Upcoming Deadlines at a Glance
- Tuesday, 5/16 - Submit completed and approved org tree change requests
- Wednesday, 5/31 - Budget and budget templates due
- Friday, 6/2 - Submit non-contract and grant deficit waiver requests
- Friday, 6/16 - Complete External Audit Certification for Q3
- Friday, 6/16 - Enter Permanent Budget transfers involving revenue rebudgets
Budget process
Budget process update
The budget process guidelines and assumptions are available on the CFO website, along with the budget process timeline and information about this year’s budget process deliverables. Throughout the budget process, the FY2023-24 budget process page is the hub where we will post budget process materials and updates.
Budget templates
The templates for this budget process include:
- Strategic Priorities template due Wednesday, May 31
- Multi-year Budget template (which includes the Use of Reserves template) due Wednesday, May 31
- FY24 Central Resource Request template (optional) due Wednesday, May 31
Budget office hours
We are offering three office hours during this budget process. These will be on May 16 and May 18 from 10 am to 11 am and on May 23 from 3 pm to 4 pm to help answer any questions you might have regarding the budget exercise. Sign up for the FY2023-24 Budget office hours by completing the FY24 Budget Office Hours Sign Up Form. The Zoom link is included in the sign-up form.
Action Items
Submit completed and approved org tree change requests by Tuesday, May 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 Tuesday, May 16. 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. This is for all org changes with the exception of Org Node and DeptID moves.
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 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 non-contract and grant deficit waiver requests by Friday, June 2
The non-contract and grant (C&G) FY2022-23 Deficit Waiver request form is now available on the VC Finance website. If you are planning to submit a non-C&G waiver request, complete the form by Friday, June 2. As a reminder, all divisions are expected to meet their operating needs within their available funding; waivers should only be requested for exceptional circumstances. Deficits less than $25,000 are not eligible for a waiver request. To assist in this process, use the fund deficit report in Cal Answers: Dashboards>Finance>Fund Deficits Reporting>Deficits to be Cleared. Note that you do not need to submit a new request for a previously approved multi-year deficit waiver unless you require a higher waiver amount. To view waivers that were approved as part of a prior multi-year request, use the waiver report in Cal Answers: Dashboards>Finance>Fund Deficits Reporting>Waivers and Tolerances. More information about non-C&G deficit resolution policy and processes, including waiver eligibility thresholds, how to clear deficits, and what happens if a deficit is not cleared, is available on the Fiscal closing related webpage. If you have other questions regarding the non-C&G deficit clearing process, please contact the Financial Planning & Analysis team at dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu.
Complete External Audit Certification for Q4 by Friday, June 16
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 Friday, June 16, 2023, please submit the materials below to gao@berkeley.edu:
- 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.)
- 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 permanent budget transfers by Friday, June 16
Complete the Permanent Budget Journal Approval Request form to submit permanent budget transfers within your division by Friday, June 16. This includes any rebudgets to your revenue to fulfill these transfers. If you have questions, contact centralresourcemanagement@berkeley.edu with "permanent budget journal approval" in the subject line of your email.
Informational Updates
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.
Review CalPlanning access
With another round of budget input to CalPlanning, please review CalPlanning security to ensure that your planners have the access that they need. To review those with access in your division, review the CalPlan_HCPRptg_security worksheet. The DFL or CalPlanning access provider can request access removal in the worksheet. Please use the CalPlanning User Access Request Form to request to add new users or to increase access (more entities) to existing users. CalPlanning access requests will be processed within five business days. Reach out to the CalPlanning Team with any questions at calplanhelp@berkeley.edu.
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