FINewz. Research Accounting Services Reorganization. In this Issue. Research Accounting Services is pleased to announce a major

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1 ISSUE #6 VOLUME FINewz P R O V I D I N G T H E L A T E S T U P D A T E S O N F I N A N C I A L S E R V I C E S N E W S T O T H E T E M P L E U N I V E R S I T Y C O M MU N I T Y In this Issue RAS REORGANIZATION..1 WORLD TRAVEL HELP....2 CONCUR IS NOW LIVE PAPERLESS CHECK REQUEST CHANGES TO YOUR OPERATING BUDGET FINANCIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST STRATEGIC SOURCING...5 FISHER SCIENTIFIC DISCOUNT KNOW THE CODES.. 6 THE FLY AMERICA ACT LET S GET ACQUAINTED.7 TELEPHONE SCAMS... 7 MICROSOFT WORK-AT-HOME ELIGIBILITY... 8 ADOBE CONTRIBUTE LICENSING CHANGES REUSABLE DELIVERY TOTE PROGRAM... 8 DO YOU KNOW YOUR ERP ROLE?..9 SMALL DOLLAR EXPENDITURES Research Accounting Services Reorganization Research Accounting Services is pleased to announce a major restructuring of our department to better serve the Temple Research Community. We are in the process of implementing the following changes: hiring additional staff, providing additional training opportunities for the community, development of new analytical tools and reports, and the creation of an advisory group to focus on improved processes. As part of the reorganization, awards assigned to each analyst have been redistributed to allow one analyst to be responsible for all awards within a specific department. The redistribution will allow the RAS managers and staff to foster better communication with principal investigators, business managers and sponsors; be more responsive to inquiries and requests; and ensure timely submission of invoices and reports. A list of the new assignments has been posted to our website. The changes are also reflected in the grant search tool of the TUportal. Analysts will be contacting their assigned departments in the coming months to introduce themselves and discuss the specific needs of the departments. We look forward to working with you as we accomplish these initiatives in the coming months. CAPITAL EQUIPMENT VERIFICATION FINANCE COMPETENCY CENTER.. 10 TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES 11 1

2 World Travel Help When you need to book online with World Travel (WT), here is a helpful tip on how you can expedite things with their new process. Get the flight and traveler info Contact the WT Online Help Desk & select Online Option Provide the info WT will research and let you know if this is an airline issue or a Concur issue. If airline issue, there is nothing they can do but at least you know what is going on. If a Concur issue, World Travel will contact and confirm with the agents so that they do not get charged the $36 fee Following this process should simplify booking with World Travel! If a Concur issue, World Travel will contact and confirm with the agents so that they do not get charged the $36 fee Concur is now Live! You may have heard - Concur Travel & Expense is live across much of the University! Employees are thrilled to be receiving reimbursement in 3 days and approvers are excited to be able to see all of their transactions in one concise place. Currently, training is happening in departments across campuses as employees learn how to book trips, create expense reports and upload receipts into our new electronic system. If you haven t had training for Concur yet or your department is still using paper, please contact Amy Lavin at amyl@temple.edu to get on board! Check Request Form now Paperless! Accounts Payable is excited to introduce the Online Check Request replacing our current paper process. The online check request is available in TUmarketplace under the forms menu. There you will see the Accounts Payable Online Check Request form listed. The online check request will be completed in much the same way the form is completed today. Like a TUmarketplace requisition, you will have the ability to attach backup documents and make comments electronically. When the form is completed it will be assigned a requisition number that will enable you to track your request and follow the same workflow approval process. The requisition number will be the invoice number so you can easily cross reference the payment in Banner with the information stored in TUmarketplace. If you need to make the payment to an account code that does not begin with a 7, please enter account code 7999 when completing the online form. Then, on your backup documentation that you will attach to the form, please identify the account code that you wish the payment to be made against. TIP OF THE MONTH All FOAPAL requests amendments, sub award notifications, and budgets should now be sent to the RAS mailbox which is RAS@temple.edu Beginning in October, Accounts Payable will be working with various departments to rollout the new online form. Paper check request forms will still be accepted, but we highly encourage early adoption to the online form. If you have any questions on using the new tool, please contact Joanne Webb at or joanne.webb@temple.edu. 2

3 Changes to your Operating Budget During the year, have you ever asked yourself how did my operating budget change? If you have investigated the changes you may have noticed several adjustments. There are two categories of budget adjustments: permanent and temporary. Most often, permanent adjustments are for administrative and contractual compensation changes. The Salary Supplements for non-bargaining and bargaining units are normally effective the 1 st of July. However, various bargaining units have compensation increases that do not align with the start of our fiscal year. To complete the salary supplements, the Budget Office will increase the unique position s budget using the Banner Position Control System and then make a corresponding adjustment to the operating ledger. You will see this increase within the compensation account code (6XXX) that funds the position(s). Temporary adjustments are normally for the prior year s commitments. If there are outstanding commitments at the end of the fiscal year and you have available funds, they are counted against the year s budget despite the fact that the actual expense has not been realized. As a result, shortly after the start of the new fiscal year we process a nonrecurring budget adjustment to your cost center. The commitments adjustment will appear within your non-compensation account codes (7XXX). In addition to other possible changes, you can also make budget adjustments using Self-Service Banner except for full-time account codes (60XX, 65XX). Adjustments to full-time account codes must come through the Budget Office. Self Service allows up to (5) lines per budget adjustment. Larger adjustments can be sent to the Budget Office. The financial reports available through TUportal have two budget columns; each one allows the cost center administrator to differentiate between permanent and temporary budget....you can also make budget adjustments using Self-Service Banner except for full-time account codes Quick Facts To determine the source of the budget change, drill down to the account. Another quick way is to use Banner self-service. Please feel free to contact the Budget Office if you have any questions. You can make salary reallocations prior to your Effort Reports issuance. To learn more about how you can do so, please contact your assigned analyst. 3

4 What is a Financial Conflict of Interest? As of August 24, 2012, any institution that applies for or receives Public Health Service/ National Institutes of Health grants for research must comply with the 2011 Revised Conflict of Interest Regulations. The revised regulations apply to each Notice of Award issued after this date. NIH defines a Financial Conflict of Interest (COI) as a scenario where the Institution (Temple University), through its designated officials, reasonably determines that a Significant Financial Interest is: 1. related to a NIH-funded research project and 2. could directly and significantly affect the design, conduct or reporting of the NIH-funded research. For example, if a PI receives payment or salary (including from consulting fees, stock, honoraria, intellectual property rights, etc.) from a publicly traded or private entity where the total exceeds $5, for the 12 month period prior to receiving an award, then a Significant Financial Conflict of Interest may exist, and financial disclosure in necessary. What s New? While the FCOI regulation has been an official requirement when accepting funds from NIH since 1995, the 2011 revision includes several significant changes, including: How a Significant Financial Interest is defined The extent to which Investigators must disclose their Significant Financial Interests (SFI) to Institutions The way in which Institutions manage identified Financial Conflicts of Interest The reporting is retrospective based on actual dollars/travel received, not a prospective estimate :...Investigator is defined as any person working on the grant who may potentially be capable of influencing the outcome of the research. The purpose of the revised regulation is to promote objectivity in research by establishing standards that provide a reasonable expectation that the design, conduct, and reporting of research performed under NIH grants will be free from bias resulting from an Investigator s financial conflicts of interest. An Investigator is defined as any person working on the grant who may potentially be capable of influencing the outcome of the research. This could include collaborators, consultants, postdoctoral fellows, grand students, and even sub-recipients). What does this mean for you? (Managing identified Financial Conflict of Interest) What this means is that any person falling into the category of Investigator as defined above is now required to disclose relevant financial information at the time of each grant submission, on receipt of the Notice of Award, within 30 days of any new significant financial interests, and then yearly. Temple University has developed training materials, policy guidance and an electronic reporting module for COI compliance; please check out COI compliance for more information. If the certifications are not complete, there is the potential to have funding withheld or possibly lost. If an Investigator fails to disclose a significant financial interest and the SFI is discovered by Temple, ALL work in the lab will be stopped until the Conflict of Interest office concludes an investigation. For more detailed information, please see the Financial Conflict of Interest page on the NIH Office of Extramural Research website, in the Grants Policy and Guidance section. Quick Facts A new fund cannot be issued for a continuation grant until your FCOI is completed. To avoid delays, please complete your FCOI certification. 4

5 Strategic Sourcing The role of the Strategic Sourcing position is to create and analyze processes used to reduce total cost of university purchasing while improving operational efficiencies. Strategic Sourcing promotes an effective procurement system and ensures the prudent use of University funds. Strategic Sourcing also drives efficient University operations by providing visibility into spending habits, building commodity expertise, enables better and more informed decisions, and minimizes complexity for end-users. The TUmarketplace e-procurement system, as a dynamic user-friendly tool, allows the shopper to compare products and prices while streamlining the procurement process. Enabling the Pcard functionality in TUmarketplace offers the end-user another method of payment and has the potential to produce substantial savings in the procure to pay (P2P) process by reducing transactional costs and cycle times. Review of vendor pricing agreements and discount schedules is constant. The purpose is to seek better pricing without compromising quality or service. When considering a vendor s interest in becoming a hosted supplier it is not only important to consider total spend, volume, technological capabilities and category but also the number of end-users a hosted supplier will benefit....tumarketplace offers the enduser another method of payment and has the potential to produce substantial savings in the procure to pay (P2P) In summary, basic goals/objectives of the Strategic Sourcing Process include: Increase total cost savings and streamline processes Manage vendor performance and improve alliances Increase achievement of Green goals and promote sustainability, Provide user friendly and efficient purchasing methods and systems Minimize savings leakage and maverick spend with non-preferred suppliers Improve Small/Disadvantaged Business Participation Improving operational efficiencies and building relationships inside and outside the university is an ongoing process for Strategic Sourcing. Feel free to contact Barbara Moser, Purchasing, at ext for additional information or to offer feedback. Bigger Discount Fisher Scientific! Fisher Scientific will be increasing your discount by 2.5% on many items, resulting in an estimated campus wide annual savings of $20,000! The additional discount is a result of the University s strategic sourcing strategy. By consolidating and directing spend, we were able to achieve a better volume discount which benefits the university as a whole. Also, approximately $29,750 extra savings was achieved with the elimination of shipping fees. It is because of the cooperation from the University s community that the extra savings was awarded. Purchasing appreciates everyone s support with this savings opportunity! TIP OF THE MONTH All purchase orders should be moved to your new foapal once received. They DO NOT automatically transfer and can keep for old foapal 5

6 Know the CODES! It s the 4th business day of the month, and you ve just received from Associate Controller Patrick McAndrews, advising you that the books have been closed for the prior month. Your monthly Cost Center Reporting Package is now accessible directly through TUportal. This is the time to review your package to ensure its accuracy. In a typical month, over a quarter million transactions post to the General and Operating ledgers; each has a Document Code. Our objective is to acquaint everyone with the various Document Codes you may encounter on your Cost Center Reporting Package. They create an audit trail by tagging and identifying the source of each transaction. If questions arise regarding activity on your cost center reports, the Document Code is the starting point to ascertain the identity of each transaction. Some of the more common Document Codes are as follows: RJ011167: a Journal submitted via the JE Workflow and fuploaded into Banner by General Accounting I : an Accounts Payable payment of an invoice Fxxxxxxx: represents interface activity from the payroll, student and development systems. The account number charged provides an indication of which system. The complete roster of Document Codes -- by prefix, along with a description of each has been created and is now available on the Controller s Office website. If questions arise during the review of your monthly reports, please contact General Accounting for assistance....a typical month, over a quarter million transactions post to the General and Operating ledgers... Fly America Act The Fly America Act is a government mandated act listed under 49 U.S.C Under this act you are required to use a US based air carrier for all travel funded by the US government. The US air carrier must still be used when traveling, even if the price of the non-us air carrier is less expensive than that of US air carrier. There are some exceptions to this act. If there is no US air carrier that flies to the destination of your travel, you would be allowed to use another country s air carrier. Another exception is transportation provided under a bilateral or multilateral air transport agreement, to which the United States government and the government of a foreign country are parties, and which the Department of Transportation has determined meets the requirements of the Fly America Act. For a full list of exclusions please visit the helpful links at the bottom of this article. What grants are impacted by this Act? All grants directly made by the federal government, all sub-contracts that are passing through federal funds, and any state or city grants funded with federal funds. In a nutshell, all the FOAPALs that begin with 3X, 40, 42, and 43. Helpful Links Fly America Act (see page 34 of 41 CFR ) Research Accounting Services has a new Accounts Receivable Analyst. Terrence Finney is working with RAS to collect outstanding receivables. Open Skies Agreement 6

7 Let s get Acquainted! Purchasing s New Additions Stephen Szybowski is the new Capital Projects Buyer in the Purchasing Department. Stephen has worked in the construction industry for the past 15 years. Prior to joining Temple University he was a Construction Manager with Thomas Properties Group, a national real estate development firm and Director of Construction for United Financial Services Group, a Philadelphia based franchising company. Stephen earned his Bachelors of Science in Industrial Design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and is also a licensed Public Adjuster in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. STEPHEN SZYBOWSKI OF PURCHASING When not driving his daughter to dance classes, Stephen s hobbies include playing guitar and buying and selling antique and vintage items. Stephen is also involved in charitable projects through his Masonic Lodge. QUICK FACTS! Temple University is now registered with the Apple Corporation as an AppleCare Warranty Provider for all Apple computer equipment (including ipads). Beginning July 1, 2012 please submit your requests for service on Apple equipment under an AppleCare warranty directly through the Help Desk. Renee Merritt is Purchasing s newest staff addition, and will act as Senior Purchasing Specialist. Renee has worked in procurement for over ten years. She was previously a buyer at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and also worked in equipment purchasing at Aramark and Ricoh USA in a Senior Buyer capacity. She has her Bachelor s in Business Administration from University of Phoenix. In her spare time, Renee volunteers with Women United, a non-profit organization which is focused on helping to empower and inspire women in transitional homes and correctional facilities. RENEE MERRITT OF PURCHASING Welcome to Temple University! Are you Aware of Telephone Supply Scam? If your department is contacted by an unsolicited company requesting information about your Xerox Copier do not give them any information and direct them to Purchasing. If you release information they will send product for your copier and charge an outrageous price. Should you receive packages of this nature, notify Purchasing immediately and we will contact the company and make arrangements to return the product. 7

8 Microsoft Work-At-Home Eligibility! All current Full and Part Time University Faculty and Staff are eligible to receive one copy of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 (32-bit only), Microsoft Office Professional 2011 for Mac and Windows 7 Ultimate (32-bit upgrade only) as a part of the Temple Work at home program. Please be advised that Graduate Assistants, Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, employees who do not use computers as part of their daily job function, and Retired Faculty are NOT eligible for the program. Please check the Computer Services website: for hours of distribution and location. Adobe Contribute Licensing Changes Adobe has eliminated Contribute from their new Creative Suite 6 bundle. However, Contribute 6.5 licenses are available through the SHI Punch-out in TUmarketplace as part of the Temple Contribute Bundle. The bundle includes a Contribute Upgrade Plan, Contribute Publishing Server License and Contribute Publishing Server Upgrade Plan, all of which are required for utilizing the Develop Server when publishing Temple webpages. Reusable Delivery Tote Program The bundle includes a Contribute Upgrade Plan, Contribute Publishing Server License and Contribute In November, 2009 Alpha Office Supplies, Inc. and Staples Business Advantage began delivering orders to Temple University in reusable, corrugated polypropylene containers. These reusable containers collapse to the size of an inch or less. Since the 2009 implementation of the Temple Tote program, Alpha Office Supplies and Staples Business Advantage have strived to improve the program. This July, Alpha/ Staples expanded the program to included two new smaller size totes. Your cooperation is necessary for the success of this program. We have implemented a simple and easy means for you to return your totes when you are unable to empty the tote at time of delivery. Simply send an to templetotes@alphaos.com to arrange for pick up. Your should include a contact name, physical location, phone number and the number of totes you need picked up. You will receive a confirmation with the scheduled pick up date. Please feel free to continue to give your Alpha driver your empty reusable containers during their delivery stop. Let s all remember that these reusable containers are not the property of the University but the property of Staples and they should not be thrown out or used as storage boxes. In anticipation of the upcoming Winter break, please make sure all computer requests are completed by Monday, December 3rd to ensure deliver prior to start of the Winter break. Thank you for your support and cooperation in making this reusable tote program a success. 8

9 Do you know your ERP Role? If you are not sure of the Fund(s) and Org(s) authorized to you or you need to know your signature authorization level you can find this information on TUportal. You will find these simple steps to be helpful not only to determine for your authorization, but also to determine the authorization for anyone else within your area. To determine your TUmarketplace workflow: Log on to the Portal Click on the Banner Tab Down the page under Banner Finance, Quick Links you will find the TU Marketplace Purchase Requisition Approval Workflow Click on that link Enter your fund, org and amount in the appropriate boxes and then click on Explore Work Flow...query Banner Security Audit found on TUportal under TUAPPPLICATIONS You may also want to query Banner Security Audit found on TUportal under TUAPPPLICATIONS Click on Banner Security Audit Click on Finance Funds/Orgs and a box will appear indicating the Funds and Orgs assigned Click on Signature Authorization and your signature profile will appear If you need to view another user s profile enter the user s last name in the LOOKUP ACCOUNTS box in the upper left corner of the screen. Select from the list of names and repeat the steps noted above. Microsoft will officially release Windows 8 on October 25th. Temple University is currently testing for compatibility with Banner and Symantec antivirus. As soon as testing is completed, there will be an announcement of Windows 8 release for use by Temple University Associates. 9

10 How to: Small Dollar Expenditures The business and personal expense reimbursement policy provides for the ability to reimburse an employee for small, one-time purchases that are less than $ Typically, these purchases are for books and office supplies. If such purchases are required on a regular basis, they should not be purchased via cash or personal credit card. Instead, the appropriate mechanism to make purchases of small dollar items through the internet or catalogs is by utilizing a Temple Purchasing Card (TPC). If you do not have a TPC you can apply for one by logging into TUmarketplace and completing a Purchasing Card Application Form. This form is located in the showcased services area of TUmarketplace. Capital Equipment Verification The capital asset inventory was electronically mailed to the department managers on November 1st for review and must be reviewed, signed, dated & returned before December 21st. The inventory consists of equipment purchased by the university with a minimum cost of $5,000 per single working unit and an expected useful life over one year. Equipment costing under 5,000 (such as I-Pad s, cell phones, etc.) must ultimately be remitted back to surplus inventory once it is not being utilized no matter if it was taken home for work needs or sitting idle in a university room. All equipment purchased by the university is university property and the university is the disposer if its equipment. For assistance on remitting surplus equipment....purchases of small dollar items through the internet or catalogs is by utilizing a Temple Purchasing Card (TPC). Finance Competency Center Website Visit the Finance Competency Center website - or by opening the Controller s website and clicking on the Finance Competency Center button. (You must login to the site by using your accessnet username and password.) This site offers information about competency center staff members including their areas of expertise and how to contact them. In addition, our new idea forum allows for community members to make suggestions and submit ideas for enhancements to financial systems at Temple University. Please visit us!!!!! In anticipation of the upcoming Winter break, please make sure all computer requests are completed by Monday, December 3rd to ensure deliver prior to start of the Winter break. 10

11 Training Opportunities General Accounting, Stay in the Know, Banner Basics Training (Main Campus) Tuesday December 11 th, 2012 Mitten Hall Room#250 from 2:00 pm through 4:00 pm Research Accounting Services, Banner Basics for Grants (Main Campus) Thursday November 15 h, 2012 Tech Center Room 109 from 1:30 pm through 4:30 pm Research Accounting Services, Managing a Sponsored Project: Soup to Nuts (Main Campus) Thursday December 6 h, 2012 Mitten Hall Room 250 from 9:00 am through 12:00 pm CONTACT Accounts Payable accountspayle@temple.edu Finance Competency Center Financial Reporting General Accounting Purchasing purchasing@temple.edu Research Accounting Services RAS@temple.edu NOTE: All sessions are listed on the Human Resources Training website. Please take a look to register for upcoming sessions. TUmarketplace training or Banner Basics for Grants training can be scheduled for individual groups of 20 or more. Contact Purchasing or Research Accounting Services to request your group training. Concur training is also offered on a group or individual basis. Please contact Amy Lavin at alavin@temple.edu to schedule new or additional trainings with your staff. Please visit the Controller s Office website at for access to policies and procedures, information and employee directory. FINewz November