I. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This section outlines policy and procedures governing the establishment and use of Agency Funds maintained by the campus Accounting Office to account for monies held by UCSF as custodian or fiscal agent on behalf of outside principals such as faculty/staff/student organizations, professional associations, publishers, and other entities whose collaborative work with the University serves mutual interests.
 

II. DEFINITIONS

Agency Fund: a fund established by the campus Accounting Office to record the administration of monies for which the University acts as fiscal agent and provides other services to an outside Principal. Agency Funds are assigned within the block 00001 to 00299, and are not considered University monies or charitable contributions to the University.

Principal: a professional or scientific organization in which faculty or staff are officers or editors; a student, staff, or alumni association; or other sponsoring entity outside UCSF that authorizes UCSF to act as its agent, subject to the Principal's general control and instructions as expressed through the Sponsor. The Principal provides cash to the Regents of U. C. to keep a credit balance in the fund at all times and advises the UCSF sponsor on the appropriate use of funds deposited.

Sponsor: the UCSF faculty or staff employee authorized by the Principal to act in its behalf and who assumes responsibility for the proper administration and monitoring of the Agency Fund. If desired, the Sponsor can designate a Signatory to whom to delegate responsibility for approving the various forms necessary to initiate transactions on the Agency Fund. The monitoring responsibilities of the Sponsor cannot be delegated. A sponsor should have on file in Accounting a completed Signature Authorization Form U242.

Signatory: the UCSF employee granted signature approval authority for financial transactions of an Agency Fund as approved by the sponsor and documented by a completed Signature Authorization Form U242. The following specific duties can be delegated to a signatory: Requesting cash from the Principal to cover estimated expenses, depositing cash, verifying that a credit balance remains in the account at all times, and authorizing disbursements.

Agent: for the purposes of this policy, UCSF is always the Agent.
 

III. POLICY

It is UCSF policy to exercise appropriate management and control over any monies deposited into an Agency Fund.
 

A. Relationship to the University

2.  Monies accepted for deposit in Agency Funds are not considered tax-deductible gifts to the University.

3.  Agency funds must have a positive cash balance at all times. Interest is credited or charged to the fund depending on its positive or negative balance. The Accounting Office may enforce this provision by not processing a disbursement that will create or increase an overdraft.

4.  Checks for deposit to the Agency Fund must be made payable to The Regents of UC and deposited at Moffitt Cashier, in account 2-804020-XXXXX-3-7200, where XXXXX is the fund number assigned to the specific agency function. At the sponsor's option, an alpha-sub-account can be established in which to track payments from the principal or revenue from activities sponsored by the principal, like conference registration fees.

5.  The Principal, Sponsor and Signatory must adhere to applicable federal, state, and local laws.

6.  The resources of the University will not be used in support of the sponsoring entity without appropriate reimbursement for direct and indirect costs. 'Me Budget Office, in its review of the Request for Agency Fund form, is responsible for determining the appropriate amount of reimbursement due the University. In those cases where the use of resources of the University is not significant, the Budget Office may waive such reimbursement.

7.  Signature Authorization forms bearing the specimen signatures of the sponsor and authorized signatory for the Agency Fund must be filed with the Accounting Office.

8.  All non-payroll disbursements require the appropriate purchasing authorization. The Accounting Office will issue University checks against the Agency Fund based on a Check Request (Non-Payroll) form U5, or a vendor invoice received that cites the Agency Fund number and bears the payment approval signature of the Sponsor or Signatory for the account.

9.  Campus service department recharges for goods and services ordered by and rendered to the Principal will be directly charged to the Agency Fund.

10.  The Accounting Office will distribute a copy of the monthly general ledger of the Agency Fund's transactions and cash balance to the Sponsor or to the business office of the Sponsor's UCSF department.

11.  The Agency Fund must be closed at the completion of the project or activity. Any credit balance remaining in the fund will be refunded to the principal or, if the principal no longer exists, transferred to the campus general fund miscellaneous income account.

12.  All compensation to UCSF faculty, employees, residents, fellows and students must be made through the UC Payroll System. Such payroll arrangements must be approved in writing by the Senior Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs or the Vice- Chancellor for Staff and Student Human Resources. Direct cash payments from agency funds to UCSF faculty, employees, residents, fellows and students using a non-payroll check request form are not allowed. When payroll services are provided, there must be a written agreement from the principal that the individuals included in the project or activity's payroll are University employees eligible for all employee benefits and covered by the University's personnel rules. Payroll services are not provided for non-University employees.

13.  Occasional direct cash payments for consulting and honoraria to individuals who are not University employees are permitted from agency funds and are to be requested on a Check Request Form (non-payroll) US-2. The payee's social security number must appear for tax reporting. Payments to consultants require an approved UCSF Consultant Agreement. Payments of honoraria are subject to UCSF policies governing such payments. Consultant, honoraria, or other such payment arrangements must be approved in writing by the Senior Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs or the Vice-Chancellor for Staff and Student Human Resources. If such payments constitute an employer/employee relationship, then the sponsor should arrange for the principal to provide payroll services directly to the payees, or if the principal prefers, the sponsor can establish formal payroll services in the name of the principal with a non-University vendor. If the principal does not mandate a particular non-University vendor for these services, the sponsor should select a vendor in accordance with UCSF purchasing policies and procedures.
 
 

A.  Business & Finance Bulletin A-54, Agency Accounts, 10/15/87.

B.  Individual faculty compensation agreements.