DFL Weekly Update - September 26, 2025

Upcoming Deadlines

  • Tuesday, 9/30 - Validate your chartstring for Productivity Suite assessment
  • Friday, 10/17 - Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests
  • Tuesday, 10/28 - Complete Q1 Key Controls
  • Friday, 10/31 - Review and Deactivate Unused Telecom Lines
  • Monday, 11/3 - Confirm your PDST level for 2026-27

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

The CalPlan and HCP planning applications are available with the FY26 beginning balance and July through August Actuals (this data is already available in CalRptg). The FY2026-27 Operating Budget has been seeded with preliminary numbers to assist planning activities, but remember that these are subject to change. FY2025-26 Forecast Working version will be updated with September actual data on Monday morning, October 13.

Action Items

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.

Submit completed and approved Org Tree change requests by Friday, October 17

To submit an Org Change request, please access the Organizational Tree Change Request Portal. For Org Tree changes to be processed in October, 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 October 17 deadline. Please review the job aid for more information on how to get started, or contact dfl_concierge@berkeley.edu with questions.

Complete Q1 Key Controls by Tuesday, October 28

Please complete and submit both the Financial Reporting Review and System Access Review by the end of the day on Tuesday, October 28. Please visit the Division Key Controls page for instructions and more information. Email questions about the financial reporting review controls to the Financial Accounting and Controls team at gao@berkeley.edu and questions about the system access review controls to the BFS Security team at secbfs@berkeley.edu.

Review and Deactivate Unused Telecom Lines by Friday, October 31

As part of our ongoing efforts to optimize campus operations, we’ve identified a potential opportunity for your division to reduce Telecom recharge expenses by deactivating unused PBX phone lines. Currently, each active line incurs a monthly recharge of approximately $36, billed by Berkeley IT (bIT). To assist with this review, the bIT team has created the following resources:

  • Telecom Line Usage Report: View the lines your division is currently charged for, along with usage data. In order to inactivate these lines for FY2025-26, please follow the deactivation guide and submit requests by Friday, October 31, 2025 to telecom@berkeley.edu.
  • Deactivation Guide: Step-by-step instructions to evaluate and deactivate lines.

Some voice lines are provided through AT&T's Centrex service and are excluded from usage reports. bIT is currently contacting departments to either cancel or migrate these Centrex lines to VoIP (PBX) service. This process will provide additional departmental and campus cost savings. Looking ahead, as communication increasingly shifts to platforms like Zoom, we encourage divisions to implement a quarterly review process for Telecom billing to identify additional lines for deactivation. Additionally, bIT has engaged Deloitte Consulting to help envision the future of Telecom services on campus. We look forward to sharing their findings with the community soon.

Confirm your PDST level for 2026-27 by Monday, November 3

UCOP released the call for proposals from programs that charge Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition (PDST) with expiring multi-year plans or from programs that wish to establish a PDST charge for a new or existing program, effective beginning summer or fall 2026. Information regarding the call for proposals, submission materials, instructions, and a list of programs with expiring multi-year plans is available on the Increase or maintain an existing Professional Degree Supplemental Tuition rate page. The following programs are required to submit multi-year plans:

  • Product Development (PDP)
  • Optometry
  • Development Practice (MDP)

Please reach out to studentfees@berkeley.edu with any questions. For programs with non-expired plans, please email studentfees@berkeley.edu by Monday, November 3 if you plan to assess a reduced PDST level from what was included in your last approved multi-year plan.

Informational Updates

Fiscal Close: wrapping up a year of work

The year-end fiscal close process is like tidying up the University’s financial records. Think of it as balancing a checkbook, but on a massive scale. Each year from May through September, teams across campus work behind the scenes to clean up accounts, reconcile balances, and certify results. The goal is to finalize our records so they can be consolidated into the systemwide financial statements. These statements, like the income statement (what the university earned or spent) and the balance sheet (what the university owns and owes), are essential for UCOP, the State of California, the public debt markets, the philanthropic community, and others who rely on them to understand the university’s financial health. This year’s close is nearly complete with sub-certification letters now signed by Divisional Finance Leaders, Deans, and Vice Chancellors. We are on track to issue the final campus representation letter to UCOP on September 22. This milestone reflects months of coordinated work led within the BFS financial system by Financial Accounting and Controls, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable/Cash Handling, Contracts and Grants Accounting. It’s a long and complex journey, and we want to acknowledge the tremendous effort that makes it possible each year.

Launching the FY25 Uniform Guidance Audit

We are currently undergoing 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. Contracts & Grants Accounting (CGA) serves as the main conduit between UC Berkeley, UCOP, and the auditors. 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 December 5, 2025 to March 12, 2026.

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