS/1099’s/W2’s
Reverse Cancelled Check
Load Statement Data to Automated Bank Reconciliation Program
Completion of Cost Allocation and Consumable Inventory Systems to level of initial
specs.
5. Student Payroll – Graduate Assistant Waiver W2 Reporting
6. Student Payroll - FICA Refunds
7. Non Student Invoice/Statement
8. Interfund Accrual Payoff Process
9. Third Party Process – Implementation Business Process Review Recommendation
10. Funds Applied – Separate processing of Prepays and Third Party Payments
PRIORITIES Continued
11. Bank Reconciliation – Implementation Business Process Review Recommendation
12. Student Billing/Aging – Revisions through Subgroup recommendations
13. Financial Statements – Add enhancement to run by month
14. MnSCU to MAPS – Implementation Business Process Review Recommendation
15. 1098 T printing to include amounts
Other than the Student Payroll tax issues listed above, Student Payroll enhancements that
have been spec’d out should continue. After these are complete, further enhancement
requests will be included with the other finance module priorities. Group agrees that a
Student Payroll User Subgroup can meet to do Business Process Reviews. Subgroup
should then report back to the Finance User Group.
OTHER STUDENT PAYROLL PRIORITIES
PR Audit Process – FICA Audit Process
Security Changes – for FA/Work Authorization issues
Reports
Fund transfers that cross fiscal years.
Recognize Two Summer Sessions
FINANCE USER GROUP MEETING Calendar
Dec 15-16 – St Cloud
Feb 16-17 – Alexandria
April 19-20 – Mankato
June 21-22 - Bemidji
Aug 16-17 - Brainerd
(NOTE: These dates are being revisited – final dates will be published on the ITS
website).
Recorded by: Kathy Froysland, Teri Welter, and Dave Lund