DFL weekly update - December 1, 2023

Upcoming Deadlines at a Glance

  • Friday, 12/1 - Queue commitments for Q2 requests (Today)
  • Wednesday, 12/13 - Complete External Audit Certification for Q2
  • Thursday, 12/14 - Sign up for a Reserve Analysis workshop
  • Friday, 1/12 - Submit SSGPDP fee proposals for 2024-25
  • Friday, 1/19 - Submit completed and approved org tree change requests

Action Items

Queue commitments for Q2 requests by Friday, December 1 (today)

Please complete the Commitment Queue Request form by Friday, December 1, for commitments to be funded in the second quarter of FY2023-24. 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 External Audit Certification for Q2 by Wednesday, December 13

To ensure the completeness and accuracy of the quarterly Controller's report on the campus' external audit activities, please help us identify the campus' external audit activities. The Controller's Office is sending a separate email with additional information to DFLs with known external audit activity. By Wednesday, December 13, 2023, please submit the materials below to gao@berkeley.edu:

  1. All DFLs: External Audit Confirmation Form (You must return the completed External Audit Confirmation Form even if you do not have any external audit activities so we can certify campus responses.)
  2. DFLs with external audit activities: External Audit Confirmation Template (Include any related documentation with the template, i.e. notification of the commencement of the audit, audit report, etc.)

If you have questions, please contact gao@berkeley.edu.

Submit completed and approved org tree change requests by Friday, January 19

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, September 22. 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. As a reminder, the May 16 submission date was the last day that approved change requests could be submitted for entry to the May Master Org Tree. Allowable changes through November 30 include New DeptIDs, New Org Nodes, Description Changes, and moves of DeptIDs and Org Nodes.

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.

Submit SSGPDP fee proposals for 2024-25 by Friday, January 12

UCOP has released the call for SSGPDP fee proposals for the 2024-25 academic year. All new and existing approved SSGPDPs are required to submit an annual fee proposal for review and approval by the President. Submissions are due to Financial Planning & Analysis by Friday, January 12, but programs are encouraged to begin working on their proposals before curtailment. The call for proposals, submission documents, and instructions are available on the Make Annual Fee Submission for Existing SSGPDP page. Please direct questions to studentfees@berkeley.edu as early as possible prior to the submission deadline.

Reserve Analysis due February 9, sign up for a workshop on December 14 and January 18

The Reserve Analysis templates will be due on Friday, February 9. The Reserve Analysis template is in your division folder under FY2024-25 Budget Process > Reserve Analysis Template. A copy of the prior year’s completed template is included in this folder for your reference. We are offering two workshop sessions for new DFLs to attend on December 14 and January 18. Follow the links to register for a workshop:

More information is available on the Reserve Analysis page.

Sign up for recharge training on Friday, December 8

Self-certification recharge forms will be due on Friday, January 19. Divisions will need to submit a recharge self-certification form if they support a recharge unit and the unit charges Contracts and Grants or if the unit plans for a recharge income greater than $500,000 a year. The self-certification form is posted on the Recharge page. To register for the second workshop on Friday, December 8 from 10 am to 12 p.m., follow the link and complete the form. If you have any questions, please contact the Budget and Financial Operations team at recharge_certification@berkeley.edu.

Informational Updates

Guidelines and deadlines for year-end (and campaign-end!) gifts

Gift Services has established a deadline of Tuesday, January 9, 2023, by which gifts must be received in the Gift Services office to be counted for the calendar year 2023 and for the current campaign. General instructions for how to give can be found at Give.Berkeley.edu/faq and also on Eureka (Berkeley’s advancement intranet).

  • December 29 is the deadline for gifts delivered via courier services (FedEx, DHL) to be received at UDAR.
  • December 31 is the final day for credit cards taken by phone or mail to be charged by Gift Services.
  • December 31, 11:59 p.m. is the deadline for online gifts to be made at give.berkeley.edu.

Questions may be addressed to Gift Services at (510) 643-9789 or gifthelp@berkeley.edu.

DFL Update on Reimbursement Fit/Gap Analysis

The campus is currently evaluating the future of our internally developed legacy reimbursement system, which was implemented over 15 years ago. As part of that evaluation, we’ve been reviewing the functional capabilities of our existing BFS General Ledger system which includes reimbursement functionality, and capabilities that are embedded within and installed in our on-premise supported BFS system. A recommendation to replace our legacy system with existing BFS functionality was previously presented to the CAOs and DFLs on September 21, 2023. After receiving approval from the Enterprise Applications Finance Procurement Committee (EAFP), a subcommittee of the IT Strategic Committee (ITSC) in early October, the recommendation is scheduled to be presented to the ITSC.

Should the ITSC approve the recommendation, the BFS team will begin the planning work in early 2024 to retire the legacy system and turn on the PS Expense Module within BFS. Throughout this project, we want to thank the several hundred individuals from across campus who participated in functional requirements gathering, the analysis to determine functional fits and functional gaps, and the several dozen demonstrations conducted of Peoplesoft’s capabilities that helped inform the recommendation to the various IT governance committees and functional stakeholders. We will bring you further updates as they come.

BearBUY office hours

In November, the BearBUY default Landing Page transitioned to the new Guided Dashboard Landing Page. The old landing page will remain available as an optional page. Users will be able to save any dashboard as their own personal landing page. For in-person demonstrations, please attend the BearBUY Open Office Hours.

New reimbursement resource

The Controller’s Office has created a new resource that brings together information on reimbursements for travel, entertainment, and other expenses, all in one place. Previously, staff had to go to several different places to find these. We have also provided a link to the People & Culture resources on policy and frequently asked questions associated with telecommuting on the same page. Visit the Reimbursements page to review the consolidated information.

Cal Answers Training

Please review the self-service learning resources on the Cal Answers website, where Cal Answers users will find a complete course in basic navigation as well as short videos, job aids, wiki documentation, and a list of Frequently Asked Questions. Additionally, the two-hour instructor-led classes build 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 will guide a deep dive into the reports and data available in the dashboards and answer specific questions.

CalPlanning Training

The next series of CalPlanning and Smart View training classes begin Thursday, September 14. 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 that 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