DFL Weekly Update - April 4, 2025

Upcoming Deadlines

  • Friday, 4/18 - Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests
  • Friday, 4/25 - Queue commitments for Q4 May requests
  • Monday, 4/28 - Perform Q3 Key Controls
  • Friday, 5/2 - Submit budget and budget templates

Federal Updates

Please be aware of two resources regarding the evolving federal policy shifts: the UCOP Federal Updates page and the UC Berkeley Federal Updates page.

Budget Process

Budget process update

The FY2025-26 budget call letter was sent to the Deans, Vice Chancellors, and Divisional Finance Leaders. The budget process guidelines and assumptions, budget templates, and timeline are available on the FY26 Budget Process page. Budgets and budget templates are due on Friday, May 2.

Next steps on Form A

Thank you for submitting your completed Form A to the Financial Planning & Analysis team. All your division's Form A submissions have been loaded to the FY2024-25 Forecast and FY2025-26 Operating Budget in CalPlan. Information from your Form A submissions will then be used to recalculate Campus Support for FY2026-27 and FY2027-28, and will be loaded to the Budget Template on Monday, April 7.

Budget updates from the President and Chancellor

President Drake released a statement regarding the UC’s financial outlook and the implementation of cost-saving measures, including a systemwide hiring freeze. We have limited information about the hiring freeze, but we will continue to provide updates as we receive additional guidance.

Budget Process Office Hours for FY26 Budget

The Budget and Financial Operations team is offering office hours to support the FY26 Operating Budget process and the use of the Multi-year Budget Template. The office hours will be held on Zoom. Sign up for office hours by completing the FY2025-26 Budget Office Hours Sign Up Form. Office hour dates and times are:

  • April 11, Friday, 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
  • April 15, Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
  • April 17, Thursday, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Action Items

Submit completed and approved org tree change requests by Friday, April 18

If you would like to submit changes to the Org Tree, please submit your completed, Budget and Financial Operations (BFO) Committee approved request by Friday, April 18, 2025. We recommend that you submit your change request form for review as soon as possible to allow time for the BFO team to review your request, follow up with you for any necessary clarification, approve your request, and allow you time to obtain all required signatures before the submission deadline.

The time needed to review change requests will vary, depending on the complexity of the request. For more information:

  • A high-level summary of the process to approve org tree changes is available on the DFL concierge webpage.
  • An overview of the org tree change submission deadlines is available in the Org Tree Submission and Processing Timeline. Important: Please review the update on the estimated processing time for journal source configuration of new L4 org node codes. As a reminder, journal source configuration for new L4's is required if there is a need to prepare and approve journals.
  • Please review the Org Tree Calendar for the timeline of allowable org tree changes throughout the year.
  • Please review the new Org Tree Lookup Tool This new tool replaces the monthly manually produced Master Org Tree and will provide the most current org tree data as of one business day before. Training materials and Job Aids are located on the CFO website.
  • There are updates coming soon to the Department Prefixes, and How to Create Visio files job aids located in the Tools and job aids section of the Organizational Tree web page.
  • Please submit questions and requests for changes to the Org Tree to dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu. Note: If you plan to request an Org Node change or Entity Hierarchy redesign, please contact dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu and explain what you would like to change before completing the request form because these changes are typically more complex and involve longer consultations.

Queue commitments for Q4 requests by Friday, April 25

Please complete the commitment queue form by Friday, April 25, for commitments to be funded in May of FY2024-25. Please note that the following commitments do not need to be queued: Budget Decisions; EVCP TAS; Star Awards; Bear Grants; both Productivity Suite and Campus Data Network assessments and endowment payouts for rotating chairs. Commitments are processed on a quarterly basis. You only need to use one commitment queue Google form to submit your commitment requests for both faculty and non-faculty funding commitments. Faculty commitments are defined for this purpose as Start-up; Retention; ASMD; and Chancellor's Professorships. Chancellor’s Professorships are those that are offered via start-up or retention in lieu of an actual chair - until one can be found, and are funded by central resources. For more information about queueing commitments and documentation required, please visit the Commitments page. Please note that if you are working remotely, you must log in through VPN for these forms to work. Please email dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu with questions.

Complete Q3 Key Controls by Monday, April 28

Please complete and submit both the Financial Reporting Review and System Access Review by the end of the day on Monday, April 28. Please visit the Division Key Controls page for instructions and more information. Email questions about the financial reporting review controls to the Financial Accounting & Controls team at gao@berkeley.edu and questions about the system access review controls to the BFS Security team at secbfs@berkeley.edu.

Informational Updates

Update on Implementation of BFS Direct Journals

The new direct journal functionality was deployed in the Berkeley Financial System (BFS) Spring release on March 14, 2025, replacing the legacy campus deposit system (CDS). The enhanced functionality of BFS will reduce complexity and costs to the university by leveraging a single enterprise system. The central cashiering office in the Controller’s Office will perform an initial validation phase before introducing it to a pilot group of Contracts & Grants Accounting staff and then rolling it out campus-wide. Campus-wide training and transitions will be done in a tiered approach that begins in mid April 2025, with full campus transition completed in June 2025. Current CDS users will receive essential updates as we move through the deployment, training, and transition phases and when specific actions are needed. If you have any questions about transitioning from CDS into BFS, please feel free to reach out to the Cash Handling and Banking Services team at cashiers@berkeley.edu.

Cal Answers training

The Cal Answers website hosts self-service learning resources including a complete course in basic navigation as well as short videos, job aids, wiki documentation, and a list of Frequently Asked Questions. We also offer a two-hour instructor-led class that builds on the basic navigation skills covered in the self-study. There are separate courses focusing on financial dashboards and student data dashboards. In the class, a subject matter expert guides a deep dive into the reports and data available in the dashboards and answers specific questions.

CalPlanning training

The curriculum uses a blended learning model. Courses begin with self-study using online books divided into chapters supplemented with practice exercises and short videos. Courses culminate with a group session using Zoom in which participants work on case studies in small teams to apply the material covered in the self-study. The self-study materials are available on the website for everyone to use; they can be a helpful resource for those who have already completed the training and are looking for a refresher. Review the CalPlanning training page for schedules, links to enroll, and to access the self-study materials.

Changes to the DFL in your division?

If the DFL role in your division is changing, email fpa@berkeley.edu to ensure our website, communications, and training plans are updated.

DFL Weekly Updates Page

As a reminder, these updates are regularly posted to the DFL Weekly Updates page so you can reference past updates at any time. Additionally, the Operational Deadlines page provides an overview of deliverables by quarter.

Thank you,

Office of the Vice Chancellor of Finance