Finance

August 2022 Newsletter

August 2022 Newsletter 

Fiscal Reminders: 

  • Fiscal Year Transition/Updates
    • FY22 Hard Close
      • At this time the FY22 Hard Close date has not been confirmed.  We will provide more information when it is available  
    • FY23 – active fiscal year  
      • When viewing account balances in FY23, it is important to include ‘Pending Ledger Entry’ as the FY22 Hard Close has not occurred, and balances have not yet been carried forward
      • When viewing Sponsored Project Accounts balances (5L and many 6L accounts) in FY23 please note indirect costs (NOPX) will need to be manually deducted from the budget balance available 
  • FY22 2.5% Carry Forward
    • The CAHNR Carry Forward Policy allows departments to carry forward a maximum of 2.5% of the annual funding in their department 2‐Ledger operating account(s) from one fiscal year to the next.
    • The amount of carry forward is based on 2.5% of annual funding in a department’s operating account(s).  
    • Annual funding is comprised of permanent allocation plus/minus any permanent and/or one‐time funding adjustments in the current fiscal year.  
    • The BO will distribute all funds that are eligible to be carried forward after the university’s prior fiscal year hard close.  This transfer will be processed as a one‐time (1x) funding adjustment into the departments’ operating account.  
  • Faculty 2022 Summer Payroll Process – AAUP retro increases effective 8/23/2021
    • The Business Office processes Faculty Summer salary paid from start-up funding, grants/contract, and/or other Dean’s Office Commitments
    • Payroll, Sponsored Program Services, and Human Resources will not update summer salaries to align with recalculated August 2021 salaries 
    • The BO is reviewing the 2022 Faculty Summer Payroll and processing the appropriate adjustments
    • If your department has submitted a special payroll authorization (i.e., not processed by the BO) for a faculty member during Summer 2022, it is your responsibility to review and process any changes 
  • FY23 Monthly Department and Faculty Reports
    • *Reminder* FY23 Reports will continue to include sponsored project funded Fall ‘22 and/or Spring ‘23 GA pre-encumbrances
    • The September 1st reports will continue to capture the pre-encumbrance of GA’s who are coded to sponsored projects 
    • GA payrolls are scheduled to encumber on 9/2 or 9/3.  Once this occurs the BO will release the manual encumbrance previously entered to avoid overstatement on accounts
  • Start-Up Accounts
    • The BO will continue establishing all new faculty Start-Up accounts as new faculty continue to be hired
    • Reminder – Faculty (in most cases) will have three (3) 2-Ledger Start-Up Accounts:
    • Faculty Summer salary
    • No budget will be loaded.  The BO will fund this account after processing summer salary
    • GA Support 
    • Both salary and fringe benefits will be loaded to identify available funding
    • Equipment/Discretionary
    • All accounts are budgeted by the BO and all accounts are Fiscal Based Accounts and run from July 1st – June 30th
    • Funding will continue to carry forward until the timeframe in which these funds are to be used (noted in faculty Offer Letter)
    • For faculty in their first year of start up support – i.e., start date of 8/23/2022, only the first year’s budget will be loaded
    • For faculty in their second year of support – i.e., start date of 8/23/2021, any balance remaining in the prior year will be carried forward and added to any additional support committed in year two
    • The BO will serve as FO on both the Faculty Summer Salary and GA support accounts 
  • Federal Accounts (Smith Lever, SAES Capacity)
    • FY22 Accounts 
      • will remain open through 11/30/22 for expenses incurred by 9/30/22 
      • Please avoid last minute spending
      • After November 30th, no additional transactions will be allowed on these accounts
      • On December 1st the BO will begin the FY22 close out process
      • Please monitor your continuation accounts for timely cost transfer submission
      • Please contact the BO if you need any assistance
    • FY23 Accounts 
      • New Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) opens on 10/1/2022 (FFY23)
      • Your department budget was identified in your FY23 Dept. Budget Hearing Letter from the Dean 
      • *Reminder: Every expense must be categorized in 1 or more of the 5 areas strategic areas by the utilization of sub-accounts (only exception is Regular Payroll)
      • Sub-Accounts
        • Climate (CLIM)
        • Food (FOOD)
        • Health (HLTH)
        • Landscapes (LAND)
        • (MISC)
  • Upcoming Purchasing Training (September)
    • The Business Office is working with UBS to establish a training
    • Additional information will be distributed (via email) once confirmed.   

  

HR and Payroll Reminders: 

  • AAUP Payroll Black-out Period
    • August 6th – August 22nd
      • Blackout period for SmartHR transactions for all AAUP bargaining unit members
      • August 23rd – August 25th
        • Any Smart HR transactions for all bargaining unit members may be processed at this time to be effective by 8/23/22.
          • Non-Tenure Track (NTT) Faculty 8/23 Contract Renewals
            • Reminder – (if needed) please process any NTT Contract Renewals
            • PageUp Training Dates:
              • Regular Payroll
                • September 7, 2022 from 9 am to 12 pm (Register)
              • Special Payroll
                • September 8, 2022 from 10 am to 12 pm (Register)

            Special Payroll Update 

                • Adjunct Faculty Tutorial
                  • The Special Payroll Adjunct Faculty tutorial has been updated and now reflects the new AAUP Adjunct Faculty credit rates and other changes. 
                  • The tutorial provides an in-depth overview of policies and contractual obligations for Adjunct Faculty, including compensation, multi-year contracts, credit limits, offer letters, dual employment, flexible schedules, and conflicts of interest.
                    Employees can access the updated tutorial (and all Special Payroll tutorials) through Saba (https://hr.uconn.edu/learningatwork/) by searching “Special Payroll” after logging in. A link to the tutorials is also available on the Special Payroll Information website: https://hr.uconn.edu/special-payroll-info/. 

           Shout Out: 

              • Welcome 
                • Laurie Norton, Financial Assistant 1 – ANSC
              • Farewells
                • Good Luck: Gulizar Er, Financial Assistant 1 – BO

           

          Reminder: The Business Office is always available to answer any questions or concerns you may have.  Please feel to reach out to the CAHNR BO via email (CAHNRBO@uconn.edu ), or submit any questions or comments via our anonymous form located on the BO website (https://businessoffice.cahnr.uconn.edu/admin-meeting-questions-2/) 

        Cash Handling Training FY22 is Now Live (From Daily Digest)

        Training is now live on UConn – Learning@Work.

        Cash Handling Training is required for any employee in a financial role who requires access to depositing docs in KFS (i.e. Cash Receipt, Advance Deposit and Credit Card Receipt).

        Some of the topics covered:

        Proper Documentation
        Separation of Duties
        KFS e-Docs – What to use, When
        Reconciliation Basics

         

        Deadline to complete this training is 12/31/2021.  Access to KFS depositing docs will be revoked from any staff who have not completed the training by the deadline.

        Student employees will continue to access training on Husky CT.  Please email name and net ID of student employees to cashoperations@uconn.edu for enrollment.

        For more information, contact: Cash Operations at cashoperations@uconn.edu

        Updated FY22 KFS Expense Object Code Description Guide (From Accounting)

        Good Afternoon,

        The KFS Expense Object Code Description Guide has been updated for FY22. All object code description guides can be found on the Accounting Office website: https://accountingoffice.uconn.edu/oversight-of-kfs-object-codes/

        If you have any questions about object codes, feel free to contact me using email or Teams.

        Thank you,
        Annette

        KFS is now open for Fiscal Year 2022 Processing (From KFS)

        KFS is now open for Fiscal Year 2022 Processing. Happy New Fiscal Year!

        As you begin to look at balances on your accounts in KFS, please note the following:

        1. Although Fiscal Year 2022 is the default on balance inquiries, you have the option to change the date to Fiscal Year 2021 by typing over 2022.

        2. When looking at Fiscal Year 2021 balances on the “General Ledger Balance” inquiry, there is an additional period called “Year End.” This is where you will see any activity posted after June 30, 2021 that relates to Fiscal Year 2021. On the General Ledger Entry inquiry, you will see these transactions in Fiscal Period “13.”

        3. Fiscal Year 2022 Budgets are loaded for all 2-ledger, 3-ledger, and Fiscal 4-ledger/6-ledger accounts. (Sub-funds OPTUI, OPOTF, OPAUX, RFNDO, RFNDA). Budgets for project accounts are scheduled to be updated overnight on July 1st as pending entries (see #4 below). Processing for all accounts should continue as necessary. 

        4. KFS has the ability to show the prior year balances carried over into the new fiscal year. Ending balances from Fiscal Year 2021, which are scheduled to be loaded overnight on July 1st as pending entries, will be regularly updated into Fiscal Year 2022 until the final close in August.

        5. Encumbrances:

        a. New Fiscal Year 2022 external encumbrances (Purchase Orders) are in KFS.

        b. Prior Year external encumbrances that are carried forward into Fiscal Year 2022 are also in KFS.

        c. Fiscal Year 2022 payroll encumbrances will be posted the night of July 7, 2021.

        If you have any questions, please contact Annette Pavone at Annette.pavone@uconn.edu.

        Minimum Wage to Increase on August 1st (from Student Employment)

        In 2019, the Governor signed legislation that will gradually increase the minimum hourly wage in Connecticut to $15.00 per hour over the next several years. The next increase is scheduled for August 1st. The hourly rate for any student whose active payroll record is not at the minimum of the new pay class will be systematically increased. We encourage employers to review the hourly rates of those student employees whose rates will not be automatically increased to identify any inequities.  Any manual increases may be processed using the Student Payroll Data/Pay Change template (UC_TBH_DC_STUD_DAT) in CORE-CT.

         

        Level of Job Current Effective Aug 1, 2021 Effective July 1, 2022 Effective June 1, 2023
        Class I (trainee level)  

        $12.00

         

        $13.00

         

        $14.00

         

        $15.00

        Class II (assistant level)  

        $12.15 – $13.35

         

        $13.15 – $14.35

         

        $14.15 – $15.35

         

        $15.15 – $16.35

        Class III (specialist level  

        $13.40 – $15.35

         

        $14.40 – $16.35

         

        $15.40 – $17.35

         

        $16.40 – $18.35

        Class IV (advanced level)  

        $15.40 – $30.70

         

        $16.40 – $31.70

         

        $17.40 – $32.70

         

        $18.40 – $33.70

         

        KFS 2021 Close / Opening of FY22 (From KFS Listserv)

        To All KFS Users:

        In preparation for the close of fiscal year 2021 and the opening of fiscal year 2022 in KFS, please make note of the following:

        1. KFS will be unavailable for processing at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, June 30th.
        2. KFS will be available Thursday morning, July 1st for fiscal year 2022 processing.
        3. eDocs that were routed to the central processing offices (Accounting, Accounts Payable, etc.) by the deadlines specified in the Controller Memo will be posted to fiscal year 2021, as well as any eDocs that missed these deadlines to the extent time permits. Fiscal year 2021 eDocs not finalized before June 30th will be rolled over and posted in fiscal year 2022 when finalized.
        4. Certain eDocs submitted after June 30 will be posted back to fiscal year 2021 by central offices, and you will notice these being reflected in fiscal year 2021, Period 13. If you have an eDoc that you believe should be posted to fiscal year 2021, (for example, to clean up a deficit account), please specify this on the eDoc before you submit it.

        If you have any questions, please contact Lori-Anne Hansen (lori-anne.hansen@uconn.edu) or Annette Pavone (annette.pavone@uconn.edu).

        Approved FY22 Fringe Benefit Rates (from SPS)

        Hello Everyone,

        We received the approved Fringe Benefit Rate Agreement for FY22 from DHHS.  To help to mitigate the effect of our fringe benefit costs on research projects, the OVPR and administration has again provided funding to ensure the rates charged to research projects are substantially less than the full rates.  The FY22 rates are very close to what was projected last year.

        The rates for FY22 and for proposal budgeting on the Office of the Vice President for Research Sponsored Program Services (SPS) website have been updated in accordance with this announcement.  The Pre-Award Team will accept the old fringe rates on budgets that have already been submitted to SPS, and for those where the budgets have been prepared and redoing them may jeopardize the timely proposal preparation and submission.  Budgets should be submitted to SPS using these rates no later Monday,  June 21.  If you would like to update a budget for a proposal that has already been submitted to Pre-Award but not yet submitted to the sponsor, please contact your Grant and Contract Specialist.

        Additionally, please note that the required budget justification language regarding fringe benefits has been updated to the following:

        “The fringe benefit rates used in the proposal budget are based on the rates approved by the Department of Health and Human Services.  An estimated cost escalation has been included in the out years per University budgeting guidance.”

        FY22 FY23 FY24 FY25 FY26
        Faculty 45.5% 47.8% 48.5% 49.5% 50.5%
        Professional/Classified 48.5% 50.6% 51.5% 52.5% 53.5%
        Special Payroll 22% 22% 22.5% 23% 23.5%
        Post Docs 15.7% 16% 16.5% 17% 17.5%
        Graduate Assistant, Academic Yr 15.7% 16% 16.5% 17% 17.5%
        Student Labor 3.8% 3% 3.4% 3.4% 3.4%

         

        FY23 – FY26 rates shown are projected estimates for budgeting purposes only.

        FY26 rates should remain flat for FY26 and later for budgeting purposes only.

         

        Jennifer Przybyszewski, MBA
        Associate Director for Award Management and Accounting

        Office of the Vice President for Research
        University of Connecticut
        Sponsored Program Services
        438 Whitney Road Ext. Unit 1133
        Storrs, CT 06269-1133
        Phone: 860-486-4293
        ovpr.uconn.edu

         

        New Workflow in the reconciliation of CBS (Procard) Reports (from UBS)

        Good Afternoon:

        After receiving feedback from various University stakeholders about increasing efficiencies, expediting administrative processes within Concur, and keeping in mind the mission of providing the best customer care services to the University community, we write to inform you of exciting changes coming to Company Bill Statement (CBS) Reports for ProCard reconciliation (which includes grant funded expenses) submitted through Concur, the University’s Travel & Expense management system.

        Beginning Monday, May 17, 2021, CBS Reports for ProCard reconciliation will no longer require electronic approval within Concur by either Principal Investigator (PI) or Sponsored Program (SPS) groups. While the new change will go into effect on May 17, 2021, any in-progress CBS Reports for ProCard reconciliation submitted prior to the effective date of the change are subject to the previous workflow model which currently requires that PI and SPS approvals based on funding source. If you have any such CBS Reports in-progress, you may elect to recall and resubmit them in Concur after May 17, 2021 to take advantage of the new workflow model. Please keep in mind if such in-progress CBS Reports have already received Fiscal Officer (FO) approval, that same FO approval will again be required following resubmission.

        If you have any questions, please reach out to pcard@uconn.edu.

        Thank you,

        Thank you,
        Nancy Patrylak, CPCP
        Procurement Solutions Center Manager
        University of Connecticut
        University Business Services
        3 Discovery Drive, Unit 6076
        Storrs, CT 06269
        (860) 486-2622 – phone
        (860) 486-5051 – fax
        Purchasing.ubs.uconn.edu
        *For travel inquiries please contact us at travel@uconn.edu

        Concur Expenditure Type – Publishing Fees (From SPS)

        Hello All!

        At the last SPA meeting (4/21/21) we discussed Publication and Printing Costs.  At the time I had advised that for out of pocket reimbursements that the “Printing and Binding” expense type should be used as “Publication Fees” was not available.  I am writing to inform you that the  “Publication Fees” expense type is now available on both company billed statements and for out of pocket reimbursements.  Please do select this expense type for publication costs for documenting, preparing, publishing, disseminating, page and reprint charges.

        Please let me know if you have any questions,

        Thanks,
        Jen

         

        Jennifer Przybyszewski, MBA
        Associate Director for Award Management and Accounting

        Office of the Vice President for Research
        University of Connecticut
        Sponsored Program Services
        438 Whitney Road Ext. Unit 1133
        Storrs, CT 06269-1133
        Phone: 860-486-4293
        ovpr.uconn.edu