Fiscal Year End 2015 Issue

Overview

Harvard's fiscal year 2015 will end on Tuesday, June 30, 2015. As in the past, the University will close the books through a series of steps called "closings."  Please note this year's closing dates:

• The first closing will take place on Thursday, July 2.
• The second closing on Friday, July 10.
• The third closing on Friday, July 17.

In the paragraphs that follow, you will find closing deadlines and submission information for the financial transactions listed below (click on hyperlink below to jump to that section of the e-News) or download and print the PDF version of this article. 

• Accounts Payable 
• Petty Cash Fund Settlement
• Vendor Setup, Maintenance & Reactivation
• Credit Vouchers (Cash Receipts)
• Credit Vouchers (Validated Deposit Slips)
• Massachusetts Taxable Sales Deposits 
• Foreign Check Deposits on Credit Vouchers
• Voided Checks
• Stopped Checks
• Escheat Checks
• Foreign Currency Drafts and Wires
• U.S. Wire Transfers
• ACH Payments (Benefits/Tax)
• Purchasing Card Sweeps 
• Web Reimbursement Travel Authorization Forms (WV-TAFs)
• Web Reimbursement Reports
• Web Reimbursement Reports with Advance Settlements
• Central Accounts Receivable Billings
• Journal Entries
• Interdepartmental Billings
• Cost Transfer Requests on Sponsored Funds
• Chart of Accounts Maintenance Requests 
• CAPS deadlines 

Additional Fiscal Year End Resources

• Whom to Call
• Summary Schedule for FY2015 Transactions and Reporting

Note the journal entries deadlines this year. In order to allow the tubs more time to process manual journal entries on the day of the closings, the manual JV entry deadline will be 2:00 p.m. On Thursday, July 2, Friday, July 10 and Friday, July 17, the days of the first, second and third closes, any journals entered into the General Ledger by 2:00 p.m. will be included in that close and will be available in the HDW the next day.

In addition, in order to provide the tubs with more timely information during the FY2015 year end, there will be two additional data refreshes to the Data Warehouse (HDW) on Sunday night, July 5 after the first close and on Sunday night, July 12 after the second close. This means that June journals entered after the 2 p.m.deadline on the day of the close and before 6:30 p.m. on Sunday night will be posted and reflected in the HDW on Monday morning. Note that there will not be a data refresh on Sunday, July 19 after the third close. Any regular invoice batches and invoice imports that have been processed by the Accounts Payable department from Friday through Sunday after the first close will also be uploaded on Sunday evening and reflected in the HDW on Monday morning.

The deadlines provided are the last allowable dates to submit transactions.

These are the FAD (Central Financial Administration) deadlines. Since some departments have internal deadlines that may be earlier than these, you should check with your local financial office to obtain any departmentally defined deadlines.

Reporting tips are also included in this e-News. We expect exceptional reporting demands during the year-end closings. Following our suggestions on reporting will reduce the time required to run your reports.

	Closing Deadlines and Submission Information
Accounts Payable  (including Non-employee reimbursements)	A mail drop-off box will be located in Room 744 in the Smith Campus Center. Any items received at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue or deposited into the drop-off box by the deadlines listed below will be processed for FY2015. All invoices received by the Accounts Payable office either at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue or at the drop-off box in Room 744 in the Smith Campus Center by 12 p.m. on Friday, June 26 (with the exception of special handling requests; see note below) will be processed in FY2015 by close of business on Tuesday, June 30.  Note that any invoices placed on hold will not post to the G/L. A significant exception relates to foreign currency drafts and wires and US wire transfers (see the Foreign currency drafts and wires and the U.S. wire transfers sections for these earlier deadlines). Invoices received between Monday, June 29 and Thursday, July 2 at 5 p.m. will be processed by Wednesday, July 8 as part of FY2015. All FY2015 invoice data will be available in the HDW by Thursday, July 9.   All invoices for FY2016 (with the exception of Special Handling,) should be held, and submitted to Accounts Payable after close of business on Thursday, July 2, to be processed in FY2016. If you purchase items late in the fiscal year that you want charged in FY2015, be sure to request immediate billing from vendors so that you can meet these deadlines. Special handling requests that need to be expensed in FY2015 must be received at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 26. Special handling requests received after 5 p.m. on Friday, June 26 cannot be expensed to FY2015. If the special handling request is for an FY2015 expense you will need to accrue the item. For information on accruals, please contact your tub financial office. Return to top
Petty Cash Fund Settlement	If you maintain a departmental petty cash fund, you must submit your final FY2015 petty cash log for replenishment to University Financial Services (UFS) by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19. All petty cash accounts should be reconciled and expenses recorded to the fiscal year in which the expense occurred. You may deliver the replenishment log to University Financial Services directly at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd flood or via the drop-off box in Room 744 in the Smith Campus Center. Return to top
Vendor Setup, Maintenance & Reactivation	Vendors that need to be set up or for changes to existing vendors, the on-line vendor form must be approved in Oracle by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24.  Note that appropriate forms (W-9 or Glacier,) must also be received by the vendor set up group by this time as well. Return to top
Credit Vouchers (Cash Receipts)	The Cash Receipts Office, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd floor, will accept credit vouchers accompanied by cash or checks until 4 p.m. on Thursday June 25. Return to top
Credit Vouchers (Validated Deposit Slips)	For bank deposits made through Thursday June 25, the credit voucher accompanied by a validated bank receipt must be delivered to the Cash Receipts Office, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd floor, no later than 4 p.m. on Friday June 26. In order to allow for sufficient processing time in FY2015, the credit voucher associated with the validated deposit ticket for bank deposits made between  June 26  and June 30 must  delivered to Cash Receipts Office  by 12 p.m. on Wednesday July 1 in order for the income to be recognized in FY2015. NOTE: Due to high volume of activity, deposit forms and validated deposit tickets received on July1 that are dated prior to June 26 may be at risk of not getting processed in FY15. It is important that you deliver the credit vouchers in a timely manner and do not hold on to them or deliver them in bulk.  Return to top
Massachusetts Taxable Sales Deposits	All Massachusetts Taxable Sales forms with a validated bank deposit ticket for deposits made through Thursday, June 25  must be delivered to Cash Receipts, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue  2nd  floor, by 4 p.m. Friday June 26. In order to allow for sufficient processing time in FY2015, the deposit form and validated deposit tickets for all deposits made between Friday June 26 and Tuesday June 30 must be delivered to the Cash Receipts Office by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1 in order to recognize the income in FY2015. NOTE: Due to high volume of activity, deposit forms and validated deposited tickets received on July 1 that are dated prior to June 26 may be at risk of  not getting processed in FY15. It is important that you deliver the deposit forms in a timely manner and do not hold on to them or deliver them in bulk.  Return to top
Foreign Check Deposits on Credit Vouchers	Credit vouchers accompanied by foreign checks that need to be sent to the bank for collection should be submitted to the Cash Receipts Office, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue 2nd floor, immediately upon receipt but no later than 4 p.m. on Wed. June 24.  Because each bank and country's collection times and processes are different, we cannot guarantee that we will receive credit from the bank for these checks before June 30. However, the University has an agreement with Bank of America to receive provisional credit on most common foreign currencies and for those checks the Cash Receipts office be able to process the credit voucher and the school will recognize the income in FY2015. Return to top
Voided Checks	All checks that need to be voided and re-deposited must be received by Cash Management, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, by 12 p.m. Thursday, June 25 in order for the credit to be included in FY2015. Return to top
Stopped Checks	All checks that need to be stopped and re-deposited must be received by Cash Management, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, by 12 p.m. Thursday, June 25 in order for the credit to be included in FY2015. Return to top
Escheat Checks	All checks dated in calendar year 2014 that need to be voided, stopped or reissued must be sent to Cash Management, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 12 in order for the credit to be included in FY2015. Return to top
Foreign Currency Drafts and Wires	Cash Management will process one last batch of foreign currency drafts and wires on Thursday, June 25. These expenses will be included in FY2015. Requests for payments to be made in a foreign currency must be entered and approved online and the related invoices received by Accounts Payable, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, no later than Wednesday, June 24 at noon. Note: These invoices must have an original bank draft authorization form or an original wire transfer authorization form attached to the front of the invoice. Return to top
U.S. Wire Transfers	Requests for payments to be wire transferred must be entered and approved online, with related invoices received by Cash Management, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, no later than Thursday, June 25 at 5 p.m. Note: These invoices must have an original wire transfer authorization form attached to the front of the invoice. Return to top
ACH Payments (Benefits/Tax)	Requests for payments via ACH must be entered and approved online, with related invoices received by  Cash Management, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor, no later than Thursday, June 25 at 5 p.m. Note: These invoices must have an original ACH transfer authorization form attached to the front of the invoice. Return to top
Purchasing Card Sweeps	In order to ensure that as many current PCard transactions as possible are swept in this fiscal year, the PCard sweeps originally scheduled for June 25 , July 2, and July 9 will all be moved. The originally scheduled June 25 sweep will be moved to Wednesday, June 24 at 3 p.m. This sweep will contain PCard transactions loaded into the settlement system between June 5 and June 11. The originally scheduled July 2 sweep will be moved to Thursday, June 25 at 3 p.m. This sweep will contain PCard transactions loaded into the settlement system between June 12 and June 18. The originally scheduled July 9 sweep will be moved to Wednesday, July 1 at 3 p.m. This sweep will be booked into FY2015 and will contain PCard transactions loaded into the settlement system between June 19 and June 25. Please note that the date for transactions loaded into the settlement system is not the same as the transaction date. There is no way to determine a final day on which users can make PCard purchases and assure that those transactions will be swept in FY2015 since timing is dependent on vendors and other factors. Return to top
Web Reimbursement Travel Authorization Forms (WR-TAFs)	WR-TAFs must be approved and ticketed by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 12 to be included in FY2015. Return to top
Web Reimbursement Reports	All reimbursement reports, including Citi Direct Pay and NRs (non-employee reimbursements), must reach the Reimbursements and Card Services at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor or the drop-off box at Room 744 in Smith Center (formerly Holyoke) by 5 p.m. Friday, June 26 to be included in FY2015. Return to top
Web Reimbursement Reports with Advance Settlements	Web Reimbursement reports with advance settlements, when accompanied by unused funds (checks), will be accepted by the Reimbursements and Card Services at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor or the drop-off box in Room 744 Smith Center (formerly Holyoke) until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 19. Advance settlements for zero balance or amounts due to the traveler will be accepted at either location until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 26. Return to top
Central Accounts Receivable Billing	Central Accounts Receivable will close FY2015 on Wednesday, July 8, at 5 p.m. The cut-off date for customer set up is Thursday, July 2, at 5:00 p.m. AR feeds, invoices and credit memos processed by the tubs to be included in FY2015 need to be entered into the Oracle AR system by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8.  From July 1 to July 8, the GL date in Oracle AR will automatically default to the July (FY2016) date. In order for transactions to be included in FY2015 during this time, users will have to enter the date of June 30, 2015 to override the default date. This process applies to invoices and credit memos entered both manually and via feeds. Please note that receivables for goods or services provided in FY2015 should be entered in the period of JUNE 2015, and not July, consistent with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Central AR will accept invoice and credit memo templates that AR enters on behalf of local units until 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 2. Return to top

 

Journal Entries 

 Please keep in mind the following:

• The University is closed on Friday, July 3 for the holiday. Therefore, there will be no journal vouchers posted to the General Ledger or recorded in the Data Warehouse on that day. Rather these journals will be posted to the General Ledger on Sunday, July 5 and will be in the HDW on Monday, July 6.
• Any June journals entered on Thursday, July 2 after 2 p.m. and before 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 5 will be posted to the GL on Sunday night and available in the HDW on Monday, July 6.
• Any June journals entered on Friday, July 10 after 2 p.m. and before 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 12 will be posted to the GL on Sunday night, July 12 and available in the HDW on Monday, July 13.
• Any June journals entered after the third close deadline of 2 p.m. on Friday, July 17 will be deleted.
• Be careful to select the proper period (JUN-15 or JUL-15) when you are entering a journal.  Beginning July 1, the default period will be JUL-15 (FY2016). If you want to post a journal to FY2015 during July 2015 you will need to select JUN-15 as the proper period.
• Entries must not be processed to another tub after the second closing without authorization from the financial office of the tub being charged. Individuals processing journals have personal responsibility to ensure they follow this requirement.
• A journal should only be reversed by the person who created the journal, or with the permission of that person.

NOTE: Based upon departmental activity and the reports you run through the month of May, please make any necessary adjustments as early in June as possible.

Interdepartmental Billings 

• All interdepartmental billings, whether entered manually or via a feed to the General Ledger, must be processed by the end of the second closing. (GL billing feeds are generally submitted by service centers like UIS and UOS.) An interdepartmental billing journal may be processed in the third closing only if permission has been obtained from the financial office of the tub being charged.
• Interdepartmental billings should provide a name and contact number on the journal for questions or concerns the tub being billed may have.

Cost Transfer Requests  

These dates apply to ALL requests for cost transfers to federally sponsored funds (funds in the range from 100000-199999). Note that these requests require supporting documentation.

• Cost transfer requests should be submitted directly to OSP. OSP will review the request and documentation for appropriateness. OSP will enter cost transfer journals for departments during the year-end closing process, if necessary, due to school specific closing deadlines.

Chart of Account Maintenance Requests 

Disable Requests:

Friday, June 5 (MAY-15 close) is the last date that values will be disabled in FY2015. Any CSMA requests not successfully disabled on June 5 will be held until the final JUL-15 close on Wednesday, August 26.

Requests to disable CoA values that require approval should be submitted through CSMA before 5 p.m. on Friday, May 15. Disable requests that do not require approval should be submitted through CSMA before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3.

Funds and subactivities with the status of "Ready to be disabled" in GMAS will be sent to CSMA on June 4 for processing. This is the last time sponsored funds and subactivities will be sent to CSMA to be disabled in FY2015. The next time "Ready to be disabled" sponsored values will be sent to CSMA is September 1.

Add / Modify / Re-enable Requests:

Requests to add, modify, or re-enable CoA values submitted through CSMA will be processed according to the normal daily schedule (7 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday - Friday) throughout year-end. CSMA requestors wishing to specifically designate for the JUN-15 period any CoA changes entered from July 1 through August 7 (the date of the 1^st July close) should enter 30-JUN-2015 as the effective date for their request.

GMAS will continue to send Add/Modify requests as usual during year-end. Requests to re-enable a sponsored fund or subactivity should be sent to the OSP Team Manager as usual.

Fiscal Year-End Reporting Guidance & Tips; HUBS Actuals Updates Following Scheduled Year-End Close Dates

 

Every year-end we experience exceptional reporting demands during the closings. Following these suggestions on reporting will reduce the time required to run your reports.

• Use the Detail Listings "close" dates to limit to the specific transactions that occurred in each close. Choose the specific close (First Close, Second Close, etc.) from the report period pick list. Note that the start and end dates populated for these periods will display July dates. For these closing periods only, these dates refer to the actual entry dates of fiscal month June entries. It is strongly recommended that you take advantage of using the close dates to narrow the scope of your data rather than capturing all of the Prior Fiscal Year data throughout the close periods.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Fiscal Year 2015 close dates will not be displayed in the Detail Listings report period names until July 1. On July 1, these dates automatically update to the FY2015 dates. This does NOT preclude setting up and scheduling reports in advance. The FY2015 dates will automatically repopulate all scheduled reports.
• Schedule your closing reports to run on the Year-End "Event" dates.
• Enter all of the chart segment parameters you can for a given report request to increase performance for yourself and the whole University. Never use your security view to filter your data. For example, let's say a user wants to see amounts for a range of objects within the tub and org for which they have a view. Because of their view limitation, the user will get the same result whether tub and org are entered as parameters or not. However, not including tub and org will make the query take much longer to run, tying up system resources and slowing things down for all report users.
• Only use transaction reports like the Detailed Listing when you really need to see the transaction line detail. Summary-level balances can be retrieved in reports such as the Summary Actuals Listing report, Fund Summary report, Fund, Gift, & Unrestricted Unexpended Balance report, and the Budget Variance report.
• Preserve server disk space by deleting unneeded reports instead of waiting for them to purge. (Note: Report requests are systematically purged after seven days.) This is especially important if you have report output that you know is large.
• Keep in mind that, as of July 1, the Current Fiscal Year to Date option will reflect FY2016. To retrieve FY2015 year-to-date transactions, select the Prior Fiscal Year date period from the period pick list.

CAPS Fiscal Year End 2015 Deadlines 

To ensure that all necessary approvals are in place and all accounting entries are completed in time, appropriate CAPS forms must be submitted to Central Administration by your School/Unit's Authorized Requestor through the CAPS automated system by the dates set forth below.

• Friday, May 8  - Completed Project Proposals (PPs) and Construction Authorizations (CAs) submitted by this date will be processed for FY2015.   CIP activities will be enabled where applicable.
• Monday, June 8 12 p.m. - Completed Construction Close Requests (CCRs) submitted by this date will be processed for FY2015. CIP activities will be disabled.   Please note that Oracle Assets (OA), GL and CCR balances must be equal and that there are no future charges or invoices pending in Mass Additions. 

Forms submitted after the dates listed above will be held in a queue and processed in FY2016 when the CAPS system re-opens for approval on Tuesday, July 1, 2015.

Whom to Call List for Closings 

 Please click on the Print button found at the bottom of this article if you wish to print a version for quick reference.

 

Summary Schedule for FY2015 Transactions and Reporting 

This is the summary schedule for all FY2015 transactions and reporting.