Upcoming Deadlines
- Friday, 8/16 - Submit completed and approved org tree change requests
- Friday, 8/30 - Submit Fiscal Close Certification Letter
Budget Process
Budgets process update
We have finalized the budget decisions and budget allocation letters were distributed on June 28. CalPlan and HCP will remain unavailable while the FY25 Operating Budget is finalized.
Action Items
Fiscal close deadlines available
The VC Administration and VC Finance fiscal close deadlines are posted to the CFO website on the Fiscal Close page. The BRS Fiscal Close deadlines are also posted on the Berkeley Regional Services website.
Submit completed and approved org tree change requests by Friday, August 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 Friday, August 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. Allowable Org Changes through May 31, 2024, include New DeptIDs, New Org Nodes, and Description Changes. Approved DeptID and Org Node moves will resume after fiscal close.
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.
Submit Fiscal Close Certification Letter by Friday, August 30
Campus senior management (Vice Chancellors, Vice Provosts, and Deans) and their Division Finance Leaders are required to complete a Fiscal Close Certification Letter annually. Submit a copy with a signature or the DocuSign. Signed letters should be uploaded into the Division’s Box file folder by DFLs. Contact gao@berkeley.edu with any questions.
Informational Updates
Recharge rates for FY2024-25 are posted to the recharge page
The FY2024-25 recharge rates are approved by the recharge committee and are on the recharge webpage. Thank you very much for all your hard work developing the FY2024-25 recharge rates. We appreciate it. Contact recharge_certification@berkeley.edu with any questions.
Payroll Office rebranding
We would like to announce the Payroll office (Controllers division) has been re-named to “Payroll Policy and Controls.” As part of this change, we have updated our website to clarify roles and responsibilities in order to delineate our role from UCPath and the Berkeley Regional Service teams. We strive for our customer whether it be an employee or a campus partner to receive support from the applicable team so their question can be addressed in a timely manner. On our rebranded Payroll home page, we have information directing users to Berkeley Regional Services, UCPath, and other campus resources. We hope that these changes will enable our campus partners to easily reach the correct contacts for their questions and clarify our supporting role in Payroll Policy and non-resident tax.
FAU fund chartstring segment to use alphanumeric characters
The Controller’s Office is changing how fund numbers will be produced in the future. Historically, the fund segment of the chart string is composed of numeric codes only for all funds except gift funds. Gift funds use an alphanumeric chart string to expand the number of code combinations. Because we are running out of numeric-only combinations, any new fund value will be created using alphanumeric combinations beginning April 1, 2025. No change is necessary in the Berkeley Financial System because it already allows for alphanumeric combinations. This is strictly a procedural change within Financial Accounting and Controls. We expect this will have minimal impact on any inbound or outbound systems because we already use alphanumeric code combinations for the fund value chart segment in the FAU for endowment funds. Endowment funds have been using alphanumeric codes for the last three years. Please direct your system questions to bfs@berkeley.edu. For questions about the accounting procedure change, please direct questions to gao@berkeley.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. Instructor-led classes resume this fall.
CalPlanning training
CalPlanning instructor-led courses are on hiatus until the fall. We have self-study materials for those who would like to learn or refresh their skills. The CalPlanning training page has links to the courses, a range of job aids to help with reporting, CalPlan, HCP, and Smart View, and a link to request office hours for 1:1 support.
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