Finance Fundamentals How to

How to change or establish New Delegation of Authority for Financial Transactions

Who? Staff initiates

When? Financial transactions require the authorization from a delegated authority (list below). Staff should complete a new Delegation of Authority for Expenditures Form when one of the department's authorized signers changes (e.g., new hire, department management change, etc.).

  • Transactions under $10,000 can be approved by the appropriate College Dean, Assoc./Assist. Vice President or Vice President (exceptions for Grants and Trusts).
  • Transactions $10,000 or greater must be approved by the appropriate Vice President .
  • Trust Fund transactions under $10,000 can be approved by the authorized Trustee. Trust Fund transactions over $10,000 must be approved by the appropriate Vice President.

Grant Fund transactions of any amount can be approved by the Principal Investigator (PI). No additional approval is required since the fund disbursements are defined in the Grant contract.

How? For all funds other Trusts, complete the Delegation of Authority for Expenditures Form. For Trust funds complete the Trust Agreement Application. Route the forms for appropriate signatures. When completed deliver to Financial Services.

How to Code Financial Transactions

Who? Staff

When? When staff requests a financial transactions (e.g., buying, paying, reimbursing, etc.) the request must be submitted with the appropriate chartfield. For detailed information on CSU Stanislaus chartfield structure click on Overview of Chart of Accounts.

The PeopleSoft chartfield consists of multiple components.

Example:

FUND
Required		 DeptID
Required		 ACCOUNT
Required		 PROGRAM
Optional		 CLASS
Optional
G0106 42001 606001 G039 546

All grant fund transactions require a project code as a fourth component.

FUND
Required		 DeptID
Required		 ACCOUNT
Required		 PROJECT
Required Grants Only
C3117 22099 606001 011A

 

How? Determine which Fund you want to use for the financial transaction. If it is a hospitality transaction be sure to determine if it is appropriate to use a General Fund (View Hospitality Policy). Identify the appropriate department and account (expense or revenue) code. If the transaction is to be segregated from other transactions through the use of a program code, indicate the code as part of the chartfield. If it is a grant fund transaction, indicate the appropriate project code.

How to Request New Fund?

Who? Staff can initiate a request for a Trust Fund or Campus Program (Foundation trust fund). Grant funds are established when a grant contract has been received by the Grant Post Award team in Financial Services. Other funds are only established by Financial Services based on fiscal requirements.

When? Trust fund accounts are established to hold funds in a custodial capacity; to account for assets held by CSU Stanislaus or the Foundation in a trustee capacity or as an agent. Funds must be used to benefit the University, a campus program, students, or an authorized faculty activity. Procurement actions andfinancial transactions must be undertaken in accordance with University and Foundation policies and procedures.

How? Complete the Trust Agreement Application or the Foundation Account Application Form for Scholarships & Campus Programs. Submit the form to Financial Services.

How to Request a new DeptID?

Who? Division Vice President or designated staff

When? When department management creates a new Department or function which requires a new code be established or a current department is re-organized or the title of the department is changed or moved under a different organizational structure.

How? Submit a request to the Budget Manager by June 20th to request a new department to the new fiscal year tree, to be approved by the Controller. Request should include the hierarchy such as Division, College or Area, and Department Manager. The request can be submitted as an email to the University Budget Manager & Controller, stating the need for a new Department code, re-organization or code change.

How to Request Access to PeopleSoft Finance?

Who? Staff, assisted by supervising manager.

When? Anyone who will be using PeopleSoft Finance to submit purchase requisitions, run financial reports, check account balances, etc. will need to have security clearance for access.

How? Complete the Office of Information Technology Security Request Form.

How to Run a Financial Report in PeopleSoft Finance Data Warehouse?

Who? Staff

When? Staff responsible for managing department budgets and expenditures will need to run financial reports.

How? Data Warehouse Report instructions are available on the Resources web page. For more information and instructions go to http://reports.csustan.edu.

Data Warehouse User Guides:

How to change or establish New Delegation of Authority for Financial Transactions

Who? Staff initiates

When? Financial transactions require the authorization from a delegated authority (list below). Staff should complete a new Delegation of Authority for Expenditures Form when one of the department’s authorized signers changes (e.g., new hire, department management change, etc.).

  • Transactions under $1,000 can be approved by the appropriate College Dean, Assoc./Assist. Vice President or Vice President (exceptions for Grants and Trusts).
  • Transactions $1,000 or greater must be approved by the appropriate Vice President.
  • Trust Fund transactions under $1,000 can be approved by the authorized Trustee. Trust Fund transactions over $1,000 must be approved by the appropriate Vice President.

Grant Fund transactions of any amount can be approved by the Principal Investigator (PI). No additional approval is required since the fund disbursements are defined in the Grant contract.

How?

How to Request Carryforward for State Funds?

Who? The Business Analyst in a college or Division can request a budget carryforward from one fiscal year to the next fiscal year.

When? Budget carryforward requests must be submitted on the proper form by July 30th. The request must explain the purpose of the carryforward and the expenditure time frame.

How? Complete the Carryforward Plan and Request for State Funds form and submit to the Budget Office. Budget planning information and schedules will be provided to Business Analysts at the Business Analysts Spring meeting.

How to Request State Funds?

Who? Vice Presidents

When? State funds are allocated by the President through the budget allocation process each fiscal year.

How? Budget planning information and schedules will be provided at UBAC and the Business Analysts meetings.

How to Request a Budget Transfer?

Who? Business Analyst submits request, to be approved by Budget Manager

When? Circumstances during a fiscal year may require the movement of funds within a department’s budgeted activities, or between two different University departments.

How? Complete a Budget Transfer Form. Submit the form to Budget Services.

How to Request a Payroll Expense Adjustment (staff, management, and student assistants)?

Who? Business Analyst submits request, to be approved by Budget Manager.

When? Operations within a department, or between two different University departments, may require the movement of funds from one position allocation to another position.

How? The business analyst completes the Payroll Expenditure Transfer form and submits it to the Budget Office.

How to Submit Requests to Pay Special Consultants?

Who? Staff responsible for preparing employee request paperwork.

When? Prior to hiring a person to work as a Special Consultant

How? Go to the Human Resources website to obtain information on the criteria and terms for hiring a Special Consultant. Complete the required documents

What Should I Do If Notified About a Pending Audit?

If you are notified of an upcoming audit, you should notify the Director of Audit Services immediately for assistance.

What is the Audit Process?

An audit, whether conducted by an internal or external auditor, will typically consist of the following steps. The term "client" usually means the management of the department or activity being audited.

  • Planning: The auditor will gather and review background information about the client's activity, determine the audit scope and objectives, and develop an audit program identifying the issues to be examined, questions to be asked, and documents to be reviewed.
  • Entrance Conference: The auditor meets with department management to discuss the audit objectives, approximate time schedules, types of auditing tests, and how the audit results will be communicated.
  • Fieldwork: The auditor visits the campus department to interview key personnel and evaluate whether good internal control processes are in place, documented, and being followed. This will usually include transaction testing to verify that established policies and procedures are actually being followed.
  • Analysis - Determination of Results: As deficiencies or "opportunities for improvement" are identified, the auditor will bring them to the client's attention in an attempt to resolve them before completing the fieldwork. At the end of the fieldwork, the auditor usually reviews all preliminary observations and findings with the client at an informal exit conference.
  • Draft Report - Exit Conference: The auditor writes a draft audit report, identifying problems detected and making recommendations for improving operations, and forwards the report to the client for review. The auditor meets with the client at a formal exit conference to discuss the draft audit report and resolve any disagreements.
  • Campus Response: The auditor issues a final draft report, and asks the client to submit a written response to each recommendation, usually within 30 - 45 days. The client is expected to concur with each recommendation and provide a corrective action plan including an estimated date of completion.
  • Audit Report: The auditor issues the final audit report.
  • Follow Up: Generally, the auditor will follow up to ensure implementation of the recommendations