Upcoming Deadlines
- Friday, 9/19 - Submit proposals for Statement of Intent to Register deposits
- Friday 9/19 - Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests
- Tuesday, 9/23 - Complete External Audit Activity Quarterly Report
- Tuesday, 9/30 - Validate your chartstring for Productivity Suite assessment
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
CalPlanning Update
Thank you for all your effort to complete and submit your budget materials. Budget allocation letters were distributed to divisions. CalPlan and HCP will remain unavailable while the FY26 Operating Budget is finalized. We plan to open the FY26 Forecast the week of September 15.
Action Items
Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests by Friday, September 19
To submit an Org Change request, please access the Organizational Tree Change Request Portal. For Org Tree changes to be processed in September, please complete your org change request form in the portal as early as possible to allow time for the Org Tree Change Committee to review and route for all required approvals by the September 19 deadline. Please review the job aid for more information on how to get started, or contact dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu with questions.
Submit proposals for 2026-27 Statement of Intent to Register Deposits by Friday, September 19
Beginning this year, requests to establish or modify a Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) deposit will be reviewed by the campus once per year. The call for proposals, submission materials, instructions, and templates are available on the SIR Deposit page. Please submit your proposals to studentfees@berkeley.edu by Friday, September 19, 2025.
All academic units with graduate professional degree programs, including self-supporting degree programs, are eligible to propose a new SIR deposit or to modify an existing SIR deposit for the admission cycle following the proposal year. For example, an SIR deposit request submitted in 2025-26 can begin with the cohort admitted for Fall 2026. Please reach out to studentfees@berkeley.edu with any questions.
Complete External Audit Confirmation for Q1 by Tuesday, September 23
To ensure the completeness and accuracy of the quarterly Controller's report on the campus's external audit activities, please help us identify those activities. The Controller's Office is sending a separate email with additional information to DFLs with known external audit activity. By Tuesday, September 23, please submit the materials below to gao@berkeley.edu.
- All DFLs need to complete the External Audit Confirmation Form. You must return the completed External Audit Confirmation Form even if you do not have any external audit activities so that we can certify campus responses.
- DFLs with external audit activities need to complete the 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.
Validate your chartstring for FY2025-26 IT Assessments by Tuesday, September 30
Berkeley IT will be processing the FY2025-26 Productivity Suite and Campus Network assessments to post to the September ledger. Please take the following steps by Tuesday, September 30:
- Review the information in this FY2026 Berkeley IT Assessments spreadsheet.
- Find your division's chartstring used in the prior fiscal year to validate the chartstring to be debited for these two assessments for your division this year.
- Whether you require an update or keep the same chartstring used last year, please email bit_assessments@berkeley.edu with your division name and the confirmed DeptID and Fund by Tuesday, September 30.
- If we do not hear back from you by the deadline, your division will see both assessments for this year charged on the same chartstring used last year for Productivity Suite.
Please direct questions to bit_assessments@berkeley.edu and visit the Berkeley IT FY26 Assessments page for more information.
Informational Updates
Launching the FY25 Uniform Guidance Audit
On September 5, we held the kickoff meeting for UC’s annual Uniform Guidance (UG) audit, a federally required Single Audit covering entities expending $1,000,000 or more in federal funds. Each year, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) conducts this audit on behalf of the Regents to test compliance with Uniform Guidance requirements, with Research & Development (R&D) again in scope for FY25. While most of the work happens behind the scenes, it is a significant, campus-wide effort involving extensive testing of expenditures and campus internal controls. This year, the UG audit includes the following compliance areas: activities allowed or unallowed, allowable costs/Cost Principles, cash management, equipment and real property management, period of performance, procurement and suspension & debarment, subrecipient monitoring, and special tests and provisions. Contracts & Grants Accounting (CGA) centrally coordinates all testing and serves as the main conduit between UC Berkeley, UCOP, and the auditors.
As this year's full scope of R&D activities is being audited by PwC, possibly including a special audit of one of our major programs, CGA will reach out to BRS and other units administering research awards when their help and participation may be required. A majority of detailed testing activities are currently being planned for 12/5/25 – 3/12/2026. This is a major undertaking that occurs annually and often goes unnoticed, but it provides critical assurance to federal sponsors and demonstrates the strength of UC Berkeley’s financial stewardship.
Review September’s updated unused airline ticket credits
The UC Travel Center is sharing a monthly updated list of unused airline tickets with ticket credits available to travelers and travel preparers. Please encourage the travelers within your unit who are listed on the UC Berkeley Monthly Unused Ticket Report to use their credits whenever possible before they expire. If you are aware of individuals in your unit who are no longer with the university, there may be opportunities for other business travelers to take advantage of the credits for future business travel. Please contact the UC Travel Center at 310-206-2639 or travel@finance.ucla.edu to learn how to use the applicable credit before its expiration date. Read more detailed information in the Unused Airline Ticket Credit Alert (September 2025).
Cal Answers training
The Cal Answers website hosts self-service learning resources, including a complete course on basic navigation, short videos, job aids, wiki documentation, and a list of frequently asked questions. Enrollment is now open for the 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 and Smart View 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