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Accounts Payable (AP) and Travel
Target Audience: Individuals responsible for business travel reservations and submitting/approving invoices, check requests, travel expense vouchers, and meeting and entertainment reimbursement requests
New Web Portal for Booking Travel
The Controller’s Office is excited to announce the campus-wide roll out of Connexxus, a new web portal available to all Campus and Medical Center employees for booking travel.
Connexxus will be UCSF’s preferred method for making travel arrangements. All previously “preferred” travel agencies will be phased out in the coming months.
Airline discounts available through Connexxus include up to 25 percent off on American, up to 15 percent off on JetBlue, and up to 5 percent off on Virgin America. Hotel discounts include 20 percent off on Starwood Hotels (e.g. Sheraton, Westin, Four Points, W Hotels), 10 to 40 percent off on Marriott Hotels, and 15 percent off on Wyndham Hotels. Car rental services provide 15 percent off prior UC agreements for Enterprise, Hertz, and National.
Online training is available on the Accounts Payable website to provide both an introduction to Connexxus and comprehensive training from the travel agencies with online booking through Connexxus. These webinars can be viewed anytime from the convenience of your own computer:
We will arrange to automatically grant access to many potential users based on their prior business travel history and/or job title/grade. If you fall in this category, you will receive a separate email next week. If you do not fall in this category and wish to use Connexxus, simply send your name and employee identification number to connexxus@ucsf.edu. To read more about Connexxus, visit the Accounts Payable Travel & Entertainment website. If you have any questions, contact the UCSF Connexxus Team at Connexxus@ucsf.edu or the AP Service Desk at (415)476-2126.
New Accounts Payable Fax Numbers
Due to the Data Center Move, our current fax numbers will not be available after Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m. We will resume fax service on Monday, March 30, 7:00 AM with our new fax numbers listed below:
| AP/Travel Unit | Old # | New # |
AP Service Desk |
682-7403 |
920-2503 |
Vendor Setup/Updates |
682-7404 |
920-2504 |
State Airfare Program |
682-7405 |
920-2505 |
Speedchart Setup/Inquiries |
682-7406 |
920-2506 |
Invoice Approvals |
682-7409 |
920-2509 |
For questions, please contact the AP Service Desk at apservicedesk@ucsf.edu or 415-476-2126.
Additional Vendors Converted to Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
The following vendors have recently been converted to EDI (electronic invoice):
Whom to Contact about Accounts Payable (AP) and Travel
| Top of Accounts Payable (AP) and Travel | Top of Newsletter |
Target Audience: Department Managers, Financial Managers, Research Service Analysts (RSAs), and Post-Award Administrators who work with sponsored project funds
Expired Funds Closeout Reminder
April 30, 2009 is the deadline to close out funds that expired on or before April 30, 2008. To continue our progress and ensure that we do not fall behind in closing out funds, the next deadline is June 30, 2009 for all funds that expired after April 30, 2008 and before September 30, 2008.
Unbilled Accounts Receivable (UAR) Accounting Change
Effective March 1, 2009, unbilled accounts receivable NCAs were converted from a contra revenue account to a balance sheet accounts receivable NCA in conformance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). UAR represents expenses that have been recognized as revenue but have not yet been billed to the sponsors. For example, February expenses recognized as revenue at the February close may not be billed until mid-March by EMF.
Once the cleanup of unbilled accounts receivable NCAs is completed, the WebLinks Fund Summary will no longer include UAR balances.
Financial Status Report (FSR) Procedure Clarification
EMF is responsible for preparing federal FSRs and submitting them to NIH eRA Commons. Departments are responsible for drafting private and state FSRs (such as AIDs, Breast Cancer and Tobacco) and forwarding them to EMF for review, sign-off, and submission to sponsors.
Contact your EMF Service Team if you have any questions.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Reporting Requirements and Oversight
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has not yet posted the details of their reporting requirements. However, on March 2nd, 2009, they released special terms and conditions for future recipients of these awards. As NIH releases more information, we will communicate it to you. In the meantime, efforts are underway at UCSF to gather all pertinent information that will be needed to fulfill the anticipated reporting requirements.
Since the Act directs more than $350 million to oversight of the stimulus funding and programs, this means that agencies like UCSF receiving stimulus funds will be under more scrutiny by the federal government.
Revised Payroll Expenditure Transfer (PET)
Form UPAY 773-2 for payroll expense transfers has been updated to include more detailed Attachment E questions to elicit more audit-worthy answers. The following additional changes are in process and will be announced when available:
Late Payroll (PET) Cost Transfers Enforcement
As part of UCSF’s corrective action plan formed in response to our latest A-133 audit findings, EMF will institute a payroll cost transfer enforcement program effective July 1, 2009.
Yale University Audit Finding
Yale University recently posted their audit findings concerning faculty effort and cost transfers.
RSA Townhall Meeting
Thursday, April 16, 2009, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, N-225, Parnassus Campus, live broadcast to Mission Bay and Fresno campus; Proposed agenda items are Export Controls, Funds/Fund Years, Advance Fund Request Form, UAR and Impact on Financial Reports, Late Cost Transfers and Yale Audit.
EMF Management Change
Arsenio Roldan, Accounting Services Manager, has retired from UC after 2 years at UCSF and 9 years at UC Berkeley. We appreciate his years of valuable service. The recruitment of his replacement is underway. Meanwhile, contact your Service Team or, after April 1, 2009, Amy Gonzalez, Interim EMF Accounting Services Manager, at Amy.Gonzalez@ucsf.edu.
Whom to Contact about Extramural Funds
For questions, please contact Wendy Hom, Compliance Manager, at 415-476-8688 or Wendy.Hom@ucsf.edu.
| Top of Extramural Funds | Top of Newsletter |
Target Audience: Individuals at UCSF who are either responsible for processing Payroll forms and data entry into OLPPS, or responsible for the management of the process within Departments.
Online Payroll/Personnel System (OLPPS) FAU/Chartfield Edits
To reduce the number of invalid payroll expenditures and monthly errors in general ledger processing, the severity edit for validating DPA, Fund, Program Code, and DPA/Fund combinations will change from “warning” to “reject” effective April 20, 2009.
Refer to Chartfield and Department Code Forms for more information on setting up new chartfields, including Program Codes. For questions, contact Jim Reiter at James.Reiter@ucsf.edu or 415-502-3004.
For questions about the OLPPS FAU/chartfield edit, contact Jim Huang, Campus Payroll Processing, at Jim.Huang@ucsf.edu or 415-476-9793.
UCSF Enhances the Post-Authorization Notification (PAN) Process through WebPAN
Beginning May 4, 2009, OLPPS transaction reviewers will begin to access and review PANs via a secure web-inbox. Exciting new features of WebPAN include:
Existing and prospective PAN reviewers need to participate in one of the upcoming WebPAN Webinars or attend the Town Hall. Please send an RSVP to Leah.McKee@ucsf.edu indicating which one of the three options you will be attending. We need to get a count to ensure enough phone lines will be open for the Webinars.
1. WebPAN ReadyTalk Webinar: Thursday 4/9, 2:00-3:00 PM or Thursday 4/23, 2:00-3:00 PM
Webinar Enrollment Information:
- Just before webinar begins, go to: http://www.readytalk.com.
- Under “join a meeting” enter Access Code 4768702. On the next page, enter your name, e-mail, phone, and company.
- Call 1-866-740-1260, enter Conference Code 4768702#.
- Audience participation will be through type-written on-line questions (phone lines are muted)
- Goal is approximately 45 minutes of information on WebPAN and 15 minutes of questions. If we do not answer your question during the Webinar, we will send you an e-mail response within two business days.
2. WebPAN Town Hall: Thursday, 4/16, 2:00-3:30 PM, Cole Hall, 513 Parnassus
Economic Stimulus Bill Brings Tax and Pretax Deduction Limit Changes
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA):
New withholding tables, used to compute federal income taxes with paychecks dated April 1, 2009 and later, may reduce the amount of income tax withheld from your wages. For more information, please visit the UCOP At Your Service website.
Effective April 3, 2009: Departments Must Use Revised Form I-9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services revised the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9) to reflect changes made to the list of documents acceptable for Form I-9. The Handbook for Employers includes details for completing the revised I-9, as well as extensive Q&A.
For questions, please contact Payroll Customer Service at 415-476-3836 or PayrollCustomerService@ucsf.edu.
| Top of Payroll | Top of Newsletter |
Target Audience: Individuals responsible for department verification and review processes
Sales and Use Tax Rate Increases on April 1, 2009
Effective April 1, 2009, the combined California state, county, local, and district sales and use tax rate increases by 1% from 8.50% to 9.50%. For more details, read the Special Notice bulletin released by the State Board of Equalization.
Tips
Whom to Contact about Sales and Use Tax
For questions, please contact Lihua Gu, Principal Accountant, at 415-476-0804 or Lihua.Gu@ucsf.edu.
| Top of General Accounting | Top of Newsletter |
Target Audience: Petty Cash Fund Custodians and Managers of Petty Cash Fund Custodians
Preventing Delays in Processing Reimbursements
Whom to Contact about Petty Cash
For questions, please contact Toni Sims, Cash Coordinator, at 415-502-8432.
| Top of Petty Cash Administration | Top of Newsletter |
Target Audience: Asset Custodians, Financial Managers
Asset Custodian Training Workshop
Capital Assets Management is now conducting this workshop on a bi-monthly schedule. From its inception on June 2007 until now, the workshops have trained 109 equipment custodians and interested parties in the essentials of capital asset management and control. The workshop is a well-rounded discussion on what asset control and management entails and helps attendees:
Capital Accounting/Plant - Who Are Those Guys?
Two organizations exist under the umbrella of the Controller’s Office – Capital Accounting unit:
In this article, we will use the following questions to answer how CAP has “touched” the grounds, buildings, fixtures, and machinery around us.
Why are you here? CAP maintains accountability for funds for current capital projects originating from State appropriations, bonds, commercial paper, bridge loans, gifts, donations and Chancellor’s fund. The team tracks costs for and initiates capitalization of real estate, buildings and structures, general improvements, and infrastructure for amortization and depreciation. The total cost of long-term assets under CAP’s financial management as of December 31, 2008 came to $2.8 billion.
And what is it exactly that you do?
CAP’s staff of three accountants interacts with UCSF Medical Center, Budget Office, Capital Programs and Facilities Management (CPFM), and UC Office of the President (UCOP) in the management of funds for facilities improvement and construction. To this end, CAP performs the following services:
- Prepares and submits loan draws for capital projects. In order to cover monthly expenses for capital projects and improvements, CAP submits draw requests to UC Office of the President to tap the pool of funds from such sources as State appropriations, bond sales, and short-term borrowings. The draw requests are based on what had been expended or is estimated will be spent during the current month.
- Reviews CPFM payments.
- Capitalizes outlays for construction projects.
- Capitalizes fixed plant equipment, software, plant assets and other long-term assets.
- Records depreciation on capital assets.
- Retires indebtedness.
- Reconciles balance sheet accounts, special state appropriations claims, and financial intercampus transactions provided by UCOP
Given the current economic climate, CAP operates with the added constraint of a moratorium on State appropriations for capital projects. Within this challenging environment, CAP strives to assist CPFM in keeping projects on course until they reach the ultimate destination: a functional work area that can be added to space resources within UCSF to fulfill its tri-fold mission of providing patient care, teaching and research.
We lost our focus . . . group
The Asset Management Aids and Process Focus Group has been suspended. Due to present budgetary constraints, any efforts to introduce a single uniform system for barcode data capture would not be feasible at this time. If a department would like to embark on a study to evaluate and select the product that would best handle their particular requirements, we would be happy to work with them. The Controller’s Office would like to thank the members of the focus group for contributing their time and expertise to this effort.
For questions, please contact Stephen Lee, Physical Inventory Analyst, at 415-502-2657 or Stephen.Lee@ucsf.edu.
Top of Capital Asset Custodian Top of Newsletter Director of Internal Controls
Michael Maurer, the new Director of Internal Controls, will be responsible for developing and recommending strategies for strengthening and enhancing internal controls across campus and in new systems and processes being developed.Michael has extensive experience in accounting, internal controls, information systems, and business administration. He previously was Associate Vice President and Controller at Alliant International University and was also the Director of Finance/Controller at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC)-Europe. He has held positions as the State of Nevada Director, Nevada Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and Chief Assistant State Budget Administrator for the State of Nevada Department of Budget and Planning.
Michael can be reached at Michael.Maurer@ucsf.edu or 415-502-8911.
Top of Internal Controls Top of Newsletter
From the Controller’s Office is distributed monthly, with weekly updates when needed, to individuals on the following listservs: WebLinks, PeopleSoft, Online-L, Campus Administrators, and Control Points.
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This page last updated on: Wednesday April 15 2009