DFL weekly update - February 4, 2022

Upcoming Deadlines at a Glance

  • Friday, 2/4 - Complete Q2 Key Controls (today)
  • Friday, 2/11 - Submit Reserve Analysis templates
  • Wednesday, 2/16 - Submit completed and approved org tree change requests
  • Friday, 2/25 - Queue commitments for Q3 requests

Budget Process Update

The Office of the Vice Chancellor of Finance is working with the Finance Committee to finalize the assumptions for this year’s budget process. In February, we will present the assumptions and plan for this year’s budget process to campus leadership groups. Once any final feedback is received, the call letter will be released, most likely in late February, and the budget process will proceed.

Action Items

Complete Q2 Key Controls by Friday, February 4 and updated quarterly reporting process (today)

The Financial Planning and Analysis team and the Controller’s Office have partnered to streamline the quarterly reporting process for the divisions. Going forward, we are retiring the FP&A quarterly variance report and will require only the key controls for quarterly reporting. Please direct questions about this change to dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu and include quarterly reporting in the subject line.

Please complete and submit the Financial Reporting Review and System Access Review by Friday, February 4. Please refer to the Division Key Controls page for instructions and more information. The FY22 budget is now finalized in CalPlanning. Because the GL Summary Report for Q2 will have year-to-date information, please review the data for both Q1 and Q2. By submitting the GL Summary Report for Q2 you will effectively be signing off on both Q1 and Q2 numbers, and you will not need to submit the GL Summary Report for Q1 separately. Note the GL Summary Report is now broken out in three tabs: Current Funds Excluding Contracts & Grants, Contracts & Grants, and Agency Funds. 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 System Access team at secbfs@berkeley.edu.

Submit Reserve Analysis templates by Friday, February 11, 2022

The reserve analysis templates are in your division folder, in a folder called "Reserve Analysis Template" under the FY2022-23 Budget Process folder. A copy of your completed template from last year is also included, for reference. The final reserve analysis workshop is Wednesday, January 12, 2022. We invited DFLs through bCal, so please accept the invitation if you plan to attend. The same material will be covered in this session as in the December session. Our office will also be offering six office hours every week which began on January 5, 2022, so there will be a chance to ask questions. Please sign-up for the office hours ahead of time. More information, including the template guidelines, is available on the Reserve Analysis page. Your completed reserve analysis template is due to the Financial Planning and Analysis team at dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu on Friday, February 11, 2022.

Submit completed and approved org tree change requests by Wednesday, February 16

If you would like to submit changes to the Org Tree, please submit your completed, Budget and Financial Operations (BFO) Committee approved request by Wednesday, February 16. As a reminder, the submission date is the last day that approved change requests can be submitted for entry to the February Master Org Tree. Allowable changes through May 31 include New DeptIDs, New Org Nodes, and Description Changes. The Org Tree will be closed to all changes from May 31 through fiscal close. 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:

Queue commitments for Q3 requests by Friday, February 25

Please complete the applicable form (linked below) to queue commitments by Friday, February 25 for commitments to be funded in the third quarter of FY2021-22. Please note that the following commitments do not need to be queued: Budget Decisions; EVCP TAS; Star Awards; Bear Grants; Productivity Suite withdrawals and now endowment payouts for rotating chairs. Commitments are processed on a quarterly basis.

Please note that while working remotely you must log in through VPN for these forms to work.

Please email dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu with questions.

  • To queue non-faculty commitments, complete the non-faculty commitments form on the DFL Knowledge and Resource Portal.
  • To queue faculty commitments, complete the faculty commitments form on the DFL Knowledge and Resource Portal. 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.
    • New this year: Please provide screenshots of UCPath entries for ASMD leave begin dates and ASMD end dates when you queue ASMD funding through the faculty queue.

Informational Updates

Changes to how uncashed checks are processed

The Controller’s Office is making changes to the BFS process and accounting transactions performed when a check is not cashed by the payee within six months of the issue date (also known as stale-dated checks). Starting January 2022 and every six months thereafter, stale-dated checks will be "escheated" in BFS. Per UC Accounting Manual C-173-78, instead of the credit returning to the original chartstring, the credit for escheated payments will be booked to a central liability account. After four years, if the payment has not been reissued, the credit will be returned to the original chartstring. The two exceptions to this process are 1) Contract and Grant awards and 2) student payments initiated by Campus Solutions. If a payee requests that an uncashed check be reissued, departments will need to submit a Check Cancellation / Stop Payment Request form to Accounts Payable. More information is available on the Payment Options page. Email questions regarding the handling of uncashed checks disburse@berkeley.edu.

FY22 Forecast and FY23 (preliminary) Operating Budget are now available

The CalPlan planning application is available with the FY22 beginning balance and July through December Actuals (this data is already available in CalRptg). The FY2022-23 Operating Budget has been seeded with preliminary numbers to assist with planning activities. Please review the January 2022 Release Notes for details about this update. If you have questions, please contact the Help Desk at calplanhelp@berkeley.edu.

Parking and recreational sports deductions update

Beginning in January 2022, parking and recreational sports deductions were posted to department revenue chartstrings through UCPath. This is because of configuration changes within the payroll system. The Controller’s Office will process a reclassification to move these withholdings to the appropriate Parking and Transportation and Recreational Sports chartstrings as part of the month-end close. The Controller’s Office is working with the UCPath team to update the configuration as soon as possible. However, please note that for the next couple of months while the Controller’s Office works with UCPath, you may still see the parking and/or recreational sports deductions posting to the department chartstrings. If this happens, do not make any manual adjustments to these deductions. Please contact the Controller’s Office at controllers_ucpath@berkeley.edu with any questions.

CalPlanning system availability

CalPlanning will not be available Sunday, February 6 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm due to scheduled system maintenance. Please visit the CalPlanning website for details or contact the CalPlanning Help Desk at 510-664-9000 (option 1, then option 2) or email calplanhelp@berkeley.edu with questions.

CalPlanning and Smart View Training

Do you need to learn or enhance your skills in CalPlanning or Smart View? Training classes are available through the end of June 2021. Visit the CalPlanning Training page to learn more and sign up. Our new blended learning model combines self-study work that you can do at your own pace with instructor-led group learning sessions where you can apply the material covered in the self-study.

Office Hours for CalPlanning and Smart View

Office hours are available so that you can ask specific questions about CalPlanning and Smart View. Request office hours and indicate the topic for which you are requesting support. Office hours are an opportunity to get individual support for a specific challenge your unit is facing; they are not a replacement for training.

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.

Thank you,

Office of the Vice Chancellor of Finance