DFL weekly update - July 8, 2022

Upcoming Deadlines at a Glance

  • Monday, 7/11 - Approve C&G deficit clearing waivers (DFLs)
  • Wednesday, 7/13 - Review and post all online Financial Journals and Temporary Budget Journals
  • Friday, 7/15 - Submit chartstring for deficit clearing to Financial Planning and Analysis
  • Friday, 8/12 - Submit final corrections to class schedule and instructional record data for summer sessions
  • Wednesday, 8/17 - Submit completed and approved org tree change requests

Budget Process

Budget process update

Thank you for all your hard work submitting your budgets. The CalPlanning planning tools are closed while the Financial Planning and Analysis team reviews submissions and finalizes the FY23 Operating Budget. If you have any questions, please contact the VCF Immediate Office at vcfinance@berkeley.edu.

Action Items

Approve FY22 Contracts & Grants deficit clearing waiver request forms by Monday, July 11

The deadline for Divisional Finance Leaders (DFLs) to approve the C&G deficit clearing waiver requests in BFS is Monday, July 11, 2022. DFLs should navigate to the following page in BFS in order to approve waivers: Enterprise Components > Forms > Approve/Review a Form. Enter “CGADFCWVR” in the “Form” field.

As a reminder, the following are exempt from the Year-End C&G Deficit Clearing Process related to open awards. Please do not submit a waiver under these circumstances:

  • Awards that have a final Financial Report due date after May 31 and before January 1.
  • Awards with an Anticipated Funding Amount recorded in BFS that exceeds the total actual expenses as of June 30. The Anticipated Funding Amount for awards is found in the BFS fund panel on the "Award Info" page.

If you have further questions regarding the Contracts & Grants deficit clearing processes, please contact the Controller’s Office at cgahelp@berkeley.edu.

Review and post all online Financial Journals and Temporary Budget Journals by Wednesday, July 13

The final day for divisions to post all online financial journals and temporary budget journals in BFS is Wednesday, July 13. More information is on the Fiscal Close Information page. Please contact the BFS Help Desk with any questions at bfs@berkeley.edu.

Submit chartstring for deficit clearing to Financial Planning and Analysis by Friday, July 15

The deadline for divisions to submit deficit clearing chartstrings (DeptID and Fund) to the Budget and Financial Operations team is Friday, July 15. If there are deficits in the division that cannot be cleared by the automated process, we will use the chartstring provided to manually clear any remaining deficits. Submit chartstrings to dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu or contact the Budget and Financial Operations team with any questions.

Final corrections to class schedule and instructional record data for summer sessions are due by Friday, August 12

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 12. Please contact OPA Research Analyst Kira Blaisdell-Sloan or Beatriz Brando with questions at opa-csir@berkeley.edu.

Submit completed and approved org tree change requests by Wednesday, August 17

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, August 17. As a reminder, the May 18 submission date was the last day that approved change requests could be submitted for entry to the May Master Org Tree. Allowable changes through May 31 included New DeptIDs, New Org Nodes, and Description Changes. The Org Tree is now closed to all changes 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:

  • 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.
  • 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.

Informational Updates

CDS users will no longer be able to post entries to 5xxxx expense accounts

Effective July 1, 2022, campus CDS users will no longer be able to post entries to 5xxxx expense accounts. An internal review demonstrated that some recorded transactions were processed as expenses rather than revenue. Please note that CDS users attempting to post incorrect expense entries to 5xxxx accounts will receive an error message and will not be able to complete the miscellaneous receipt until the account is corrected. In some instances, it’s appropriate to apply a cash receipt/deposit to an expense account. The Controller's Office will reach out to the departments with additional guidance on which account to use. For immediate support, or if a department believes an expense account is appropriate, regarding a deposit, please contact cashiers@berkeley.edu for assistance.

Join us for Common Chart of Accounts Q&A sessions on Wednesday, July 13 and Thursday, August 4

In July, we implemented a set of changes related to the Common Chart of Accounts Project. Mike Riley, the Controller, Natalie Garkusha, Director of Financial Accounting and Controls and Elizabeth Chavez, Director of Contracts and Grants Accounting, will host two 30-minute question-and-answer sessions to answer questions about these changes. The sessions are on Wednesday, July 13 from 10:30 am - 11 am and Thursday, August 4, from 2 pm - 2:30 pm. Please register to attend and we will send you a calendar invitation. You may submit your questions in advance when you register.

IX settlement agreement - UCOP journal correction

The May journal (UCP1046373) posted by UCPath to account, among other elements, for the IX settlement agreement debited the department instead of debiting the central ledger. We are working on correcting this issue before fiscal close. Contact dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu with any questions.

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.

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.

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