Upcoming Deadlines
- Friday, 3/21 - Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests
- Monday, 3/24 - Submit Form A templates
- 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.
Budget updates from the President and Chancellor
On Wednesday, 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 will continue to provide updates as we receive additional guidance.
CalPlanning availability
The Planning tools CalPlan and HCP are available for planning so you can update open months in your FY25 Forecast and create your FY26 Operating Budget. The FY2024-25 Forecast Working version currently includes January Actuals and was updated with February actual data on Tuesday morning. Please review the March release notes for more details.
Also, note that all of CalPlanning (CalRptg, HCPRptg, CalPlan, HCP, and Smart View) will be unavailable for planned maintenance:
- Wednesday, March 26, 10:30 pm to Thursday, March 27, 8:00 am
- Saturday, March 29, 10:30 pm to Sunday, March 30, 11:59 pm
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 3, Thursday, 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- 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.
Form A templates are due Monday, March 24
Form A helps plan campus support for faculty appointments. The form documents anticipated changes in permanently budgeted state-funded faculty for a division’s Forecast and Operating Budget. Form A templates are in your Divisional Folders under the FY2025-26 Budget Process folder. Please download, review, and upload your completed Form A to the same folder by March 24, 2025. Once you have uploaded your division’s completed Form A, please email the Financial Planning & Analysis team at dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu to let them know you completed it.
New Intersection Detail Reports (IDRs)
New IDRs are available in the divisional folders. The IDRs include the FY25 Forecast, and FY26 through FY28 Operating Central Support Commitments. These are available in the “FY2025-26 Budget Process Folder” in the sub-folder called “Intersection Detail Reports.” The Intersection Detail Reports (IDRs) were run as of February 13. Any changes to commitments made after that date will not appear on the IDRs. As a reminder, inclusion in these reports does not indicate a final commitment. All amounts are subject to change.
Action Items
Submit completed and approved org tree change requests by Friday, March 21
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, March 21, 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.
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.
Systemwide Review of Proposed Rescission of A-60
Please review the notice of a proposal to rescind Presidential Policy A-60: Short-Term Investment Pool (STIP) - Distribution of Income: Review of Additions/Updates/Revisions to Presidential Policies | UCOP. You may submit comments on the "Policies Under Review" section of the Office of Ethics, Risk and Compliance Services website by March 21, 2025. If you have any questions, please contact Megan Villasenor at megan.villasenor@ucop.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