updated 7/09/08
Cornell University Policy Library -- Policy 3.7

ACCOUNTING SYSTEM

INTERIM POLICY

Volume 3, Financial Management 
Chapter 7, Accounting
Responsible Executive: Vice President for Financial Affairs and University Controller
Responsible Office: University Accounting
Issued: February 1996
Revised: May 2001
Errors or changes? Email us.

TRANSACTION CHARACTERS 

What are Transaction Characters?

The transaction characters are the seventeen (17) digits, numeric and alphabetic, assigned to a specific transaction when the input document is completed, commonly referred to as account coding. These digits are divided into five distinct groupings:
 
(DEPT) (SUBL) (OBJ) (PRJ) (DUO)
XXX XXXX XXXX XXX XXX
1-3 4-7 8-11 12-14 15-17

Collectively, the first seven digits, which include the department code (DEPT) and the subledger code (SUBL), are referred to as the ACCOUNT NUMBER. Most distributed reports and other correspondence are referred to by account number. The following pages describe in detail the significance of the five groupings and the digits that comprise them. Endowed and Contract Colleges Divisional differences are indicated as necessary.

 Caution: The initial assignment of the correct codes is essential to insure accuracy in using the funds and reporting.

Department (DEPT)

Each department is assigned three unique digits for identification purposes:
 
(DEPT)
XXX XXXX XXXX XXX XXX
1-3 4-7 8-11 12-14 15-17

The endowed departmental code is an alpha character followed by two numeric digits:
The three-digit departmental codes of the contract colleges are numeric:    
In general, the department codes are assigned in a specific series or range so that organizational units can be identified by the combinations of departments.

Subledger (SUBL)

These four digits, assigned sequentially at the time the account is set up, follow the department code and together with them comprise what is referred to as the account number:
 
(SUBL)
XXX XXXX XXXX XXX XXX
1-3 4-7 8-11 12-14 15-17
Caution: Historically, the subledger code allowed visual identification of the type of account. There is no subledger assignment convention. Accounts are not classified by subledger. The only accurate method to classify an account in the university accounting system is by FUND GROUP and FUNCTION.

 The subledger code is not a reporting attribute.

Object (OBJ)

An object code is the four (4)-digit code used to identify a specific type of transaction:
 
(OBJ)
XXX XXXX XXXX XXX XXX
1-3 4-7 8-11 12-14 15-17

Each transaction must contain a four-digit object code. The first digit of the object code identifies it as either a credit or debit code:

Credit Codes It is the responsibility of the person originating the transaction to indicate the appropriate object code. Proper object code classification is an important departmental and central administration management tool. Analysis and control of expenditures, and preparation of budgets depends on the correct and consistent assignment of object codes. To ensure that accurate and timely information is processed, departments must adhere to uniform use of codes as described in this manual. The accuracy of object codes used to classify transactions is the responsibility of each operating unit. Internal control measures such as a secondary review of transactions to ensure object code accuracy should be established at the operating unit level (for an alphabetical listing of object codes, see the "Appendix" Section of this document).

 Caution: Failure to assign the correct object code will result in inaccurate financial reporting at both the departmental and university level.

 Generally, only the first three digits are used for financial analysis and reporting. The fourth digit, unless otherwise noted, can be used by departments to provide a more detailed breakdown of each object code.

Caution: Before using a number in the fourth digit other than 0, refer to the serial listings of object codes in the "Appendix" Section of this document, to ensure that the fourth digit of a particular object code has not been defined by the university.

 The accounting system provides for individual financial transaction analysis as well as storing information for summarized financial analysis and reporting requirements. An understanding of object codes is essential for interpreting accounting statements and reports.

 Each object code is assigned a financial report class that determines how the code appears on the annual financial report. A transaction can be classified into one of four classes:  

Caution: Transfers "in" and "out" are combined into a net figure for university financial statement purposes. On the monthly financial analysis statements transfers "in" are shown as revenues while transfers "out" are displayed with expenses.

Credit Object Codes

Credit object codes are used to record revenues and allocations. Primary use of credit object codes is by the Division of Financial Affairs and the Budget Office. Some object codes, however, may be used by departments. Credit object codes other than allocations are not allowed in fund group 441, Current Fund State Appropriated Fund Balances. Allocation codes and transfer codes are the only credit object codes allowed in fund group 431, Current Fund Cornell Appropriated Fund Balances. Use of credit object codes in fund group 442 is limited to the University Budget Office. Use of credit object codes in fund group 471 is limited to the Division of Financial Affairs.

There are eleven categories of credit object codes. In most cases the fourth digit of the object code may be assigned at the department's discretion. For reporting reasons, some departments have found it useful to use this digit. All four digits will be reported on the monthly financial analysis statement. See the "Appendix" Section of this document, for the serial listing of object codes, before assigning a fourth digit to any credit object code, to be certain the fourth digit has not already been defined.

Debit Object Codes

Debit object codes record and accumulate expenditures. As with credit object codes, in most cases the fourth digit of the object code, which must be a number, may be assigned at the department's discretion. For reporting reasons, some departments have found it useful to use this digit. All four digits will be reported on the monthly financial analysis statement. See the "Appendix" Section of this document, for the serial listing of object codes, before assigning a fourth digit to any debit object code, to be certain the fourth digit has not already been defined.

 The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) requires restricted funds be spent first, that is unrestricted funds cannot be spent when there are temporarily restricted funds available for the same purpose (see the "Restriction Classification" segment of the "Account Attributes" Section of this document).

Transfer Object Codes

Transfer object codes record the movement of funds among accounts. There are both credit and debit transfer codes. Transfers either increase or decrease resources in an accounts. Credit transfers (object codes 23XX - 24XX) are "transfers in" that increase resources in an account. Debit transfers (object codes 73XX - 759X) are "transfers out" that decrease resources in an account. Transfer credits and transfer debits must net to zero to complete a transfer transaction. Transfers have no affect on revenue or expense; they only affect the balance of the account.

Caution: Transfer object codes cannot be used in state or federal appropriations accounts, fund groups 44X and 45X, respectively.

Caution: It is critical to retain expenditures in the appropriate account/purpose for which they were incurred. Whenever possible, funds should be transferred into an account (to cover expenditures), rather than expenses moved out. This is not possible for sponsored accounts, which cannot receive transfers.

Allocation Object Codes

Allocation object codes record the authorization to expend pooled resources. Examples of pooled resources are revenues from tuition, investments, and indirect cost recovery. This authorization originates from the central budget offices, the deans' offices, or other administrative offices that are responsible for properly distributing the funds. The allocation is an integral part of a dynamic financial planning process, as the budget entry depicts the planned expenditure of the budgeted allocation. Allocations are made during the budget planning process and can be revised in-year. Although prepared on budget journals, allocation entries simultaneously generate equivalent accounting entries.

 There are several rules that apply to an allocation entry:

Project (PRJ)

A project code is the three-digit code that has a different level of importance for the contract colleges and endowed units:
 
(PRJ)
XXX XXXX XXXX XXX XXX
1-3 4-7 8-11 12-14 15-17
If the project code field is left blank when a document is processed in the system, it is designed to default to 000 (unless there is a fixed project code, in which case that one is assigned). The following chart shows the range of project codes associated with the function classification (FNC) of an account.
 
FNC Description Project Code Range*
41X Instruction 100 - 199
43X Organized Research 300 - 599
44X Public Service / Extension 600 - 699
453 Hospitals and Clinics 200 - 299
455 Ancillary Support 200 - 299
456 Libraries 700 - 799
46X Student Services 700 - 799
47X Institutional Support 700 - 799
48X Operation / Plant Maintenance 700 - 799**

*Within the function codes, there is further limitation of these ranges by source.

 **In operation and maintenance of plant accounts, FNC 48X, the project code is used in conjunction with the DUO code to identify costs by building (see the "Department Use Only" segment of this document, which follows).

 For further information on using project codes refer to the Contract College Project Code Manual.

Department Use Only (DUO)

This three (3)-digit code is reserved for use by departments:
 
(DUO)
XXX XXXX XXXX XXX XXX
1-3 4-7 8-11 12-14 15-17

Some departments use this code to track financial activity by course, faculty member, facility, room, event, etc. Users of CUDA base reports on the DUO code.

 In statutory units, in FNC 48X accounts, the DUO code is used in conjunction with the project code to identify operation and maintenance of plant costs by building.

 The six digits (3 from PRJ and 3 from DUO) are used as follows:
 
(PRJ) (DUO)
XXX XXXX XXXX XXX XXX
1-3 4-7 8-11 12-14 15-17

REPORTING 

General Comments

Shown in this section of the policy are the reporting tools available to a department, including the various routine monthly reports produced by the Division of Financial Affairs, the Financial Information System at Cornell (FISC), the Inquiry and Reporting Information System (IRIS), and the Cornell University Distributed Accounting system (CUDA). In addition, information on the university's annual reporting requirements is presented.

 The best preparations for the university's annual report and audit are monthly reconciliation of accounting statements and investigation of any issues as early as possible. These activities, performed by the financial personnel in the various departments, are essential for the success of the year-end process and resulting financial statements.  

Transaction Processing Schedule

The Division of Financial Affairs has processing schedules for all accounting transactions. These schedules are necessary to produce checks, run reports, etc. A monthly calendar of the various processing schedules is made available to all departments. See the "Appendix" Section of this document for a sample monthly calendar.  

Routine Monthly Reports

At the end of each month the Division of Financial Affairs produces reports that provide an essential means of control over current operations by comparing budgeted (forecasts) to actual (results) figures. These documents are distributed to college and enterprise business offices and individual departments. Certain reports detail account activity for the calendar month; others give only the status of an account at the end of the calendar month. Later in this section is a table that lists the routine monthly reports and briefly describes them. In the "Report Elements" segment of this Section of this document is a table showing the various data elements contained in each report and their placements in these reports.

Sample Reports

Descriptions and samples of the various monthly reports are presented in the following pages. Two fictitious departments, Z99 and 799, are used for illustrative purposes. All names (e.g., account, individual, department, vendor, etc.) and numbers (e.g., account, Social Security, purchase order, requisition, etc.) used in the sample reports are fictitious, for the purpose of illustration.

 The collection of the various sample reports included in this section are not representative of a single account or department.

 Samples of different fund groups and departments are used to show the range of information contained in the reports. In all cases the reader will not be able to see how each transaction or other information contained in a report flows specifically to another report. Refer to the "Report Elements" segment of this document for a table showing the various elements (and information) displayed on each of the routine monthly reports.

Use of Parentheses

Parentheses are used to indicate the nature of a transaction or balance figure as follows:

 Transactions:

Both credit and debit object code transactions appear without parentheses. 

Balances:

 Balances enclosed in parentheses are debit balances.

 Asset accounts (i.e., accounts receivable, petty cash) should have debit balances.

 In fund balance accounts, (FND X3X, X4X, X5X, X6X, and X7X), debit balances indicate a deficit position, (i.e., expenses and transfers out exceed revenues and transfers in).

 Liability accounts (i.e., accounts payable deferred income) should have credit balances.


Listing of Routine Monthly Reports
 
ACCOUNTING STATEMENTS
Schedule of Departmental Balances Serial list of accounts with attributes and current month-end available balances.
Monthly Transaction Statement (green) Account detail for current month financial activity, for account types 1 and 9.
Financial Analysis Statement  (blue) Account summary of financial activity: 
Layout style 1 for accounts with a 7/1-6/30 fiscal year; Layout style 2 for accounts with other than 7/1-6/30 fiscal year, or multi-year accounts (e.g., a three year contract).
Open Commitment Listing Endowed: Detail of outstanding Listingcommitments by account. 

Contract College: Serial list of accounts with detail of outstanding commitments by account number. 

SALARY AND WAGE REPORTS
Monthly Payroll Register Account detail of all salaries and wages paid in the current month, and salary commitments remaining.
Employee Fiscal Year-to-date Salaries and Wages by Account Account summary, by employee and object code, of all salaries and wages paid in the current university fiscal year (7/1-6/30)
INVESTED FUND REPORTS
Invested Fund Statement Account detail of financial activity related to the Long Term Investment Pool (LTIP), Pooled Life Income Funds, and Separately Invested Funds (account types 3 through 7).
Invested Fund Statement by Organization A list of the organization for account types 3 through 7.
OTHER REPORTS
Current Fund Analysis A series of reports by account, department, and organization, detailing and summarizing current fund (FND 4XX) year-to-date financial activity.
Monthly Accounts Receivable Statement Account level detail of all financial activity on receivable accounts, account type 2.
Corporate Card Membership Listing Department listing of all employees with corporate card membership.

Report Elements

Some of the information contained on one type of monthly report is also available on other monthly reports. The matrix that follows lists alphabetically the various pieces of information shown on the monthly reports. Each column is labeled with the name of the monthly report. The letters (H, B, F) indicate where the data are found on the various monthly reports:  
 
Letter Data location within report
H Header
B Body
F Footer

Matrix

 Report Elements: Locations and Relationships  

Schedule of Departmental Balances

This report is produced for each department and sent to college and enterprise business offices and individual departments. The information is a "snapshot" of the official university accounting records at the end of each calendar month. The schedule of departmental balances includes all the accounts of a department listed in serial order by subledger. It serves as a quick reference for the account attributes and as an initial review for problem identification.

 For each account this schedule shows various account attributes, including the account type, account number, account name, balance available, source of funds, fund group code, function code, project code, benefit rate, delete and stop status, and analysis option. Explanations of each of these attributes are provided in the "Account Attributes" Section of this policy. For some accounts, primarily sponsored funds (FND 471), additional information is displayed, including overhead type, on-campus or off-campus indirect cost rate, grant or contract number, expiration date and responsible principal investigator.

 On the Schedule of Departmental Balances, figures in the Available Balance column indicate the balance of an account after commitments have been subtracted. Debit balances for all accounts are shown in parentheses. Debit balances in fund balance accounts, (FND X3X, X4X, X5X, X6X, and X7X), indicate the account is in a deficit position (i. e., expenses and transfers out exceed revenues and transfers in).

 Sample

 Schedule of Departmental Balances  

Common Header and Footer Information

The Monthly Transaction Statement and the Financial Analysis Statements have common elements in their headers and footers. The following page shows these shared labels. Brief explanations of the information are given. Descriptions contained in the sample header and footer are not repeated in the samples of the Monthly Transaction Statement or the Financial Analysis Statements that follow.

 Sample Common Header and Footer  

Monthly Transaction Statement A monthly transaction statement is generated for each type 1 account and type 9 account at the end of each month if there was activity on the account. Transactions are reported by object, project and DUO codes in serial object code order then chronologically by date. Salary and employee benefit transactions appear in summary, by Object code, with an input description of "salary or employee benefits" and cumulative amounts in the income/expense column (B). All non-salary transactions appear individually.

 All transactions should be reviewed on a monthly basis for accuracy and appropriateness. The proper identification of all transactions occurring within an individual account is crucial for fiscal control.

 Parentheses in the commitment column indicate that the transaction is decreasing the commitment in part or in full either by payments made or by cancellation (see the "Open Commitment" segment of this document).

 Parentheses in the income/expense column indicate a reduction (or reversal) of revenue or expense.

 Parentheses in the account balance indicate a debit balance. In fund balance accounts (FND X3X, X4X, X5X, X6X, and X7X) debit balances are in a deficit position (i.e., expenses and transfers out exceed revenues and transfers in).

Sample

 Monthly Transaction Statement

Financial Analysis Statement

The financial analysis statement presents the summary, by object code, of the accounting transactions that occurred within an individual account. The report is produced for all active fund balance accounts at the end of each calendar month. The purpose of this statement is to identify the groupings of income and expense. By presenting the amounts in aggregate, users are able to compare budgeted (forecasts) and actual (results) figures.  

Financial Analysis Statement: Formats

There are two formats of financial analysis statement:  

Financial Analysis Statement: Presentations and Calculations

The column headings and calculations are different for each of the two layout styles of the financial analysis statement. Some information is common to both layout style 1 and layout style 2, including the summary information at the beginning of the body of the reports; the presentation of the information in the body of the report; and the ending balance at the end of the body of the report. As with the monthly transaction statement, all figures for revenue and expense in the body of the financial analysis statement appear as positive numbers. Figures in parentheses ( ) in all columns indicate a reduction (or reversal) of revenue or expense.   Sample

 Financial Analysis Statement, Layout Style 1

 
If you would like to download and print this sample from this link, you must first have a copy of Microsoft Excel 4.0 or later, properly installed as a Helper Application under the Preferences menu in your version of Netscape (your network administrator can help you with this). To download the sample, click here.

Sample

 Financial Analysis Statement, Layout Style 2
 
 

Open Commitment Listing

This report details all commitments, which are planned expenditures recorded in the university accounting system to show funds earmarked for a specific purpose. Commitments are financial obligations recorded in the accounting system (through labor distribution forms, purchase orders, work orders, travel notices, etc.) that will become payable upon delivery of goods or performance of services. Commitment balances are reduced as related expenses are processed. Commitments for non-salary items are deleted when the total expenses processed exceed the committed amount or notification is received that all items have been received (the order is complete) regardless of the payments made. Until it is completely liquidated (paid or canceled) the open commitment balance will show. Salary commitments are deleted by processing forms that affect the labor distribution system (personnel forms, or account distribution forms).

 Caution: Salary commitments are displayed in total, by account, on all open commitment listings. The employee benefit commitments by employee are not shown in detail on any report. Endowed units receive a listing for each account, while statutory units receive one listing for all accounts, by department. The statutory report lists and details serially all accounts with open commitments.

 Sample

 Open Commitment Listing, Endowed  

Sample

 Open Commitment Listing, Statutory  

Monthly Payroll Register Distribution and Commitment by Account

The monthly payroll register details salaries and wages paid during the month, as well as the open salary commitment for each regular employee. One of these reports is produced for each account. Summary information (salaries, wages, on-campus, off-campus) by account is shown at the bottom of each monthly payroll register.

 Parentheses are not used on this report; instead, a negative (minus) sign (-) is used to show a credit (reduction) in an employee's payroll charge. For example, if payroll expense were moved from account A to account B, the transaction in account A would be preceded by a negative (minus) sign (-).

 Caution: Due to the sensitive nature of payroll information, the distribution of this report should be limited to those individuals within the department who are responsible for payroll.

 Bi-weekly pay periods and days are assigned numbers, separated by a decimal point. This combined notation is known as the "TO PAY" number and represents the date through which an employee is appointed. For example:
 
Day Date TO PAY number
Wednesday 6/21/95 620.0
Thursday 6/22/95 620.1
Friday 6/23/95 620.2
Monday 6/26/95 620.3 
Tuesday 6/27/95 620.4
Wednesday 6/28/95 620.5
Thursday 6/29/95 620.6
Friday 6/30/95 620.7
Monday 7/03/95 620.8
Tuesday 7/04/95 620.9
Wednesday 7/05/95 621.0

Caution: On the Monthly Payroll Register the To Pay number is printed without the decimal point.

 On most university accounts, except for sponsored funds (FND 471), state appropriations (FND 44X), and federal appropriations (FND 45X), salaries for regular full-time and regular part-time employees are committed based on a TO PAY date of June 30, (e.g., 6/30/95 is TO PAY number 620.7). If an employee has an appointment that ends before June 30, then the commitment would be based on the TO PAY date that corresponds to the employee's termination date. On sponsored funds accounts, salaries are committed through the expiration date of the account or the termination date of the employee, whichever is earlier. On state appropriations accounts (FND 44X) the fiscal year for salary and wage expenditures ends one pay period sooner (e.g., 6/16/95 is TO PAY number 619.7).

 Sample

 Monthly Payroll Register Distribution and Commitment by Account 

Employee Fiscal Year-To-Date Salaries and Wages By Account

This report shows the cumulative amount of salaries and wages charged to an account during the current fiscal year. The salaries and wages are reported by employee and object code. The employees are listed in alphabetical order. If an employee was paid on more than one object code, project or duo code, that detail will be shown. The year-to-date total of salaries and wages paid on the account is shown at the bottom of the list of employees.

 Parentheses are not used on this report; instead, a negative (minus) sign (-) is used to show a credit (or reduction) to an employee's payroll charges. This happens infrequently.

 Caution: Due to the sensitive nature of payroll information, the distribution of this report should be limited to those individuals within the department who are responsible for payroll.

 Sample

 Employee Fiscal Year-To-Date Salaries and Wages by Account  

Invested Funds Statement

The Invested Funds Statement provides individual account level detail for all invested funds types. It is a year-to-date statement, with subtotals by month. Information is displayed by object code, first in serial order, then chronologically by date.

 The invested funds statement is produced monthly for each invested account with current month activity. If there is no activity for a specific month, no report is generated. If there was activity in the fund at anytime during the fiscal year, a final statement will be sent after the close of the fiscal year.

 The following account types are included on this report:

 
3 = Long Term Investment Pool (LTIP);
4, 5, 6 = Life Income Pools;
7 = Separately Invested Funds.

Invested Funds Statement Report Elements

There are many fields that are unique to invested funds statements. They are shown in the tables below:
 
FIELD NAME FIELD DESCRIPTION
ACCOUNT Refers to the university general ledger account
NUMBER number of the principal that is invested. This is also referred to as the principal account.
INCOME ACCOUNT The university general ledger account credited by June 30 preliminary closing with the current year investment income.
USE CODE A five-digit field where each digit defines characteristics of the invested funds (See the Use Code Table that follows this table.).
PREVIOUS YEAR ANNUAL INCOME The investment income posted to the income account at the end of the past fiscal year. This field is updated every year, on June 30.
INPUT DATE The date the entry was keyed.
DB/CR ENTRY Debit or credit entry. Debit object code transactions are reductions to the balance. Credit code transactions are additions to the balance. Debit entries and reverse credit entries are shown in parentheses.
EFFECTIVE DATE Determines income entitlement and income share purchases for pooled funds.
SHARE RATE The market value per share calculated at the end of each month to determine the price at which permanent shares are purchased or sold in the investment pools. It is also used to calculate the market value of funds participating in the investment pool. It is a seven character field with the decimal field carried to five positions, e.g., $56.18739. The $ is not displayed on the report. AVG may be displayed under the share rate column. The figure beside AVG is the average book value share rate. It is calculated by dividing the ending account balance by permanent shares.
PERM SHARES The permanent shares purchased in the pooled funds that determine the account's ownership in the principal of the investment pool. The number of permanent shares changes only when additions and withdrawals are made to the pooled invested funds; no permanent share adjustments are recorded when the investment pool generates realized and unrealized gains or losses. The accumulated gains and losses are prorated when the full value of the account is calculated. Withdrawals from the investment pool have these prorated amounts included in the amounts withdrawn. Each addition to or withdrawal from the account has a corresponding change in the number of permanent shares. A decrease in shares is preceded by a minus sign.
IN-YR % FOR  INC. SHARES In year percentage for income shares A table-driven field based on the month of the effective date of the transaction. This determines what percentage of permanent shares are used to calculate income shares. Provided there is no increase or decrease in the number of permanent shares during the fiscal year, the number owned at the beginning of the fiscal year are entitled to 100% of the investment income for that fiscal year. However, if there are additions to or withdrawals from the principal during the fiscal year, the account would gain or lose income shares based on the percentage of the fiscal year the shares were held. For example, an addition to principal made in August is eligible for 10 full months of income, September through June; therefore, the in-year percentage for income shares would be 10 months divided by 12 months, or 83%.

Report Elements in the Body of the Statement

INCOME SHARES Used to calculate the entitlement of the current fiscal year's investment income. Each addition to or withdrawal from the account has a corresponding change in the number of income shares. A decrease in shares is preceded by a minus sign.
BEGINNING BALANCE Each beginning balance reflects the beginning year historical book value of the fund and the permanent and income shares of the fund. The beginning balances of both the permanent shares and income shares are always equal.
MONTHLY BALANCE Every month there is activity on the invested fund, monthly balances are displayed in the following columns: ACCOUNT BALANCE, PERM SHARES, and INCOME SHARES. The last named month-end total is the last month that activity occurred in this invested fund this fiscal year.
ENDING BALANCE The fiscal year-to-date balance. The figures displayed as ending balances will always equal the monthly balance for the last month displayed on the statement. In the sample statement that follows, note that the SEPT BALANCE figures equal the ENDING BALANCE figures.

Use Code Table

The Use Code is a five-digit code that describes the characteristics of an investment.
 
FIRST DIGIT - ACCOUNTING USE ONLY
0 = Unassigned 5 = Fellowships
1 = Life Income 6 = Scholarships and Grants
2 = General Purpose 7 = Loans
3 = Books 8 = Prizes
4 = Salaries 9 = Other
SECOND DIGIT - INCOME DISTRIBUTION
0 = Income to Indicated Transfer Account
1 = Income to Indicated Transfer Account - Life Income Having a Special Rate
2 = Income to Indicated Transfer Account - Excess to Principal
3 = Income to Indicated Transfer Account - Excess to be Handled Manually
4 = Income t o Principal 
5 = Income Department - General Purpose
6 = Flexible Endowments
THIRD AND FOURTH DIGITS - ORGANIZATION CODE
FIFTH DIGIT - FOR INVESTMENT OFFICE USE ONLY
A = General Purpose J = Fellowships
B = Salaries K = Scholarships
C = Restricted to Normally Budgeted Items L = Grants
D = Library Books M = Prizes
E = Maintenance, Building and Property N = Loans
F = Research P = Othe
G = Miscellaneous Restricted Q = Scholarships or Loans
H = Life Income Designated R = Class Funds
I = Building Funds S = Life Income Mixed Use
T = Lectureships 

Sample

 Invested Funds Statement


If you would like to download and print this sample from this link, you must first have a copy of Microsoft Excel 4.0 or later, properly installed as a Helper Application under the Preferences menu in your version of Netscape (your network administrator can help you with this). To download the sample, click here.

Invested Funds Organization Listing

The Invested Funds Statement by Organization is a list of the invested funds held by the organization. The balances of the organization's invested funds are as of the end of each calendar month.

 The following account types are included on this report:
 
3 = Long Term Investment Pool (LTIP);
4, 5, 6 = Life Income Pools;
7 = Separately Invested Funds;

Individual invested accounts are shown by account type and fifth digit of the use code. See the "Use Code Table" in the "Invested Funds Statement" segment of this document.

 A summarized total of all accounts by account type is shown at the end of the report. Parentheses ( ) in this report indicate debit balances.

 Sample

 Invested Fund Listing by Organization  

Current Fund Analysis

This is a group of reports that provides a summary of year-to-date accounting information on fund groups 431 through 473 (current funds). Financial activity for the general operation of the university in support of its primary mission of instruction, research, and public service is reported in the current fund analysis, listed by funding source and category of revenue or expense. The report is produced in several levels of detail:   Within each section accounts are reported by fund group: undesignated (appropriations), designated, restricted sponsored funds and other restricted funds. Each section contains several categories of income or expense.

 Sample

 Current Fund Analysis Description of Report Elements  

Current Fund Analysis Report - Object Codes Included in Various Categories

Current funds reflects financial activity for the general operation of the university in support of its primary mission of instruction, research and public service. The current fund analysis reports this information by funding source and category of revenue or expense.
 
REPORT SECTION CATEGORY OBJECT CODE(S)
Income Analysis
Tuition and Fees 14XX
Sales & Service 110X-112X, 114X, 115X-128X, 160X-168X
Interdepartmental 113X, 129X
Gifts, Grants, Contracts 115X, 170X, 177X-179X, 18XX, 220X-224X
Investment Income 100X-101X, 103X, 190X-196X
State/Federal Appropriations 204X-21XX
Transfers In 23XX-253X
Other/Indirect Costs 130X, 171X-176X, 200X-202X, 33XX, 36XX, 467X
Expense Analysis
Salaries 40XX-469X, 492X
Temporary Wages 4710, 4711, 4720, 4721, 4730, 4731
Student Wages 4712, 4713, 4722, 4723, 4732, 4733, 474X
Benefits 48XX, 490X-496X, 499X
Non personnel Expenses See Non-Personnel Expense Analysis (below)
Transfers Out 73XX-753X
Non-personnel Expense Analysis
Student Aid 81XX, 82XX, 845X, 860X
Indirect Costs 956X, 9810, 9811, 982X
Capital Expense 50XX-55XX, 983X
Communications 60XX
Travel & Subsistence 61XX
Repairs & Maintenance 64XX, 67XX, 688X
Supplies & Materials 66XX, 901X, 902X, 903X, 909X
Other  All other codes not listed on this page

Sample

 Current Fund Analysis  

Monthly Accounts Receivable Statement

The Accounts Receivable Statement provides monthly detail of accounting transactions for each receivable account. A statement is produced if a transaction was processed during the month or if there is an outstanding balance in the account. Receivable accounts (Account type 2) represent amounts due to the university from other entities; the most common accounts receivable statements are issued for travel advances.

 The monthly accounts receivable statement resembles a commercial credit card statement. The balance represents the amount the entity owes the university. If the balance is enclosed in parentheses, an adjustment to the account is needed (i.e., the university needs to issue a check to the entity for overpayment, or correct an entry booked in error).

 Caution: When the balance of an accounts receivable account is reported on the Schedule of Departmental Balances or other university accounting reports, the signs are the opposite from those on the Monthly Accounts Receivable Statement (e.g., if an entity owes the university five hundred dollars, then $500.00 is the balance displayed on the Accounts Receivable Statement while (500.00) is the balance shown on the Schedule of Departmental Balances, as accounts receivable are assets).

 Sample

 Monthly Accounts Receivable Statement  

Corporate Card Membership Listing

The corporate card membership listing provides a departmentalized list of the university employees who have a university corporate card (Employees with Diners Club/American Express Cards). The information on the listing is from the files of the corporate cards companies.

 This report is used to verify the status of employment of the card holders. It should be reviewed each month by the departments to verify the information on it. If an employee's status has changed (i.e., retired, transferred to a different university department) a numeric notation should be made on the listing as the instructions on the report indicate.

 Caution: The university is liable for unpaid balances if an individual continues to use the card when he or she is no longer employed by the university.

 After the report is reviewed and signed, it is returned to the Accounts Receivable section of the Office of the Vice President for Financial Affairs. That office will notify the corporate card companies with the necessary changes.

 Sample

 Corporate Card Membership Listing

Annual Reports

Bylaws of the university as well as various federal and state regulations require preparation of annual financial statements of the university's fiscal year activity. The university operates on a July 1 to June 30 fiscal year. The university must also provide certain financial reports for various other fiscal years. The federal government's fiscal year-end is September 30. Each sponsored agreement (grants and contracts) may have its own fiscal year-end, and may require additional financial status reports.
 
 

Annual Financial Statements

The annual financial report is published as the audited Financial Report and the Financial Statements and Schedules. The Financial Report is the summarized and condensed version. Every accounting transaction at the university is an individual component of the published statements and schedules. Processing and coding transactions correctly are key to the integrity and success of the accounting system and the financial statements.

 The Financial Report contains information presented in accordance with the AICPA and GAAP standards and is used primarily to communicate the university's financial results to its external constituents, e.g., trustees, donors, granting agencies. This report is issued in early September for the fiscal year ending June 30 of that year.

 The Financial Statements and Schedules contains financial information in more detail, showing information by division (Endowed, Medical College, Statutory and consolidated subsidiaries), department, and fund. The Financial Statements and Schedules is primarily used within the university and is issued in late November for the fiscal year ending June 30 of that year.  

Role of Auditors

An opinion provided by an independent auditor is a required attachment to the Financial Report. An unqualified opinion from the auditor indicates that the financial statements accurately present, in all material respects, the financial position and operations of the institution. To make that statement, the external auditing firm must review and test many procedures, account balances, and revenue and expense classifications. The independent auditor also relies on the work performed by the university's internal audit department.  

Timeline

The year-end process and audit schedule is determined by the date of the fall Board of Trustees meeting. Because of the complexity of preparing the published financial statements that are mandated by the Board of Trustees, the necessary steps must be performed expeditiously throughout the period of time between the final closing and the issuance of the audit opinion. Therefore, the best preparation for the year-end closing process and audit is monthly reconciliation of accounting statements with investigation of any issues as early as possible. This activity, performed by the financial personnel in the various departments, is essential for the success of the year-end process and the resulting financial statements. 

Fiscal Year-End Closing: General Comments

At the end of the university fiscal year (June 30) the financial records for the preceding twelve month period must be closed. Closing the books is a process that requires participation and cooperation from all university departments' financial personnel. The year-end closing process schedule is determined from the dates the financial statements are required to be submitted to the Board of Trustees.

 The university year-end closing process has two phases: preliminary and final. A full set of monthly statements is prepared and distributed at the end of each phase. 

Fiscal Year

Each year there will be specific year-end closing instructions and timelines. Journal entry submissions for the preliminary closing phase follow the regular month-end closing schedule. Accounting statements from the preliminary closing are usually available to the departments on the sixth working day in July. The word PRELIM is printed on the date area of these reports. Departments are given at least two working days to review the routine monthly reports generated from the preliminary closing. Any adjustment necessary must be submitted by the ninth working day of July. There are multiple closing cycles involved in the final closing. Accounting statements from the final closing are usually available to the departments on the fifteenth working day in July. The word FINAL, or 6/30/XX, is printed in the date area of the final year-end reports.

 Caution: At any time during the fiscal year departments may request that accounts be deleted, but the only time an account can be deleted from the accounting files is at final year-end. An account may only be deleted if at the time of final closing the balance is zero ($0.00) and there are no commitments.

 Caution: Departments must adhere to state appropriations deadlines published annually by the Office of the Vice President for Financial Affairs, to avoid lapsing funds to the State of New York.

 Table

Fiscal Year-End Closing Timelines  
 
Transactions that must occur on or before June 30 All labor distribution adjustments must be processed according to the regular month-end schedule (by the Friday before the last Wednesday of the month) in order for them to appear on the FINAL (6/30/XX) statements. 

Encumbrances of all state funded purchases must be processed. 

All cash received by June 30 must be deposited and recorded.
Transactions that must take place by the preliminary closing All reconciling entries must be recorded. All customers must be billed and all income earned by June 30 must be recorded or accrued. 

All expenses for goods and services received by June 30 must be recorded or accrued. 
Transactions that will appear on the PRELIM statements All transactions for the month of June. Accruals for purchases of goods and services received by June 30, but not yet paid. 

Accruals for income earned but not yet received by June 30. 

Reversal of estimated long term investment pool (LTIP) income. 

All investment income received and accrued will be posted to accounts at preliminary closing. This includes investment income from: the long term investment pool (LTIP); and separately invested funds. 
 
Types of transactions that can be processed between the preliminary and final closings Transfers of funds and movement of previously recorded expenses. If an account of another university department is involved, the administrator for that unit must approve the transaction before it is processed. 

Accrual adjustments. 

Corrections on accounts within a department, such as object code corrections. 
Transactions that will appear on the FINAL (6/30/XX) statements Any transaction occurring in the account after the preliminary statements are issued will be reflected on the final statement. The final statements are dated 6/30/XX or FINAL.

Caution: Only adjustments that would materially misstate the university's financial position may be recorded after the final year-end closing. Material adjustments will be posted to financial statements as work paper adjustments and a prior year entry will be recorded in the new year. These entries must be approved by the Office of the Vice President for Financial Affairs.The final year-end account balances of balance sheet, revenue, and expense accounts are the basis of the university financial statements. These balances are audited by external auditors. Part of the audit process is a test of the account balances to verify that revenues and expenses were recorded in the correct fiscal year.

Annual Certification of Effort

OMB Circular A-21 requires all institutions of higher education receiving federal funds to certify, no less than annually, the reasonableness of salary and wage charges in relation to work performed. Each department with sponsored activity in a given fiscal year must complete an Annual Certification of Effort form in order for the university to meet this requirement. The certifications are part of the permanent records for auditing purposes. Each year, after the close of May financial activity, the Office of the Vice President for Financial Affairs distributes information and instructions for completing the certification process along with specific guidelines for amending previously certified effort.  

Other Fiscal Year Periods

Electronic Inquiry and Reporting: General Comments

There are a number of distributed administrative computing systems at the university. The three that are used for accounting information are FISC, IRIS, and CUDA.  Authorized individuals use FISC and IRIS to inquire and report on account activity at any time. Electronically accessing accounting information allows departments to review current-month activity without waiting for the routine monthly reports. A user must have access to FISC in order to use CUDA or IRIS.  

Security Authorization

Access to the distributed administrative systems (APPS, CHRISP, CPBS, or FISC) requires a valid 3 character VMID (Virtual Machine Identification) that identifies the user to the CornellC machine. Contact Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) HelpDesk for information on obtaining a VMID and password.

 Once an individual has a VMID, the department completes a FISC authorization form and submits it to the Office of the Vice President for Financial Affairs. Access to a range of accounts or an individual account may be requested using this form ( "Forms" Section of this document). An individual must have the FISC authorization in to access IRIS or CUDA.

About FISC

The FISC screen is shown below:  

If you would like a copy of this sample screen, please send a request with the following information: To send a request, click here. 

Caution: If a FISC user also uses any other distributed administrative system, a different screen may appear. The FISC screen is accessed by typing ACENTER on the command line of any of the distributed administrative system screens, then pressing the return or enter key.

 Caution: There is no case sensitivity; commands and qualifiers may be entered as lower or upper case.

 FISC users make inquiries using commands and qualifiers.

 A command is also referred to as a request. This information gives a user access to the various modules within FISC.

 A qualifier is also referred to as a key. This information specifies the account data desired within a module of FISC. Examples of qualifiers are account numbers, object codes, and date ranges.

 Caution: Enter the seven-digit account number without spaces or dashes. Enter dates as a two-digit month followed by a two-digit year (the last two digits of the year). For example, March 1995 would be 0395. Activity in month 13 is that which occurs between preliminary and final closing.

Table of FISC Inquiry Modules

This table shows the commands and qualifiers for the various inquiry modules of FISC:
 
Command/Request Command Description - FISC Modules Qualifier/Key
ACIMI2E Account Status for Accounts Receivable, Endowed Account Number
ACIMI2S Account Status for Accounts Receivable, Statutory Account Number
ACIMI3E Account Status for Invested Funds Account Number
ACIMI1E Account Status, Endowed Account Number
ACIMI1S Account Status, Statutory Account Number
ACITI2E Accounts Receivable Transaction, Endowed Account Number
ACITI2S Accounts Receivable Transaction, Statutory Account Number
ACICI1E Commitments and In Transits, Endowed Account Number
ACICI1S Commitments and In Transits, Statutory Account Number
ACITI3E Invested Fund Transaction Inquiry Account Number
ACITI1E Transaction Inquiry, Endowed Account Number
ACITI1S Transaction Inquiry, Statutory Account Number

Caution: The only difference between inquiries for statutory and endowed accounts is the last character of the command: it is an "S" for statutory, and an "E" for endowed. Note that for the invested funds FISC modules, Account Status for Invested Funds (ACIMI3E), and Invested Fund Transaction Inquiry (ACITI3E), there is a single command/request for each module regardless of division.

 Caution: Tabbing is the recommended method for moving a cursor between fields. Tabbing ensures the correct positioning of the cursor for entering the required command or qualifier.

IRIS for Accounting: General Comments

IRIS is an acronym for Inquiry and Reporting Information System. It is a series of interrelated programs that allow the user to select records and format reports.

 IRIS for accounting enables users to select a group of related data (records) from one or more of the accounting files (master, analysis, transaction, or commitment).

 With IRIS the user is able to: 

About IRIS for Accounting

To enter IRIS for accounting the command (request) is ACIAQ1E for access to endowed accounts and ACIAQ1S for access to statutory accounts.

 IRIS reports can be generated based on specific attributes of accounts and transactions. IRIS reports are often most useful as mechanisms to get data to download into a spreadsheet or database.

 Account attributes and transaction characters are stored in fields in IRIS. For example, in an analysis record: account number and object code are fields of the record. There are as many as 32 fields available for selection and they are displayed on the IRIS Selection Menu. Preceding each field is a number that is used to specify the fields a user wants for a report selection.

 A relational expression used to compare a field to a certain desired value is termed an operator. In IRIS the operators used are:  

The contents of a field for a given record are referred to as the value in IRIS. For example, the value of the field called object is the object code itself. A range of values (example object code 6600 through 6660) may be used with the EQ and NE operators.

 A user can make a request based on a single criterion. For example, all records with object codes equal to 6100. A user can also base a request on multiple criteria by using the OR and AND options.

 Caution: When mixing OR and AND logic, the OR selection criterion must precede the AND selection criterion.

 Caution: Beginning a criterion with an OR will add a new set of records (if any meet that criterion) to those previously selected. For example, a request for object codes equal to 6100 may yield 25 records. Adding OR object codes equal to 9110 yields 28 (3 additional records).

 Caution: Beginning a criterion with AND will decrease the number of records previously selected (if any meet the additional criterion). For example, a request for object codes equal to 6100 may yield 25 records. Adding AND with an effective date equal to March 1995 (0395) yields 8 records (the number of records was reduced because they need to meet both criteria).

 After records have been selected the report can be displayed on the user's screen; submitted for a printed report; or made into a work file and downloaded to a personal computer. The downloaded files can be brought into many different software packages (e.g., spreadsheets, databases).

 Due to the new account attributes required by the recent Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) statements (specifically numbers 116 and 117), the screens a user sees in the various modules of IRIS for accounting will be changing. When they become available, these screens will be shown in the "Appendix" Section of this document.  

Cornell University Distributed Accounting System (CUDA): General Comments

The Cornell University Distributed Accounting system (CUDA) gives departments an additional option for meeting the financial management reporting needs. One of CUDA's major objectives is to validate departmental data against central accounting data, many checks and balances are incorporated to ensure the system's validity.

 CUDA can perform many functions. Some of them are: