Upcoming Deadlines at a Glance
- Friday, 8/13 - Final corrections to class schedule and instructional record data for summer sessions
- Friday, 8/20 - Budget due in CalPlan and budget process templates due
- Friday, 8/20 - Complete Q4 Key Controls
- Monday, 8/30 - Return signed fiscal close certification letters
- Tuesday, 8/31 - Queue commitments for Q1 requests
Budget Process
FY22 budget process update
We released the call letter, the budget process guidelines, and the templates last week and they are available on the budget process page. The templates and the budget in CalPlan are due on Friday, August 20.
Budget Process Office Hours
We’re offering a series of online office hour sessions to answer your questions about the budget process, completing the templates, and entering budget data into CalPlanning. These sessions will be staffed by the Financial Planning & Analysis team. When you sign up to attend, you'll receive the link to the Zoom meeting for your session. We ask that you complete a separate form for each session you wish to join to ensure we’re properly staffing the sessions. These sessions are not training. Please review the training section of the CalPlanning website for training materials to help you with CalPlan and HCP.
Action Items
Final corrections to class schedule and instructional record data for summer sessions are due by Friday, August 13
The Office of Planning and Analysis (OPA) will be reaching out to your department schedulers and managers and asking them to review their class schedule and instructional record data entry for summer sessions. This information must be finalized in Student Information Systems (SIS) by Friday, August 13. Please contact OPA Research Analyst Kira Blaisdell-Sloan or Beatriz Brando with questions at opa-csir@berkeley.edu.
Complete Q4 Key Controls by Friday, August 20
Please complete and submit the financial reporting and system access reviews by Friday, August 20. Please refer to 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 System Access team at secbfs@berkeley.edu.
Return signed fiscal close certification letters by Monday, August 30
The annual fiscal close certification letters will be sent to you and your respective Deans by August 13 for signatures. Please upload the signed letters into your DFL - division’s box file folder by Monday, August 30. Information about the fiscal close certification letter is available on the Fiscal Close Certification Letter page. Contact the Financial Accounting & Controls team with questions at gao@berkeley.edu.
Queue commitments for Q1 requests by Tuesday, August 31
Please complete the applicable form (linked below) to queue commitments by Tuesday, August 31 for commitments to be funded in the first 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 we're 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
CalPlanning upgraded - action required
The CalPlanning system was upgraded to improve system performance, reliability, and security. These changes also restore compatibility with newer browsers and operating systems. Because this is an upgrade to a new environment, every planner will need to do some first-time setup. Please review the CalPlanning Upgrade job aid for details.
Accounts Payable no longer accepts paper invoices
As of this past July 1, Accounts Payable no longer accepts paper invoices. Invoices must now be submitted either as an e-mail attachment or via one of our other electronic submission methods.Prior to this change, the few remaining vendors that continue to send paper invoices received multiple reminders and the Accounts Payable website has been updated with revised instructions on the various submission methods available. They also partnered with Supply Chain Management to update the Purchase Orders that go to our suppliers. If you have any questions about this update, please contact disburse@berkeley.edu.
Guide to Gift Funds is now available
As part of an ongoing effort to better communicate and work with the fundraising and finance community, Fund Management has identified there is a need for more informational materials on gift funds that are catered to the finance community. To make resources that are important to those in finance roles easily accessible, Fund Management has created a Guide to Gift Funds. This guide will be a living document that helps define gift funds, highlights proper gift fund practices, and further expands on many of the finance topics found on Eureka. We recommend that this guide be shared with new and existing finance staff who work with gift funds. Please do not hesitate to contact Fund Management at fundhelp@berkeley.edu with any questions.
Master Org Tree closed
The final opportunity to submit approved org tree change requests to be entered in BFS for FY21 was May 18. The org tree will be closed for all changes until after the FY21 budget decisions are finalized. Org tree change requests can be submitted for review and approval anytime during fiscal close as the Budget and Financial Operations (BFO) team will continue to review requests to approve in advance of when the tree will open. 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. All Org Tree change types including Org Node and DeptID movements will be available after fiscal close through November. Please review the Org Tree Calendar for the timeline of allowable org tree changes throughout the year.
- 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.
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 training page of the CalPlanning website 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. Sign up for a session 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.
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