Elimination of Quarterly Overdraft Reports on Restricted Accounts+
On May 15, 2015 it was announced that Contracts and Grants will discontinue sending
the Quarterly Overdraft Report on Restricted Accounts to PIs.
Processing Invoices on Restricted Accounts in a Pending Status (June 22, 2015)+
If deemed necessary by the department and Contracts and Grants, invoicing may take
place on restricted accounts in a pending state up to the original budget amount or
until the original end date. For complete announcement click here.
Emailing Copies - Project Invoices and Reports+
Instead of sending paper copies of invoices and reports to the Departments, Contracts
and Grants will now email copies.
Notification of Cost Share on Restricted Accounts+
Semiannually for the period ending February 28th and August 31st, Contracts and Grants
will send the departments a status of how much Cost Share has been documented on committed
cost share.
Simplified Review of Invoices from Unaudited Subrecipients+
Federal regulations require that UGA monitor activities of subrecipients ensuring
that the awards are used for authorized purposes. Historically, for subrecipients
with no external audit report, UGA has required PI’s/Departmental Administrators to
collect copies of receipts and timecards for all reimbursable expenses listed on invoices.
Since PI’s/Departmental Administrators have first-hand knowledge of the scope of work,
budget, and terms/conditions of the subaward agreement they can adequately assess
the risk of non-compliance by reviewing invoiced expenses against the subaward agreement,
evaluating the experience of the subrecipient, and reviewing the work accomplished.
With this knowledge, the UGA department can check compliance by requesting copies
of receipts or timecards if a charge on the invoice doesn’t seem appropriate for the
project.
This change eliminates the need for the PI/Departmental Administrator to collect
copies of all receipts and reconcile them with the invoiced charges. PI/Departmental
Administrators are still required to obtain invoices from these subrecipients that
include a signed certification as to the appropriateness of the charges such as: “I
certify that all expenditures reported (or payments requested) are for appropriate
purposes and in accordance with the agreements set forth in the award documents.”
Effective 04/1/2015 the Contracts & Grants Department has implemented this change
to reduce the amount of time for payment processing and reduce administrative burden
on PI’s/Departmental Administrators.
No Cost Extension (NCE) form+
This work team was tasked with reviewing the No Cost Extension (NCE) form for improvements,
specifically focusing on eliminating or altering sections that cause faculty and departmental
administrators the most difficulty. The ‘Personnel and Compliances’ section has been
a source of confusion for some time and the necessity of this section has come into
question many times. Additionally, routing for signatures can be a burden when there
are a number of Co-PIs because each Co-PI must sign the form to update the certifications.
A revised NCE form has been created that replaces the ‘Personnel and Compliances’
section with a simple effort reminder statement. This assists PIs and Co-PIs with
monitoring their effort commitment and reduces confusion on effort during the NCE
period. The PI and Co-PI certifications section has been simplified with a few statements
on how to complete the certifications in the eResearch Portal. This eliminates the
need for PI/Co-PIs to sign, scan, and email the form to OSP. This is especially helpful
if there are multiple PI/Co-PI(s) on the project. The new NCE form is now available
for use on the SPAS website ( ). Full functionality of the NCE request via the Portal
is forthcoming.
Work team members are Ken Dover (C&G), Christian Heindel (OSP), Cathy Cuppett (OSP),
Celise Elder (UBAS), Vonnie Swain (UBAS), Glenda Owens (UBAS), Shea Ray (Designated
Limited Signatory Authority (DLSA), CCRC), Jennifer Mathews (Dept Admin, Vet Med),
Shannon Kennedy (Dept Admin, Plant Biology).
For complete announcement click here.
Administrative Action Request Form (AARF)+
This work team was tasked with reviewing the Administrative Action Request Form (AARF)
for improvements, specifically focusing on the possible elimination of Contracts &
Grants (C&G) approval items. [Note: Foreign travel was removed from the AARF effective
10/1/14.]
The form has been streamlined by removing all C&G items formerly on the right side
of the form. This allows users to receive pre-award and pending award approvals in
a more timely manner. Additionally, the removal of C&G items reduces confusion for
users regarding where to send the AARF for approval. The new AARF can be found on
the Sponsored Programs website under Forms & Tools at http://research.uga.edu/osp/. The form is now only to be used for Pre-Awards and Pending Awards, and will be incorporated
into the Portal. This new form will be used until a pre-award/pending request process
will be implemented in the Portal (timeline goal: 3-6 months).
This is the first phase in simplifying prior approvals. A new team will be formed
to develop a workflow or process for managing all prior approvals, such as those removed
from the AARF (i.e., Equipment acquisition, rebudgeting) as well as items that were
not previously covered by the AARF (i.e. PI transfers, carry-over requests, etc.)
. This team will evaluate whether approval is needed, a method for obtaining approval,
who needs to approve, etc.
Work team members are Jay McGarity (C&G), Jake Maas (OSP), Renita Anthony (DLSA,
Vet Med), Jane Magrino (Dept Admin, CCRC).
For complete announcement click here.
Fringe Benefits Only JV+
This work team was tasked with reviewing whether it is necessary for a Personnel
Activity Report (PAR) to be used when moving fringe benefits off of a restricted account.
University policy recognizes that the budget is only an estimate, and states that
if an award provides reimbursement for less than, or for only a portion of, the actual
staff benefit amount charged by the University, the benefitting college/department
is responsible for providing funds to cover the difference. Because when a JV, rather
than a PAR, is processed, fringe benefits costs are no longer specifically identified
to a particular employee, the question was raised of how much, if any, weight this
issue should hold.
A Journal Voucher (JV) will now be permitted to move staff benefits off of a restricted
account. All dollar amount restrictions have been lifted. Fringe benefits can only
be moved to a related unrestricted account (within the same function category, such
as research to research (RR to GR) or public service to public service (RE to GE))
or restricted discretionary account (such as residual balance, IDC return (900), or
other RX accounts). The use of a JV rather than a PAR streamlines the process of fringe
benefits adjustments, thus reducing administrative burden for department administrators.
Work team members are Linda Davis (C&G), Holly Byrd (UBAS), Christy Holbert (UBAS),
Sonja Halder (Dept Admin, Pharmacy). click here.
UGA Reduces Paperwork for Federally Funded Projects+
Federal agencies are allowed to waive certain cost-related and administrative prior
approvals; these provisions are known as “expanded authorities”. One expanded authority
involves “automatic carryover of unobligated balances”. Historically, UGA has opened
sponsored accounts using yearly budget periods instead of the full period of performance
under the awarded project. To access budget beyond the yearly amount for federal projects
with automatic carryover, a process was established whereby an administrative action
request form (AARF) was completed to provide budget beyond the yearly amount pending
arrival of the next increment of funds. This is a cumbersome and labor intensive process.
Effective October 2014, the Office for Sponsored Programs and the Contracts & Grants
Division have revised the process to facilitate continued spending for federal projects
with automatic carryover. An AARF will no longer be required to access federally funded
projects with automatic carryover beyond the yearly budget period while waiting for
the next increment of funds to arrive. This eliminates the need for pending award
requests to keep an account open while waiting for additional funds from the sponsor.
For complete announcement click here.
Elimination of AARF form for Foreign Travel+
Effective October 1, 2014, an Administrative Action Request Form (AARF) will no longer
be required for justification of foreign travel on sponsored accounts when foreign
travel is not included in the original budget. Travelers should include justification
for the foreign travel on the travel authority (TA) in the “Detailed Justification”
box. Contracts and Grants staff will review for inclusion of a justification as the
TA electronically routes through that office. This change will eliminate unnecessary
administrative steps and improve efficiency in processing foreign travel on sponsored
accounts.
If you have any questions about this change please contact Jay McGarity in the Contracts
and Grants Department at jmcgarit@uga.edu or 706‐227‐5393. For complete announcement
click here.
Tracking student assistant/LBCLR designated employees.+
This project is aimed at tracking work hours to assist with the Affordable Care Act
requirements.
Financial/HR Data Warehouse and Reporting Pilot Project+
To address data access and reporting needs with respect to financial, HR, and other
administrative data, EITS and Finance & Administration have initiated a pilot project
with the goal of meeting the faculty and staff’s vision of a data-driven environment
that provides intuitive reporting capabilities. This reporting project is expected
to provide users with drill-down functionality, the ability to easily run queries
and have access to historical data for reporting purposes. In December 2014, EITS
and Finance & Administration started a 120 day pilot with Simpler Systems, a provider
of data warehouse and reporting tools. This pilot will involve groups of functional
users in schools/colleges/units and focus on the financial data and reporting needs
of Principal Investigators and the administrative staff members who support them.
Developing reports and functionality to meet their specific needs will be primary
to the success of this pilot and such results are expected to translate well to data
access and reporting needs beyond sponsored projects. Assuming pilot success, the
scope will be expanded to include other administrative data types and sources, campus
partners and data consumers. In addition, the solution may have the ability to serve
data and reporting needs in conjunction with an eventual enterprise-wide finance and
human resource administrative system. BSAG has also recommended that in the course
of the pilot project, two related projects be conducted to address the need to access
information on “all sides” of the transaction:
Make support documentation readily available for Intra-University direct charges
that originate from pre-approved units (CRS, EITS, etc.)
Provide access to more than four years of data (specifically budget and payroll data).
Create an online catalog of tables and number of years data available.
Creating status visibility for non-electronic approval processes+
This project aims at creating status visibility for non-electronic approval processes
(e.g. subcontract payments, paper Personnel Activity Reports (PARS), salary action
forms, salary supplements, and other paper based processes). Users desire the ability
to see where transactions reside in the approval process. A workgroup is currently
exploring a solution to convert the subcontract payment process from paper to electronic.
Other workgroups are addressing other process solutions.
An additional workgroup has been created to review electronic workflow/approval systems.
Echosign and Docusign are being evaluated to see if institutional application is possible.
Business practice for employees on ending grant funding and onboarding issues+
This committee will search for solutions to the issues that have arisen when the
grant funding ends for an employee causing an onboarding instance.
Electronic submission of W-4, G-4 and Direct Deposit forms+
Meetings between Payroll and Human Resources will evaluate the possibility of withholding
and deposit information being submitted through the Onboarding system.
Fundriver review of processes+
The Bursar’s Office provides detailed information on their website related to Fundriver
and spending budgets. One on one training is also available to those interested. Contact
Judy Scott at jrscott@uga.edu with any questions.
Have the Accounting System hold more than 2 years of data.+
Data is no longer purged in the Accounting query tables and the system holds more
than 2 years of data. A data retention schedule was created and posted at http://www.busfin.uga.edu/forms/Query_table_retention.pdf as part of the Frequently Used Sites and Online Systems webpage. For the complete
announcement, click here.
Updated version of Kronos+
The Kronos system has been upgraded from version 6.3 to version 8.0 and will provide
additional features and benefits to users. For the complete announcement, click here.
The ability to view any travel authority in your department, regardless of who submitted
it+
The eCheck/eTravel system has been changed to allow users unlimited viewing rights
for electronic check requests and travel authorities. Users performing searches should
use the appropriate travel authorization number or check request number, click here.
Using Corporate Travel Cards for Travel+
The Department of Administrative Services for the State of Georgia manages the state’s
corporate travel card contract. The current contract is with American Express and
is an individual liability card program, which means the travel credit card is in
the cardholder’s name and the cardholder is responsible for charges and payments to
the card similar to a personal credit card. This program does not provide any benefit
to the University, such as having the credit card charges billed directly to the University.
After conversations with several units on campus, as well as the BSAG group, we have
been exploring other options with Global Escapes. For the complete announcement, click here.
Auto populating the travel authority number when creating an e-check request for out
of state travel+
When you create an eCheck request for out-of-state travel, you have to put in the
travel authority (TA) number. At one time, after the TA number was put in, the system
would populate the payee name and address. A "Retrieve Traveler Info" button has been
created that will now display on out-of-state travel reimbursement requests. For the
complete announcement, click here.
University Related Entertainment form access availability in the eCheck Request System+
The University Related Entertainment form has been added to the eCheck Request System.
It will be located in the Supporting Documents section under the Additional PDF forms
not retained online option. The signature line has been removed for easier uploading
to the eCheck request system. For complete announcement click here.
Online Inventory of Surplus Inventory+
The Property Control Committee has created a listserv that allows departments to
post surplus equipment and supplies that are no longer needed in an effort to reach
other University departments. This listserv is private, but access can be requested
by contacting Craig Mathews at cmathews@uga.edu. For complete announcement click here.
Support documentation for Intra-University charges (January 13, 2016)+
This project aims at having the support documentation readily available to the department
end user when posting Intra-University charges. For complete announcement click here.
Change in the International Travel Authority Online Submissions (September 23, 2015)+
Effective October 1, 2015, UGA faculty and staff completing the UGA online travel
authority form for International travelers will be directed to an online travel registration
site maintained by the Office of International Education, and asked to log in using
their MyID. Once logged in, they will be asked to provide their international itinerary
and answer a few short questions about their international travel. For complete announcement
click here.
eJV (September 15, 2015)+
The new electronic journal voucher (eJV) system is now available for processing of
standard journal vouchers. This system replaces the current paper forms used to submit
non-personal service journal vouchers to the Accounting Department. For complete announcement
click here.
Online approval solution for off-campus equipment (September 15, 2015)+
RUSS is an online workflow application that supports off-campus equipment requests
and approvals and is being used by UGA departments. To have your department set up
to use RUSS, please contact the Property Control Office at property@uga.edu or 706-542-4390. For complete announcement click here.
Physical Equipment Inventory Requirements and Due Dates (September 14, 2015)+
Departments are assigned annual inventory deadlines at different dates throughout
the year. Annual inventory dates can be changed if they present challenges for your
department. For complete announcement click here.
Notification at the point of entry a new employee is working in another department
(August 25, 2015)+
Users will now be notified when submitting an electronic personnel document via WebDFS.
For complete announcement click here.
Payments to non-UGA employees (August 25, 2015)+
The Accounts Payable department released a new Non-Employee form that should be utilized
when requesting payments for services rendered by non-employees or reimbursing expenses
to non-employees. The link for the New Non-Employee Payment Form is http://www.busfin.uga.edu/forms/non_emp_payment.pdf. For complete announcement click here.
Relocation reimbursement improvements (August 25, 2015)+
The University has established contracts with two moving service providers, Armstrong
Relocation and Graebel Moving Services. Beginning September 1st, relocation payments
to third party vendors and related employee reimbursements can be submitted utilizing
UGAMart. A relocation workshop will be offered on Thursday, August 27th from 10:00am
until 12:00pm at Masters Hall in the Georgia Center. For complete announcement click here.
Remove the Supervisor signature from the Travel Expense sheet (July 6, 2015)+
The approval line was removed from the Travel Expense Statement on July 1, 2015.
Travelers will still need to sign the form. For complete announcement click here.
P-Card Log Improvements (July 2, 2105)+
Cardholders now have the option to continue using a manual transaction log or create
an acceptable transaction log from two reports within the WORKS system. For complete
announcement click here.
Direct billing with Groome Transportation in Athens, Georgia (June 17, 2015)+
A direct billing option with Groome Transportation for shuttle service to and from
the Atlanta airport has been established. For complete announcement click here.
Information sharing with Deans and Department Heads (May 28, 2015)+
Individuals who think wide-spread administrator training is necessary regarding general
administrative duties (e.g. NDAH policy, how to do a budget, etc.) should contact
Meg Amstutz, Associate Provost for Academic Programs. Alternatively, individuals may
contact Will Richardson, Assistant to the Provost, to request topics be included on
the agenda to present information to the Provost's Advisory Council. The Provost's
Advisory Council meets on a quarterly basis and includes all of the Vice Presidents
and Deans who report to the Provost. Also, individuals may contact Will Richardson
to be included on the agenda to present information to the Vice President's meeting,
which includes all of the Vice Presidents who report to the Provost and meets on the
first Monday of every month. Finally, applicable central office staff are available
to make presentations/hold Q&A on topics as identified and requested by individual
departments or units. Deans, department heads and school/college/unit fiscal officers
should contact central offices/administrative units directly to coordinate and schedule
topic-specific sessions.
Classroom Equipment Purchases (May 28, 2015)+
The committee assigned this topic created a visual summary of options available to
departments who need to purchase technology (upgrades) for classrooms. UBAS and other
F&A units will look for appropriate opportunities to ensure good communications across
units. For Funding for Classroom Equipment summary click here.
Streamline telephone work orders (May 26, 2015)+
This group identified the life cycle of a telephone work order in an announcement
to the BSAG group. This announcement includes an estimate of the time it takes to
complete each step. For complete BSAG announcement click here.
Delegation of $ for faculty retention/counter offers to schools and colleges (May
13, 2015)+
The group assigned this topic discovered that on November 10,2014 a memo was sent
to all Deans from the Provost’s office to address this topic. For Provost’s announcement
click here.
Up file size in eCheck system to eliminate reducing file size for TES forms (May 26,
2015)+
At the end of the working day on Friday, May 22, 2015, EITS increased the eCheck
file size for attachments to 1MB. The file size was previously 512KB. For complete
announcement click here.
Best Practices for Handling Personally Identifiable Information (June 5, 2015)+
To address the use of SSNs on background consent forms and the fact that sensitive
personally identifiable information exists on other UGA documents, this group prepared
Best Practices Guidelines for Handling Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information. The Best Practices Guidelines will be included in the EITS policy manual.
Work team members are Amanda Patterson, Crystal Rogers, Lynn Burt, Leigh Knapp. For
complete announcement click here.
Eliminate the need to fax backup confirm approval on salary supplement agreement form
(April, 2015)+
New procedures for processing salary supplements were announced on 4/1/2015. For
complete announcement click here
Better training for Web DFS (March, 2015)+
Recommendations to include electronic computations in addition to pen/paper calculations
have been added to the Web DFS training sessions.
Hotline assistance during budget development+
The Budget Development timeframes are condensed. UGA begins budget development as
soon as information is available but the turnaround deadlines to the USG Office are
firm. The Budget Office staff will host a Budget Development Workshop on February
11, 2015, from 2-3 p.m. in room Q at the Georgia Center. This will be an open forum
for the exchange of ideas, best practices and suggestions about improving the budget
development process.
Web-based leave request system. (March 4, 2015)+
This project will allow unit level administrators to assess the F&A web-based leave
request system to determine functionality in their departments.. Brandon Silvers held
a Demo on the F&A web-based leave request system on 3/4/2015.
Resolution to Kronos Java problems (February 20, 2015)+
Kronos is a vendor provided solution and provides customers with updates using the
most current Java version. Since the updates are provided directly from the vendor
and UGA does not have access to the underlying code, UGA cannot adjust what is delivered
by the vendor. Because many UGA departments have other applications which use older
versions of Java, updating Java may assist with Kronos issues but will create new
problems please reach out to Julie Camp or Christy Coddington. Together with your
departmental IT people they will work with you to find a solution. These discussions
are not unusual and Payroll has already worked with several areas to find solutions
and alternatives.
Changes to Streamline the Carry- Forward Process (January 30, 2015)+
In an effort to reduce administrative burden and streamline the carry forward process,
departments will no longer be required to complete a carry forward request form for
their departmental sales and service (DSS), indirect cost return (IDC), and continuing
education accounts. This change will also eliminate the higher-level approval process
for carry forward funds. Requests for the carry forward of funds in student technology
fee (STF) accounts will still need to be completed and submitted to the Accounting
Department by June 15, 2015. For complete announcement click here.
DFS Payroll Report Archive look-up. (January 21, 2015)+
The Payroll Cost Report provides this information and is available to units electronically.
For more information refer to the 1/21/15 announcement distributed to the MYTIME and
Business Serv-L listservs.
Wireless Communications Devices (January 23, 2015)+
This project is aimed at removing the approval requirements at senior administration
levels and removing the need to maintain a centralized tracking system. Instead, processes
would be modified to allow departments to manage and maintain justifications for device
purchase (similar to other purchasing), inventories of devices, and use records for
devices. For complete announcement click here.
Base + 15% Flexibility (January 12, 2015)+
This project is designed to allow units to hire employees within existing rules (base
salary + 15%) but also allow the unit to move the employees upward to base + 15% without
the need for additional approval. This same authority would also apply to positions
with an entry maximum that exceeds base + 15%, allowing movement up to the entry maximum
figure. For complete announcement click here.
Sales Tax Exemption Certificates (August 23, 2014)+
University of Georgia sales tax exemption certificates are now available online at
http://www.busfin.uga.edu/forms/salestax.pdf. Departments no longer need to request a certificate from salestax@uga.edu or from Procurement. This change provides campus with immediate access to a document
commonly needed for purchases.
The sales tax exemption certificate is only applicable for goods delivered to or
provided in the state of Georgia. The policy is located in the Finance and Administration
Policy Library by clicking here. If you have questions about providing a sales tax
exemption certificate to an external party, please email salestax@uga.edu for assistance. For complete announcement click here.
Memberships and Dues (August 22, 2014)+
The Accounts Payable Department has identified a business process change for processing
payments on Memberships and Dues. The requirement to provide a letter of justification
approved by the cognizant Department Head/Director and the cognizant Dean or Vice
President with the check request being submitted for payment has been removed. Justification
detailing the necessity of the membership will only need to be included in the description/comments
field of the check request being submitted. For complete announcement click here.
Group Travel (August 22, 2014)+
It will no longer be necessary to submit the Direct Billing Authorization Form to
Accounts Payable prior to having travel expenditures direct billed to UGA. The revised
Group Travel policy can be viewed by clicking here. For complete announcement click here.
Travel Policy Updates (July 1, 2014)+
The University’s travel policy was recently modified to provide more flexibility
for certain types of travel expenses. While travelers should continue to seek the
least expensive rates available considering proximity and personal safety, they will
no longer be required to provide justification when lodging expenses exceed the federal
per diem rate by more than twenty-five percent. Additionally, should out-of-state
travel expenses exceed the amount approved on the Request for Authority to Travel,
the traveler will no longer be required to provide a statement of explanation. The
revised policy is available in the Finance and Administration Policy Library. For
complete announcement click here.
Procurement 14 Day Report (July 9, 2014)+
The UGA Procurement Office is embarking on a new initiative to effectively communicate
the management of UGAmart purchase requests. On a weekly basis, a report providing
the status of purchase requests that have been in Procurement for 14 days or more
will be distributed via email to the unit business leaders. The status on the 14 day
report will also be communicated to the shopper, requisitioner, and approver through
UGAmart comments. This report is expected to provide proactive and consistent updates
to the end users, maximize the escalation path within the Procurement department to
assist in moving the purchase forward, and increase interactions with vendors, other
stakeholders and governing agencies.
E-Leave review+
This project will evaluate the process by which “leave earned” and “leave taken”
is calculated. Controls to maintain accuracy within E-Leave will also be reviewed.
Kronos Process Improvements+
This includes streamlining the Kronos supervisor setup to be an electronic process
instead of a manual form and identifying more efficient ways to manage changes to
data after payroll submission.
Travel Authority and Travel Reimbursement Processes+
This workgroup will be reviewing current processes to identify improvements in the
travel authority (TA) and reimbursement process including international travel review.
Streamline Kronos supervisor set up to be electronic not manual form+
This project is designed to identify ways this process can be handled electronically
rather than manually.
