Journal Entry
Leadership and Talent Development www.umn.edu/ohr/training
JOURNAL ENTRY Reference Manual
First printing 3-19-08
Revised 4-11-08, 6-11-08, 6-25-08, 8-15-08, 11-5-08, 11-19-08, 12-10-08, 7-15-09, 9-3-09, 5-12-10, 5-25-10, 1-9-12, 8-1-13, 6-30-14, 1-15-15, 8-26-15
The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
This publication/material is available in alternative formats upon request. Please contact University of Minnesota Leadership and Talent Development, 612-624-8647 (4-UOHR).
Printed on recycled and recyclable paper with at least 10 percent postconsumer material. ©2015 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
Fiscal Responsibilities Guide . . . 1
Overview of Journal Entry . . . 2
Accounting Periods . . . 8
Month- and Year-End Module Closing . . . 11
University Policies and Procedures . . . 14
Header Page . . . 23
Lines Page . . . 27
Journal Process . . . 34
Change ChartField Values Page . . . 37
Journal Entry Approvals . . . 38
Errors . . . 42
Journal Status Errors . . . 42
Budget Errors . . . 49
Reversing a Journal Entry . . . 56
Copying a Journal Entry . . . 59
Creating a Standard Journal Entry . . . 61
General Ledger WorkCenter . . . 79
Searching for and Viewing a Journal Entry . . . 81
Viewing a Journal Entry: Search Results Page . . . 82
Journal Entry Inquiries . . . 84
General Ledger Inquiries . . . 87
General Ledger Activity Report . . . 92
Journal Entry Queries . . . 94
Month-End Cleanup Process . . . 99
Reporting . . . 101
Appendix A: Debits and Credits . . . 103
Appendix B: Defining SpeedTypes for ChartField Strings . . . 104
Appendix B: Defining SpeedTypes for ChartField Strings (cont.) . . . 105
Terminology . . . 106
Resources . . . 111
Table of Contents
Fiscal Responsibilities Guide
Initiator Individuals who request or initiate an event that results in a financialtransaction. They are responsible for conducting activities and events within the boundaries of compliance with University policies and procedures and funding agency restrictions. Any University employee has the potential to be an initiator.
Preparer Individuals who prepare, code, review, and/or process sponsored and nonsponsored accounting transactions in compliance with University policies and procedures and funding agency restrictions. They also resolve discrepancies and prepare reports.
Approver Individuals who review and approve sponsored and nonsponsored accounting transactions to ensure compliance with University policies and procedures and funding agency restrictions. They also identify problems and ensure resolutions.
Fiscal Monitor Individuals responsible for policy interpretation and implementation for a department (or collegiate unit or higher). They manage the sponsored and nonsponsored accounting and fiscal operations of a department (or collegiate unit or higher) in compliance with University policies and procedures and funding agency restrictions.
Individuals who provide leadership for a research grant and/or a subunit within a department by managing, problem solving, ensuring compliance with policies, and monitoring budgets.
Individuals who provide leadership for the unit and the University in general. They participate in policy formation and ensure policy implementation for their unit. They are also responsible for their unit’s overall financial management.
Principal Investigator/ Project Manager Academic/ Administrative Head
GENERAL LEDGER
The General Ledger is the summary of all of the University’s budgeting and financial transactions. All accounting entries entered from transactions created in the modules are sent to the General ledger module as journal entries which are then posted to the Actuals ledger group. The entries are recorded as a double entry with one amount as a credit and the other amount as a debit. The total amount debited and the total amount credited must always be equal.
Below is a diagram/flowchart of the financial system showing how the transactions flow from the modules to the General Ledger.
FINANCIAL SYSTEM INTEGRATION
Overview of Journal Entry
Below is a flowchart of the journal entry process:
Start JournalEntry JournalEdit Budget CheckJournal ApprovalJournal JournalPost Stop
Journal Correction
STEP 1: JOURNAL ENTRY
Journal entries enter the General Ledger in two ways:
1. Manual Online Journal Entry. Transactions are input directly into the system by an individual. See the Creating a Journal Entry section of this manual for more details on this process. There are three ways to enter manually:
• Direct Entry of Journal Data. All manual online journal entries can be entered this way.
• Standard Journal Entry. This is used for entering journals that are put in on a recurring basis, such as rent or monthly distributions of expenses. A detailed description of this process can be found in the Creating a Standard Journal Entry
section of this manual.
• Copy Journal. In this method, a copy of an existing journal is used to create a new journal. It is used when the data from ChartFields and amounts is the same. A detailed description of this process can be found in the Copying a Journal Entry section of this manual.
2. Automatically Created Journal Entry (Journal Generate Process). Runs regularly scheduled batch jobs midday and overnight. The system accumulates all of the detailed accounting entries from other modules, such as Accounts Payable and Expenses, and creates journal entries that are then posted to the General Ledger. All transactions have already been balanced, edited, and approved before they enter the General Ledger. This process is not covered in this manual or course. These journal entries will be in the system, and the preparer may come across them, but the entries
cannot be edited. STEP 2: JOURNAL EDIT
After the data is entered, a journal edit takes place. A journal edit verifies the journal is balanced and ChartField combinations are valid.
Journal edits can take place through a manual process or a batch process. Both of these processes are described below.
• Manual Process. For journals that are manually entered online, journal edits take place after the data has been entered. They can be done at the creation of the journal, or later during updates, as long as the journal hasn’t been posted. In this process, the preparer must manually select “Edit Journal” from a list of processes on the Lines page. See the Creating a Journal Entry section of this manual for more on this process.
• Batch Process. Journals can also be edited automatically during regularly scheduled nightly batch edit jobs. Any journal that hasn’t yet been submitted for approval and that doesn’t have a journal status of “T” will be picked up for batch processing.
When the journal edit is executed or the batch edit process is run, a status appears in the journal entry indicating whether the journal has passed journal edit or has errors.
• If the status is “V” (valid), the journal can continue on to the budget check process.
• If the status is “E” (error), the journal must be corrected before it can continue being processed.
• Other status values are covered in the Lines page of the Creating a Journal Entry section of this manual.
Changes to the journal can take place up until the time it is posted.
Overview of Journal Entry (cont.)
STEP 3: JOURNAL BUDGET CHECK
A journal budget check verifies a budget exists for the ChartField string.
Journal budget checks can take place manually or in a batch process. Both of these processes are described below.
• Manual Process. When journals are manually entered, a budget check occurs at the same time a journal edit is done for newly created entries. Thereafter, the preparer needs to manually select “Budget Check” from a list of processes for subsequent checks. A budget check should be done whenever data in the fields have been changed.
• Batch Process. Journals can also be budget checked during regularly scheduled batch edit jobs. These are automatically done nightly once a journal is saved.
When the budget check is executed, a status appears indicating the budget status.
• If the status is “V” (valid), it indicates that the entry is within budget and that a budget has been set up. The process can continue to the next step.
• If the status is “V” (valid) and a warning sign appears notifying the user that the entry is not within budget, the journal can
continue processing but the preparer should be aware the journal is overbudget.
• If the status changes to “E” (error), it means a budget has not been set up for one of the ChartField strings. The journal cannot continue processing. Either the wrong ChartField has been entered or no budget has been set up for the ChartField. E-mail the
RRC manager to make a request to set up a budget for a certain ChartField string.
Further information on budget checking can be found in the Budget Checking section of this manual.
STEP 4: JOURNAL APPROVAL
Once the journal passes edit and budget check, the preparer must manually submit the journal for approval. If the preparer runs the manual edit and budget process, the journal can be immediately submitted for approval. If the preparer chooses to let the system pick up the journal for the nightly batch edit process, the following day the preparer must search and open up the journal entry and manually submit it for approval. Directions for how to do this can be found in the Creating a Journal Entry section of this manual.
Journals are simultaneously routed to the primary approver and to a pool of one or more alternate approvers. A journal needing approval will remain in the primary approver’s queue until it has been approved. In the case that a journal has not been approved or sent back within five days, the preparer will be notified by a system-generated email. Journal preparers will follow up with the approver when a journal has not been approved within the five days. Approval History information includes the names of the approvers for the journal.
The financial system routes the journal for approval based on both the Source field (ONN or ONS) and the Journal Class (initiating DeptID). Entries that include a sponsored project are sent to a certified approver based on the Source field selection ONS. Nonsponsored entries with total debit/total credit amount of $30,000 or greater are sent to a central approver. The entry appears on the designated approver’s worklist, and the designated approver receives an email notification that a journal needs to be approved.
The approver can take action on a journal by selecting either Approve, Send Back, or Hold. • Approved Journal. If it is approved, the journal continues
automatically on to the posting process. The preparer is not notified. • Send Back. If the approver selects “Send Back,” an entry appears
in the preparer’s worklist and an email notification is sent to the preparer, and no further processing occurs on the journal until changes are made. The preparer must go back in to that journal, make corrections, do a new edit and budget check, and then submit the journal for approval again.
Further information on viewing approvals can be found later in the Viewing Journal Entry Approvals section of this manual.
STEP 5: JOURNAL POSTING
Journals that have been approved are posted automatically via a nightly posting process. Once the journal has been posted, it cannot be changed or deleted.
A journal entry is used to record financial transactions in the General Ledger and consists of (1) a ChartField string and amounts to be debited, (2) a ChartField string and amounts to be credited, (3) a date, and (4) an explanation for the entry. For the University, an account consists of a ChartField string that includes Fund, DeptID, Account, and other required or optional ChartFields.
The types of financial transactions that are recorded through a journal entry in the General Ledger are:
Permanent movement of resources from one fund to another fund, or from one unit to another within the same fund. Some transfers are mandatory (required by external or legal obligations), and others are nonmandatory (made at the discretion of the governing board or management). Transfers can happen within the same fund (intrafund) or between two different funds (interfund). Transfers can be related to sponsored funds, and nonsponsored funds.
Decreasing the expenses of one account and increasing the expenses of another. This is commonly used when expenses are split between multiple units for a common activity (e.g., sharing a copy machine). Expenses may also be redistributed based on actual end use of items. Effort should be made to correctly process transactions using the appropriate ChartField string. If this is not done, the transaction must be corrected as soon as possible. Revenue and expenses may both need to be corrected from time to time. Keep in mind that negative revenues and expenses cannot be created with a correction, and there may be restrictions based on the fund value and sponsored activity.
Transactions between operating accounts and balance sheet accounts, or transactions among balance sheet accounts. University departments use balance sheet accounts to record assets and liabilities in the General Ledger. Balance sheet accounts are to be used to accrue expenses or revenue, defer expenses or revenue, record an asset, and record a long-term liability. Transferring of Funds Redistributing Expenses Correcting General Ledger Entries Balance Sheet Transactions
Accounting Periods
REGULAR ACCOUNTING PERIODS
The accounting period in which a journal entry is posted is determined by the date on the Header page. For example, if a journal is dated August 12, it will be posted in Period 2. Transactions relating to a month (period) that are processed after that month has ended should be dated as of the last day of the month to which the transaction relates. For example, if the current date is May 4, and a transaction relating to April is being processed, it should be dated April 30. Assuming that period is still open, this transaction will be posted in Period 10.
Period Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 July August September October November December January February March April May June
Periods 1 through 12 are considered the regular accounting periods. These are used when the module is still open. Please see this manual’s section on
Accounting Periods (cont.)
ADJUSTMENT PERIODSUnlike non-adjusting journal entries, where the date of the journal determines the accounting period, the accounting (adjusting) period for adjusting entries is determined by the adjustment period selected on the Header page. The list of available adjusting entry periods can be
displayed when “Adjusting Entry” is selected in the Adjusting Entry field. Only open adjustment periods can be selected.
Although the date does not determine the (adjusting) period to which an adjusting entry posts, entries still must be dated appropriately in the same manner as non-adjusting journal entries. If the appropriate dates are not used for adjusting entries, they will not be reflected properly in department reports nor will they be picked up by the closing process or recorded accurately in the financial statements. For example, a transaction that is entered during the departmental year-end adjusting period must be dated 6/30 for it to be properly reflected in department reporting and the University’s financial statements.
Period Month 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 July August September October November December January February March April May June
The periods 901 through 912 are used by the Resource Responsibility Center (RRC) for period journal entry adjustments to modules that have been closed. These are mainly used by Auxiliary Services.
913 Used by the RRCs for year-end adjustment entries. 914
915
Used by Accounting Services for year-end adjustments 921 922 923 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter
Used by Accounting Services for quarterly financial statement adjusting entries.
Period Month
0 Used to store the balance forward amount (e.g., beginning balances) for balance sheet accounts as of the beginning of each fiscal year. Updates to amounts in this period are made only during the year-end closing process. No other journal transactions can be recorded in this period.
998 This is a default period created in the financial system and is not used by the University.
999 This period is used to record the results of the year-end closing process. No other journal transactions can be recorded in Period 999.
MONTHLY CLOSING SCHEDULE
The General Ledger module closes around 9:00 a.m. on the seventh business day of the next month for periods 1 through 12. This means that no journal entries can be posted for that period after the seventh business day. This is to ensure that no entries are recorded after the period close.
However, the General Ledger is reopened the Friday night prior to the third Saturday of the following month for processing of endowment transactions; then the GL is closed again, once the endowment processing is complete.
For example, a transaction that needs to be recorded in August (period 2) is entered in the financial system on September 5. Since it is not past the seventh business day of September, period 2 is still open, so the transaction can be posted in August. The journal entry is dated August 31 and is posted to period 2.
AUGUST
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 First day of Period 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 GL closes for Period 1 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Last day of Period 2 SEPTEMBER
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 First day of Period 3 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 GL closes for Period 2 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Last day of Period 3
YEAR-END CLOSING SCHEDULE
In period 12, the General Ledger module closes on the morning of the seventh business day. For endowments, the General Ledger is reopened the Friday night prior to the third Saturday of the following month, and closes once the processing is complete.
At the end of the fiscal year, the General Ledger adjustment period 913 closes 10 business days after it was opened.
JUNE
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 First day of Period 12 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 GL closes for Period 11 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 JULY
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
1 First day of Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Period 12 and FY close; Adjustment Period 913 opens 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Adjustment Period 913 closes 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
DEPARTMENT YEAR-END CLOSING PROCEDURES
Departments will enter their final year-end accounting entries in period 913 in the financial system. Period 913 is an adjusting period, so the journal must be marked as an adjusting entry and period 913 must be selected as the adjusting period. These journals should be dated 6/30/YYYY. For additional details, see the section on Creating a Journal Entry earlier in this manual.
Journal entries to be processed in period 913 include: • Inventory
• Accounts receivable • Unrecorded expenses
• ChartField string balance transfers • Expense transfers (nonsponsored only) ACCOUNTING SERVICES YEAR-END CLOSING PROCEDURES
Accounting Services will enter central year-end entries (required to prepare the financial statements) in periods 914 and 915. These journals will need the same information that is entered on a departmental year-end adjusting entry, only the adjusting period will be different. Period 914 will be used for all regular financial statement adjusting entries; period 915 will be used for any audit adjustments that must be recorded.
Policies are needed to administer the University in accordance with state and federal legislation, reasonable administrative practice and the delegation of authority by the Board of Regents. Administrative policies are divided into these six subject areas: academic/research, financial, human resources, information technology, operational, and senate. A University policy satisfies all of the following criteria:
1. It is a governing principle that mandates or constrains actions. 2. It has institution-wide application.
3. It changes infrequently and sets a course for the foreseeable future. 4. It helps ensure compliance, enhances the University’s mission, or
reduces institutional risk.
5. It is approved at the senior levels of the University.
Procedures are a set of instructions on how to accurately and appropriately process accounting transactions.
The purpose of these transactions is to accurately reflect authorized intra- and interfund financial activity. This includes efforts to:
• Initially record revenue to accurately reflect the source of revenue and type of activity that generated it.
• Initially align expenses with revenue sources.
• Properly transfer resources between Chartfield strings. • Properly match revenue and expense.
• Accurately record assets, liabilities, and fund balances at the end of an accounting period.
This policy helps the University maintain stewardship over University assets by monitoring and controlling these internal transactions. Internal transactions have unique risks in that they have minimal review by external parties. Inaccurate, unauthorized, or undocumented internal transactions often result in audit disallowances, especially for sponsored project funding.
Accurate internal transactions will improve the quality of financial reporting, improve compliance with regulatory requirements, and minimize inefficiencies in document correction.
Processing Internal Accounting Transactions Policy
Related Procedures
Adjusting or Correcting Internal Accounting Transactions for Sponsored Accounts
Financial managers should initially align expenses with corresponding cash received in a fiscally responsible manner which eliminates the need to move expenses at a later date. Frequent errors in recording expenses may indicate the need for improvements in accounting practices and/ or internal controls. Recognizing, however, that legitimate reasons can exist for the transfer of expenses in the General Ledger, certain exceptions are permitted. See the Policy Web site for details on this procedure.
Adjusting/Correcting Internal Accounting Transactions on Nonsponsored Accounts
Financial managers should initially align revenue with the appropriate activities in a fiscally responsible manner that eliminates the need to move revenue at a later date. Frequent errors in recording expenses may indicate the need for improvements in accounting practices and/ or internal controls. Recognizing, however, that legitimate reasons can exist for the movement of revenue on the General Ledger, certain exceptions are permitted. See the Policy Web site for details on this procedure.
Originating Internal Accounting Transactions
There are three categories of transfers included in this policy: (1) mandatory intrafund or interfund transfers, (2) nonmandatory intrafund transfers, and (3) nonmandatory interfund transfers.
Different procedures are required for each. See the Policy Web site for details on this procedure.
Types of Internal Accounting Transactions
There are several types of internal accounting transactions, including fund transfers, internal sales, and balance sheet transactions.
Transfers
Mandatory transfers represent legal obligations to transfer funds, related to internal loan repayments or required financial aid matching grants. Mandatory transfers should be processed only by Accounting Services. Nonmandatory transfers are not based on any legal obligation but are based on management discretion over use of unit resources.
Processing Internal Accounting Transactions Policy (cont.) Additional Info
These transfers can be processed by departments, but may be subject to additional review by Accounting Services. To process a non-mandatory transfer, a journal entry will be prepared. This entry must include the appropriate accounting information and justification and will be subject to the normal journal review and approval process. Non-mandatory transfers involving sponsored funds should only be processed by Sponsored Financial Reporting.
Balance Sheet Transactions
Balance sheet accounts are used to account for University resources under accrual accounting guidelines. Balance sheet transactions record such things as accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses (liabilities), deferred revenues, and capital assets. Many balance sheet transactions will be recorded through activity in subsidiary modules (e.g. Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable). However, under appropriate circumstances balance sheet transactions will need to be recorded via a manual journal entry directly in the General Ledger. These transactions will primarily be recorded at year-end.
• Accruing Expense: Goods or services have been received from an external party, but the invoice to support payment has not been received or entered in the system. Since the goods or services have been received, the transaction should be recorded in the current period. Since the documentation to support payment will be received in a future period, to avoid double-counting this expense, the transaction must be reversed in a future period. To record an accrued expense, a manual General Ledger entry will be prepared to record the expense and related liability in the current period. This entry should be set to reverse in the appropriate future period. • Accruing Revenue: Goods or services have been provided to an
external party, but the bills to support receipt of payment has not been generated or entered in the system. Since the goods or services have been provided, the transaction should be recorded (revenue should be recognized) in the current period. Since the bill will be generated and payment will be received in a future period, to avoid double-counting the revenue, the transaction must be reversed in a future period.
To record an accrued revenue, a manual journal entry will be prepared to record the revenue and related receivable in the current period. This entry should be set to reverse in the appropriate future period.
Additional Info (cont.)
• Prepaid Expenses: Payment has been made for a good or service that will be used in a future period. The transaction to record the prepaid expense asset will be recorded when the invoice is processed in the Accounts Payable module. The transaction(s) to use up (expense) the prepaid asset will be recorded with a manual journal entry (or entries) in the General Ledger. This entry will record an expense amount and reduce the amount of the prepaid asset. • Deferred Income: Cash has been received before the revenue it
represents has been earned. The transaction to record the deferred revenue will be recorded through the Accounts Receivable/Billing modules when the cash deposit is processed. If the cash received does not relate to a bill generated in the Accounts Receivable/ Billing module, the transaction to recognize the revenue will be recorded with a manual journal entry in the General Ledger. This entry will reduce the deferred income liability amount and record the recognized revenue.
Internal Sales
• Internal sales transactions will be all be recorded through the Accounts Payable module. If there are corrections to be made to these transactions, they may be processed with a manual General Ledger journal entry. For further details on internal sales, see Policy 3.2.1 “Selling Goods and Services to University Departments” and related procedures.
Approval authority should be consistent with the University’s
Statement of Management Direction, which says “authority to act and responsibility for performance should reside at the lowest possible organizational level.” Authorized signers should be those that know enough about the transaction to ensure its accuracy and consistency with policy. Many levels of approval are not recommended, unless higher levels “add value” to the transaction. Designate separate staff to be responsible for each of these types of transactions:
1. Committing to or authorizing payment for payroll, purchases, or cash disbursements.
2. Receiving or distributing goods, checks, or cash.
3. Recording transactions in the University’s financial system. If it is not possible to have different staff responsible for these
functions, a supervisor or other staff member should periodically check the validity and accuracy of the work.
Additional Info (cont.)
Approval and Routing Policy
These controls maintain integrity of handling the University’s business transactions and help reduce the potential for fraud.
This policy governs reconciling, verifying, and substantiating financial information used by University personnel for administrative and programmatic decision-making. Review of financial information should be performed on a regular and timely basis.
Accountability and procedures must be assigned and in place in each department to ensure that inaccuracies or incomplete financial information identified during the reconciliation or verification process are investigated and corrected in a timely manner.
Reconciliation, verification, and substantiation are essential for an effective internal control environment to ensure that:
• The information transmitted to, contained in, and reported from the University’s financial system is accurate, complete, and recorded in a timely manner.
• The information can be relied on for making financial and administrative decisions.
• Fraud, theft, compliance violations, and other irregularities are quickly detected and reported to the appropriate authorities.
University personnel must comply with the requirements of this policy to ensure that an effective internal control environment is maintained.
Related Procedures
Reviewing and Verifying Revenue, Expenditures, and Other Financial Reports
Revenue and expenditure reports, payroll reports, and other financial reports should be verified for accuracy and completeness. Various methods may be employed to determine the accuracy of financial information. It is acceptable to use a shadow system as long as it agrees back to the General Ledger. See the Policy Web site for details on this procedure. Reconciling and Verifying General Ledger Accounts and Other Financial Information Policy
University Policies and Procedures (cont.)
Reconciliation of Balance Sheet Accounts Procedure
Reconciliation is the process of comparing information that exists in two systems or locations, analyzing differences, and making corrections so that the information is accurate, complete, and consistent in both locations. Balance-sheet accounts must be reconciled on a periodic and timely basis to verify that all items were correctly posted to the account. All funds within the balance-sheet account must be included in the reconciliation unless previous arrangements have been made. Without performing reconciliations, inaccurate recording of transactions may occur that would result in incorrect reporting and could impact resources. See the Policy Web site for details on this procedure. All university faculty and staff initiating, preparing, completing, or
approving any sponsored or nonsponsored financial transactions must comply with the justification and documentation standards established by this policy and all other associated policies, procedures, and job aids. The originating organization must ensure the transaction justification and supporting documentation includes complete information about the transaction. Financial transaction justification and documentation must contain answers to the following:
• WHY is the transaction being completed and HOW does the transaction relate to the ChartField string affected or charged, when the relationship to the account is not clear?
• WHAT is the transaction for?
• WHO initiated the transaction? and WHO are the affected individuals or units?
• WHERE and WHEN did (or will) the activity take place? The justification should not repeat information provided by the ChartField string or restate the Account value in the description. It should provide additional information.
The transaction justification and any other required documentation (receipts, etc.) should be sufficient to clearly explain the transaction to someone inquiring about it, such as an auditor, at a later date.
Reconciling and Verifying General Ledger Accounts and Other Financial Information Policy (cont.) Documenting Financial/ Accounting Transactions for All Nonsponsored and Sponsored Transactions Policy
Justification for Expense Transfers
The following information is required for All Non-Sponsored & Sponsored Transactions dealing with non-salary expense transfers : In documenting answers to the 5 Ws, the preparer must:
• Indicate the date of the original charge.
• For sponsored transactions this information should be included in the Reference field on the Lines page.
• For nonsponsored transactions this information should be included in the Long Description field on the Header page. • Reference the number of the original accounting document and the
account.
• For sponsored transactions this information should be included in the Journal Line Description field on the Lines page.
• For nonsponsored transactions, this information should be included in the Long Description field on the Header page. • Justify why the cost is being transferred. If the cost is being
moved onto a sponsored account, this explanation is particularly important for accountability to sponsors. It cannot merely state that the transfer was made “to correct error” or “to transfer to correct project.” The form must state how and why the error occurred. This information is needed to adequately support the validity of this cost on the project and may be reviewed by auditors.
• Description of the cost being transferred.
• Note steps taken to avoid errors in the future, if not simply a keystroke error.
• The originally charged document should contain the required justification. If this transfer alters this justification in any way, the change should be reflected in the transfer justification.
• Additional justification (reason for delay) required for
transfers processed outside of allowable transfer window listed in Administrative Policy: Processing Internal Accounting Transactions. Documenting Financial/ Accounting Transactions for All Nonsponsored and Sponsored Transactions Policy (cont.)
This policy outlines the requirements for obtaining a sponsored Project value before the sponsored project award process is completed, and for incurring costs on a sponsored project outside of the official project start and end dates.
New Projects
If principal investigators plan to charge expenses for a new or competing renewal award before it is completely processed or before the start date, they must establish an advance or preaward Project value.
Advance Account
Charges incurred prior to the start date of a contract are usually unallowable charges because they were incurred outside the dates of the final agreement. However, sometimes the agreement language is still being negotiated on the anticipated start date. In such a case, the principal investigator can request an advance sponsored Project value to begin the project. The start date on this advance Project value is the anticipated start date of the project. The charges on this advance Project will be allowable because once the agreement is signed, the start date on the agreement will coincide with the effective date of the advance Project.
Preaward Account
Some sponsors allow charges to be incurred prior to the start date of the agreement. Federal sponsors usually permit charges up to 90 days before the start date and many businesses funding clinical trials allow start-up costs on those projects. In these cases, the principal investigator can request a preaward project. Even though the charges are incurred outside the dates of the final agreement, they are allowable because sponsor policy permits them.
Continuing Projects
If principal investigators plan to incur expenses for work originally planned for future budget periods, they must document in advance that the accelerated spending is not an overdraft. This policy and its related procedure provide instructions for documenting this accelerated spending, if permitted by the sponsor. This policy does not apply to accelerated spending on NIH modular grants.
Specific institutional approval is not required for charges that are incurred after the end of the project or budget period. Departments incur these expenses at their own risk, and any expenses not allowed by the sponsor will be charged to a departmental account in accordance with Policy 3.2.5, Removing Uncollectible Costs Charged to sponsored Charging
Sponsored Costs Outside the
Award Period
University Policies and Procedures (cont.)
projects. Examples of this type of risk include incurring expenses on the sponsored account when there is a break in support between continuation budget periods and while waiting for sponsor approval of an extension request.
Reason for Policy
Principal investigators have legitimate reasons for needing preaward or advance accounts, for charging costs on these accounts, and for incurring costs planned for future budget periods. However, these accounts and costs put the University at risk because they may not be covered by sponsored agreements and the sponsors could refuse to pay the costs. This policy outlines internal controls and procedures that ensure accountability over the funds, meet required sponsor regulations, and provide documentation for audits.
The University invests its resources to maximize interest earnings. The Office of Budget and Finance allocates some of the income earned by the temporary investment pool (TIP) to University departmental accounts. Under certain market conditions, income may be allocated as interest earnings to accounts with positive cash balances. In addition, interest-bearing accounts may be required by some sponsors when the prepayments on the grant exceed the expenditures. Conversely, interest is charged against accounts with negative cash balances.
The TIP allocation process provides an incentive for units to establish and maintain proper budgeting and accounting practices. Maintaining positive balances helps contribute to the amount of investment income the University earns. This policy allows some of that income to be allocated back to the units that helped earn it.
The University Records Management program provides systematic control of information from creation to final disposition. The Records Management program also provides a timetable and consistent
procedures for maintaining the University’s information on all
campuses and in all media, moving the records to inactive storage when appropriate, and disposing of the records when they are no longer valuable to the organization.
The Records Management program will do the following: reduce the cost of records maintenance; retain records as required by federal, state, and other regulatory agencies; preserve the records that are vital to the University; and provide needed documentation in the event of litigation. Charging Sponsored Costs Outside the Award Period (cont.) Allocating Temporary Investment Pool Income Policy Managing University Records Retention Policy
Navigate to: Home > General Ledger > Journals > Journal Entry > Create/Update Journal Entries > Add a New Value tab.
Field Name Field Description
Unit Defaults to “UMN01.”
Journal ID Remains as “Next” until the journal entry is saved. Once it is saved, a numeric value is automatically assigned.
Journal Date The date the journal is entered in the system.
Header is the default tab. This tab applies to all lines within a journal. It displays journal header information that uniquely identifies the journal entry in the system: business unit, journal ID, and journal date. It also contains options for marking the entry as adjusting, for reversing an entry, and for selecting the journal entry approval DeptID.
Field Name Field Description
Long Description (254 characters) The justification (5 Ws) for the transaction, as well as any other pertinent information that cannot be found anywhere else in the journal entry. Use this space to indicate to the approver that a scanned supporting document has been attached to this journal entry. If this is a journal entry to correct a payment to a human research subject, it is required that the confidentiality of the study and the human subject(s) be maintained. The only justification that is required is “Details are on file in the department and available for audit.” In addition, any attached supporting document(s) must not identify the human subject nor the name of the study.
Ledger Group (10 Characters) Ledger where journal is posted to. Enter “Actuals.” • Actuals. This is the only ledger group used.
• Budget Dev. For budget journal entries. Not used. • Budget Fin. For budget journal entries. Not used.
• KK Child. For budget journal entries for sponsored activity. Not used.
Creating a Journal Entry: Header Page (cont.)
Creating a Journal Entry: Header Page (cont.)
• KK Dtl Exp. For pre-encumbrance and encumbrance entries. Notused.
• KK Expense. For budget journal entries for expenses. Not used. • KK Parent. For budget journal entries for sponsored activity. Not used. • KK Revenue. For budget journal entries for revenue. Not used. Auto Generate Lines Leave blank. This checkbox is not selected.
Ledger Leave blank.
Adjusting Entry Most transactions are processed during regular periods (1–12) and should be marked as a “Non-Adjusting Entry.” If an entry is being processed during an adjustment period, such as a year-end entry during period 913, it should be marked as an “Adjusting Entry.”
Source Required field. Can either be “ONS” (sponsored) or “ONN”
(nonsponsored). It determines how the journal should be routed for the approval process. If “ONS” is chosen, the system will route the entry to a designated Certified Approver indicated on the approval DeptID. Note: System defaults to “ONN.”
Reference Number Can be used to provide additional information about a transaction, such as a document number or source. It is not required.
Period For non-adjusting entries, this field is grayed-out and the accounting period is automatically generated based on the date of the entry. For adjusting entries, a specific adjustment period must be entered. Most department users will use only period 913 at year end. Central users in Accounting Services will use periods 914, 915, and 921 through 923. SJE Type There are two options for this field: leave blank or select “Model.”
Leave blank if this is not a standard journal entry (SJE). If it is an SJE, select “Model” from the list to make a model SJE. See instructions for standard journal entries later in this manual.
ADB Date Leave at default.
Journal Class Indicates where the system should send the journal for approval. Click on the magnifying glass for a list of DeptIDs, and choose an appropriate DeptID to send to for approval, based on the transaction type, department location, and other factors. An alternate approver is also designated for the journal.
Saves journal entry as incomplete, allowing the entry to be saved and completed at a later time; it will also prevent the entry from being picked up by the nightly editing processes. This field is selected by default, though it can be deselected.
Transaction Code Leave at default value of “General.” Currency Defaults Defaults to “USD/1.” Do not change.
Defaults to “Do Not Generate Reversals.”
If the entry should reverse at a later time, this link must be clicked, and information on the Journal Entry Reversal page must be completed at the time the original journal entry is created. More details on this process can be found in the Reversing a Journal Entry section of this manual.
Leave at default.
<Attachments> Supporting documentation can be attached or viewed through this link. Save Entry cannot be saved at this point. Entry can be saved only when all
required fields are completed on both the Header and Lines pages. SpeedType SpeedTypes are set up for individual use and available for selection to streamline data input for frequently used ChartField strings. See appendix for detailed instructions.
Save Journal Incomplete Status Reversal: Do Not Generate Reversal Commitment Control
The Lines page is used to record detail lines that comprise a journal transaction. A journal entry must have at least two lines, and total debits must equal total credits. The ChartField values entered here classify the funding source, financial area, and nature of the transaction. Once the Header and Lines pages are complete, the entry can be edited, budget-checked, and submitted for approval.
Field Name Field Description
Unit Always “UMN01.”
Journal ID (10 characters) Remains at “Next” until the journal is saved. Once it is saved, a journal ID value is automatically assigned. Journal ID is a numeric value.
Date Date specified on the Add New Value page and Header page indicating when the journal entry was created.
Template List List of journal entry templates. There are three templates to choose from: General, Nonsponsored, and Sponsored. The default template is the General template. The General template uses all columns/ fields applicable to both sponsored and nonsponsored, whereas the Nonsponsored and Sponsored templates show different required
columns/fields based on the different ChartFields used. This can be used to shorten the row length and make it easier to view the journal entry. Note: For cost-share transactions or any other transaction that requires both Program and Project values, the General template must be used.
Change Values Change one value to another value in fields that were incorrectly entered. See the section on the Change ChartField Values page later in this manual for details on how to do this.
Inter/Intra Unit Not used. Instead, the system automatically creates the appropriate Due To/From lines when there is a cross in Funds and/or DeptIDs.
Select The checkbox on specific lines in a journal that are selected for deletion.
Line The number assigned to each line of the journal entry. Ledger The name of the ledger specified on the Header page.
Speed Type A Speed Type must be set up by the individual if desired for input of ChartField strings. See Appendix.
Fund (4 characters) Fund value for this distribution line. DeptID (5 characters) DeptID value for this distribution line.
Program (5 characters) Program value for this distribution line. This field is required for nonsponsored accounts or for non-construction-in-progress projects.
PCBU (5 characters) Project Costing Business Unit. Required for sponsored accounts and other approved projects. It identifies the type of project. If it’s for a sponsored project, enter “UMSPR.” For construction-in-progress projects, enter “UMCIP.” For nonsponsored, leave blank. Note: Enter PCBU first before entering Project. This is necessary in order to get a list of Project values to appear.
Project (8 characters) Project value for this distribution line. This field is required for sponsored projects and for select nonsponsored activities. Activity (1 character) Always “1.” This is required for sponsored activity and
other approved projects.
An Type (Analysis Type) Indicates transaction type. Required for online journals with sponsored project transactions.
T ra in in g S er vi ces , O rg an iz at io na l E ff e ct iv en es s/O HR • 612-626-1373 Jo ur na l E ntry www .u m n. ed u/o hr/t ra in in gs er vi ce s 12-30-11
Jour
nal Entr
y Anal
ysis T
ype
Th e f ol low in g N O N-B ILL A B LE A na ly si s T yp es WILL N O T a ff e ct t he s po ns or ’s i nv oi ce . Cost Share Cos t S ha re A na ly si s T yp es m us t b e u se d w hen en ter in g a ma nua l j ou rna l en tr y ( JE ) i f t he C ha rtF ie ld s tr in g i nc lu des: F un d, D ep tID , P ro gr am, P CB U , P ro je ct , A ct iv ity , A cco un t, C S. A na ly sis T yp e D es crip ti on Summ ar y W he n to U se C GE C ost S ha ri ng G L E xp en se Th e j ou rna l en tr y l in e i nd ic at es c os t s ha re a nd i s r ela te d t o no n-sa la ry/f ri ng e. U se w hen a n e xp en se p ur cha se i s t o b e i nc lu de d i n t he c os t sha re r eq ui rem en t. C PY C os t S ha re P ay ro ll N o l on ger u se d. BD 1 T ot al C os t B ud ge t Sc ena ri o 1 Th is i s f or c os t s ha re b ud ge ts/b ud ge t r ea llo ca tio n. U se f or a ll b ud ge t t ra nsa ct io ns en ter ed i nt o B ud ge t_F in tha t u se a P ro je ct n um ber . C SR C os t S ha re R ev en ue U se d t o f un d c os t s ha re C ha rtF ie ld s tr in gs . U se w hen a llo ca tin g r es ou rc es t o a s pe ci fi c c os t s ha re C ha rt Fi el d s tr in g. Other RFA R ed ist ri but e F & A U se d t o r ed is tr ib ut e F&A . U se o nl y w ith A cc ou nt 460201 o r t ra ns fer a cc ou nt c od es t o re di st ri bu te F&A in o rd er f or t he f ol lo w in g t o o cc ur : • M ai nt ai n h is to ri ca l r ep or tin g o f w ha t e ac h D ep tID ea rn ed i n F&A re co ver y. • D ep ar tm en ts c an z er o o ut t he C ha rtF ie ld s tr in g. • CS C ha rtF ie ld i s n ot r eq ui re d w hen u si ng Pr og ra m a nd P ro je ct a lo ng w ith “RF A ” A na ly si s Ty pe . AT ra in in g S er vi ces , O rg an iz at io na l E ff e ct iv en es s/O HR • 612-626-1373 Jo ur na l E ntry www .u m n. ed u/o hr/t ra in in gs er vi ce s 12-30-11
Jour
nal Entr
y Anal
ysis T
ype (cont.)
B Th e f ol low in g B ILL A B LE A na ly si s T yp es WILL a ff e ct t he a m ou nt b ill ed t o t he s po ns or . Sponsored Projects Spon so re d A na ly si s T yp es m us t b e u se d w hen en ter in g a ma nua l j ou rna l en tr y ( JE ) i f t he C ha rtF ie ld s tr in g i nc lu des: F un d, D ep tID , P CB U , P ro je ct , A ct iv ity , A cc ou nt . A na ly sis T yp e D es crip ti on Summ ar y W he n to U se GL E G L E xp en se Th e j ou rna l en tr y l in e i nd ic at es a P ro je ct n um ber a nd i s re la te d t o n on-sa la ry/f ri ng e e xp en ses . Th is c od e i s u se d w hen n on-sa la ry/f ri ng e r ela te d tr an sa ct io ns en ter ed a re t ru ly e xp en ses t ha t n ee d t o b e p ai d by th e s pon sor . PAY T im e & L ab or A ct ua l N o l on ger u se d.Used Only By Sponsored Financial Reporting (SFR) TIP
T em p. In ves tm en t P oo l Inc ome U se d b y S FR o nl y w hen p ro ces si ng TIP . GCA C on ve rsion o f A ss et s N o l on ger u se d. GL B G L B ala nc e S he et/ O ff set U se d by S FR on ly. GL R G L R ev en ue U se d by S FR on ly. G PA Pr og ra m Inc ome A dd ition M et ho d U se d b y S FR o nl y w hen p ro ces si ng P ro gr am i nc om e. GP D Pr og ra m Inc ome D edu ct io n M et ho d U se d b y S FR o nl y w hen p ro ces si ng P ro gr am i nc om e.
Account (6 characters) Account value for this distribution line. This value is required. It classifies the nature of the transaction (revenue, expense, asset, or liability).
FinEmplID (7 characters) FinEmplID value for this distribution line. FinEmplID uses an employee’s ID number. This is an optional field and is used when certain financial activities needs to be tracked to an individual employee. It is required for certain Program values.
CF1 (10 characters) CF1 value for this distribution line. This is a conditional, centrally defined field with centrally defined rule sets. CF2 (10 characters) CF2 value for this distribution line. This is an optional,
user-defined field that is used by a college or a department.
CS (2 characters) “CS” (cost share) is entered for all cost-share transactions when both Program and Project values are required. “CS” is the only value for this field.
Field Name Field Description
Fund Affil (Fund Affiliation) System automatically populates field with a value if the transaction crosses funds.
DeptID Affil (DeptID Affiliation) System automatically populates field with a value if the transaction crosses DeptIDs.
Amount Dollar amount of the transaction line. If amount is a credit, enter a minus sign before the amount. Do not use a dollar sign or commas.
Stat Leave blank.
Stat Amt Statistical amount of the transaction line. This field is used only when a statistical account is used in the Account ChartField, such as for carry-forwards and tip deficits. This is used in Accounting Services.
Creating a Journal Entry: Lines Page (cont.)
UOM (Unit of Measurement) Leave blank.
Reference (10 characters) (mm/dd/yy) Required when doing a sponsored expense transfer. The date of the original transaction is required.
(30 characters) Defaults to the account value name once entered in the Account field. For sponsored expense transfers, the document number, such as a payment voucher or invoice, is required in this field. When this is the case, delete the default description, and enter required information. <Projected Balance> This link at the end of each completed journal line displays the Debit
Amount and Credit Amount as well as the Projected Balance for the selected chartstring . This feature enables journal preparers and approvers to more closely monitor the impact of journal entries before they are fully processed.
Lines to Add (4 characters) Adds another line to the journal entry. To add multiple lines, enter a number before clicking to add.
Calculates debits and credits.
To aid in balancing the journal, a running total of the number of lines, debits, credits, journal status, and budget status of the journal appear at the bottom of the Journal Entry – Lines page. It updates when an entry is saved or another blank line is added. Only balanced entries can post to balanced ledgers.
Field Name Field Description
Find Not used.
Total Lines Number of total lines for the journal entry. Total Debit Total amount debited for the journal entry. Total Credits Total amount credited for the journal entry. Journal Line
Creating a Journal Entry: Lines Page (cont.)
Journal Status Indicates the current status of the journal.D (Deleted). Not used.
I (Posting Incomplete). Posting is incomplete because of posting problems. For example, the system might have problems after the reversal journal is created but before the original journal is actually posted. Report as soon as possible.
M (Valid Standard Journal Entry Model). This is a valid standard journal entry model that can be used to generate standard journal entries; this journal cannot be posted and will not be picked up for further processing by any batch process. More information on standard journal entries can be found later in this manual.
E (Error). Journal has been edited and has errors. Errors could include unbalanced debits and credits or invalid ChartField combinations. Errors must be corrected before the journal can be posted. Click on the Error tab or click <E> under Journal Status to view details of error(s). This will open the Error tab.
N (No Status). Needs to be edited. This status is a default value and changes to another status once the edit journal process has been run. P (Posted). The journal entry has successfully been edited, approved, and posted by the system to the appropriate ledger.
T (Journal Entry Incomplete). Save Journal Incomplete Status checkbox was selected on the Header page when the journal entry was first created. To change from “T” to another status, go back to the Header page and deselect the Save Journal Incomplete Status checkbox. Once this is done, the entry can be edited and budget checked either manually from the Lines page or automatically through nightly batch processing. V (Valid Journal). The journal entry has been edited, there are no errors, and once it’s approved, it’s ready to be posted.
Budget Status Indicates the budget status of the journal. If the budget status is “Error,” click this link to access the Commitment Control page, where the error or warning messages can be viewed. Values include:
E (Error). There is no budget set for this transaction line. A budget needs to be created before it can be approved or posted. Click the link to view detailed information on the error.
N (Not Checked). The budget check process hasn’t been run on the entry. V (Valid). The entry passed budget-checking and can be posted. If a warning message pops up, it indicates that the budget has been overspent, but the process can still continue.
Field Name Field Description
Process Tasks to be performed after all appropriate fields have been entered. • Budget Check Journal. Checks the journal lines for valid budget
amounts. When the edit journal process is run, a budget check is also done.
• Copy Journal. Initiates the copy journal process. This is done to copy an existing journal entry and save the copy with a unique journal ID. See Copying a Journal Entry in this manual for copy journal instructions.
• Delete Journal. Deletes the current journal. Only journals that haven’t been posted can be deleted. There is no audit trail of the creation or deletion because the system assumes that a mistake is being corrected.
• Edit ChartField. Verifies validity of the ChartField string. When the edit journal process is run, the edit ChartField process is also performed.
• Edit Journal. Initiates the journal edit process. The edit journal process performs both the edit ChartField process and the budget check process. Select this process after completing the creation of a journal, and again after any changes have been made to that journal. See the ChartField Combination Errors and Other Status Errors section of this manual for more information about ChartField combination errors.
• Print Journal. Not used.
Creating a Journal Entry: Journal Process (cont.)
• Refresh Journal. Reverts journal Header and Lines pages back to theversion that was last saved.
• Submit Journal. Initiates the approval process by displaying the journal on the selected approver’s worklist and by sending an e-mail notification to that approver. The journal is ready to be sent for approval and this option is selected once the journal has passed the editing and budget-checking process.
NOTE
If a transaction crosses funds and/or DeptID, or in other words there are different funds and/ or DeptIDs on different lines in the same journal, the system automatically creates fund or DeptID balancing entries when the journal edit process is run. After these balancing lines are created, they cannot be edited.
The Account ChartField value for these two lines is 109900 (Due From/Due To Other Funds). The balance for 109900 is zero. The Fund or DeptID value that was originally debited is credited and the Fund or DeptID value that was originally credited is debited on the two new lines. The Fund and DeptID values have a net zero balance. The debits and credits are then added to the Total Debit and Credits.
These fund balancing entries are necessary in order for the University to create balance sheets by Fund and DeptID.
PROJECTED BALANCE
Clicking on <Projected Balance> at the end of each completed journal line will display the Debit Amount and Credit Amount as well as the Projected Balance for the selected ChartField string. This feature enables journal preparers and approvers to more closely monitor the impact of journal entries before they are fully processed.
This page is accessed through a link on the Lines page. It is used to change a field from one value to another. It is most often used when there are many lines to change with the same values. For example, if the DeptID has been incorrectly entered as 10000 on ten lines but should be 10002 on the same ten lines, the <Change Values> link would be an easy and quick way to fix the problem.
Field Name Field Description
Field Values The current value to be changed. For example, if the DeptID has been incorrectly entered as 10000 but should be 10002, enter “10000” in the DeptID field under the Field Value column.
Change to The new value that needs to be changed. Per the above example, enter “10002” in the DeptID field under the Change To column.
Selected The box on the row that needs to be changed. This is required for the change to go through.
APPROVAL WORKFLOW
When a journal entry has passed the journal edit and the budget edit manual or nightly processes, the preparer can then send it on to the approver(s) by manually selecting “Submit Journal” on the Lines page of the journal entry. The journal thus enters the workflow process. Workflow then tests the journal entry against a predefined set of business rules. The results of those tests determine the approval routing for the transaction.
Levels of Approval Originating
Place AmountDollar
Nonsponsored
Cluster < $30,000 > $30,000 Accounting
Services N/A
DeptID Central Certified
X X X X Sponsored Cluster < $30,000 > $30,000 SFR N/A X X X X X
All journal entries using sponsored or nonsponsored funds (but that did not originate in SPA/SFR or Accounting Services) need to go through a DeptID approver. There is one person assigned per module per DeptID. Unlike other modules, the primary DeptID approver is not determined at the line level but is instead determined at the header level. The DeptID of the initiator of the journal entry is the one selected in the Journal Class field on the Header page. There are no multiple DeptID approvers for one transaction as with other modules. Even if the journal entry’s lines include more than one DeptID, it is only routed to one DeptID, that which was selected in the Journal Class field on the Header page.
At the same time the journal entry is sent to the primary DeptID approver, it is also sent to an alternate DeptID approver. Only the primary DeptID approver receives notification that a journal entry is waiting to be approved. It is up to the unit to decide when the alternate DeptID approver needs to take action on the journal entry in place of the primary DeptID approver.
Primary DeptID Approver
Alternate DeptID Approver
Certified Approver There is one Certified Approver per DeptID. If the journal entry is prepared at the cluster level and any one line in the journal entry is using sponsored funds, the journal entry must be routed for a second level of approval, by a Certified Approver. “ONS” (sponsored projects) is selected in the Source field on the Header page in order for the journal entry to be routed to the Certified Approver.
There is also an alternate Certified Approver that works in the same way as the alternate DeptID approver.
Central Approver Nonsponsored journal entries with a total debit amount of $30,000 or over need to be sent to another second-level approver, the central approver. The journal entry will automatically route to the central approver after the DeptID approvals have been applied.
SFR Approver If the journal entry was prepared in SFR, regardless of the total debit amount, it only needs to be approved by an SFR approver. It does not need certified approval.
APPROVALS AND PERIOD CLOSING
Journal entries needing Accounting Services approval must be submitted to Accounting Services prior to 2:00 p.m. the day before the period close.
Journal entries that do not require Accounting Services approval must be fully approved by 10:00 p.m. the night before the period close.
The morning of the period close is reserved for final adjustments by Accounting Services. Alternate Certified
Approver
Journal Entry Approvals (cont.)
VIEWING JOURNAL ENTRY APPROVALSThe approval history can be accessed through the Approval tab on any journal entry. Pull up the specific journal entry and select the Approval tab.
This will have the details of the approval process history for this specific journal ID. The following codes may show up in the approval history:
The Approval Check Active field indicates whether there is an approval workflow process required for the journal. Approval Status displays the current approved status:
• Denied. Journal has been denied/sent back by approver. • Pending Approval. Journal is waiting for approval.
• Approval to Post. Journal is approved to post in the overnight process.
• None. Journal has not been submitted for approval. Approval Status
In the Approval Action list box, the approver selects the appropriate action for this journal:
• Approve. If the transaction meets policy and procedures.
• Send Back. To send the journal back to the preparer for correction. • Hold. To prevent anyone from taking action on the transaction,
effectively stops the processing of the transaction. The journal will only proceed through the approval process when it is taken “off Hold.”
Comments are included for those journals that have been sent back or put on a hold status by the approver.
Approval History The Approval History group box lists the step and path, with the status, applicable date, time stamp, and user ID for the various activities in the approval process.
Approval Status Section (cont.)
When a journal entry is edited, the General Ledger runs several checks and warns if the journal entry cannot be posted. A journal entry cannot be posted if one or more of the following
conditions are true:
• The accounting period (determined by the journal date) is not currently open.
• Total debits do not equal total credits, and the ledger is defined as a balanced ledger.
• Any control totals entered with the journal header do not match the actual totals for the journal (debits, credits, statistical units, number of lines).
• There is a ChartField combination error.
If the journal entry contains an error, then it must be corrected. The Errors page can be accessed by one of three ways: the Errors tab, the blue “X” located in front of “Actuals” on the line with the error, or the <E> link under Journal Status.
The following errors may appear after running the edit journal process. 1. ChartField Combination Errors
There are eight ChartField combination rules that must be followed in order for a journal to be processed. These errors can be viewed on the Error page. There are no popup error messages.
Rule 1: ACDPTFD_RQ
All transactions require Fund, DeptID, and Account.
Rule 2: AC_NO_PGPJ
The Account code being used does not allow the use of either a Program or Project. If Account is cash, Program and Project must be blank.
Rule 3: PGORPJ_RQ
The Account code being used requires the use of either a Program or Project. If Account is non-cash, then Program or Project is required.
