Fiscal Year End 2014 Issue

April 24, 2014

Overview

Harvard's fiscal year 2014 will end on Monday, June 30, 2014. 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 3
    • The second closing on Friday, July 11
    • The third closing on Friday, July 18

In the paragraphs that follow, you will find closing deadlines and submission information for the following financial transactions (click on a transaction to jump to that section of the e-News):

    • 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

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 3, Friday, July 11 and Friday, July 18, 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 FY2014 year end, there will be two additional data refreshes to the Data Warehouse (HDW) on Sunday night, July 6 after the first close and on Sunday night, July 13 after the second close. This means that June journals entered after the 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 20 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 FY2014.

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 5 p.m. on Friday, June 27 (with the exception of special handling requests; see note below) will be processed in FY2014.  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 30, and Thursday, July 3 at 5 p.m. will be processed as part of FY2014.  All invoices for FY2015 (with the exception of Special Handling,) should be held, and submitted to Accounts Payable after close of business on Thursday, July 3, to be processed in FY2015.

If you purchase items late in the fiscal year that you want charged in FY2014, be sure to request immediate billing from vendors so that you can meet these deadlines.

Special handling requests that need to be expensed in FY2014 must be received at 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd Floor by 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 26.

Special handling requests received after 5 p.m. on June 26 cannot be expensed to FY2014. If the special handling request is for an FY2014 expense you will need to accrue the item. For information on accruals, please contact your tub financial office.

Petty Cash Fund Settlement

If you maintain a departmental petty cash fund, you must submit your final FY2014 petty cash log for replenishment to University Financial Services (UFS) by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 20. 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.

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 Friday, June 27.  Note that appropriate forms (W-9 or FNIF,) must also be received by the vendor set up group by this time as well.

Credit Vouchers (Cash Receipts)

The Cash Receipts Office, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 2nd floor, will accept credit vouchers accompanied by cash or checks until 5 p.m. on Thursday June 26th.

Credit Vouchers (Validated Deposit Slips)

For bank deposits made through Thursday June 26th , 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 5 p.m. on Friday June 27th.

In order to allow for sufficient processing time in FY2014, the credit voucher associate with the validated deposit ticket for bank deposits made on  June 27th  and June 30th  \must  delivered to Cash Receipts Office  by 12 p.m. on Tuesday July 1st in order for the income to be recognized in FY2014.

NOTE: Due to high volume of activity, deposit forms and validated deposit tickets received on July1st that are dated prior to June 27th  may not be processed in FY14. 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. 

Massachusetts Taxable Sales Deposits

All Massachusetts Taxable Sales forms with a validated bank deposit ticket for deposits made through Thursday, June 26th  must be delivered to Cash Receipts, 1033 Massachusetts Avenue  2nd  floor, by 5 p.m. Friday June 27th.

In order to allow for sufficient processing time in FY2014, the deposit form and validated deposit tickets for all deposits made on June 27th   and June 30th must be delivered to the Cash Receipts Office by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1st. in order to recognize the income in FY2014.

NOTE: Due to high volume of activity, deposit forms and validated deposited tickets received on July1st that are dated prior to June 27th  may not be processed in FY14. 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. 

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 5 p.m. on Wed. June 25th 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 FY2014.

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. Wednesday, June 25th in order for the credit to be included in FY2014.

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. Wednesday, June 25th in order for the credit to be included in FY2014.

Escheat Checks

All checks dated in calendar year 2013 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 13th in order for the credit to be included in FY2014.

Foreign Currency Drafts and Wires

Cash Management will process one last batch of foreign currency drafts and wires on Thursday, June 26. These expenses will be included in FY2014. 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 25th at noon. Note: These invoices must have a bank draft authorization form or a wire transfer authorization form attached to the front of the invoice.

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 26th at 5p.m. Note: These invoices must have a wire transfer authorization form attached to the front of the invoice.

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 26th at 5p.m. Note: These invoices must have an ACH transfer authorization form attached to the front of the invoice.

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 26 , July 3, and July 10 will all be moved.

  • The originally scheduled June 26 sweep will be moved to Wednesday, June 25 at 3 p.m. This sweep will contain PCard transactions loaded into the settlement system between June 6 and June 12.
  • The originally scheduled July 3 sweep will be moved to Thursday, June 26 at 3 p.m. This sweep will contain PCard transactions loaded into the settlement system between June 13 and June 19.
  • The originally scheduled July 10 sweep will be moved to Wednesday, July 2 at 3 p.m. This sweep will be booked into FY2014 and will contain PCard transactions loaded into the settlement system between June 20 and June 26.

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 FY2014 since timing is dependent on vendors and other factors.

Web Reimbursement Travel Authorization Forms (WR-TAFs)

WR-TAFs must be approved and ticketed by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 13 to be included in FY2014.

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 27th to be included in FY2014.

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 20.

Advance settlements for zero balance or amounts due to the traveler will be accepted at either location until 5 p.m. on Friday, June 27th.

Central Accounts Receivable Billing

Central Accounts Receivable will close FY2014 on Wednesday, July 9, at 5 p.m.

The cut-off date for customer set up is Thursday, July 3, at 5:00 p.m.

AR feeds, invoices and credit memos processed by the tubs to be included in FY2014 need to be entered into the Oracle AR system by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 9.

 From July 1 to July 9, the GL date in Oracle AR will automatically default to the July (FY2015) date. In order for transactions to be included in FY2014 during this time, users will have to enter the date of June 30, 2014 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 FY2014 should be entered in the period of JUNE 2014, 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 3.

 Journal Entries

Closing

Journal Data Entry Deadline

GL Feed Deadline

First

Thursday, July 3, 2 p.m.

Wednesday, July 2, 5 p.m.

Second

Friday, July 11, 2 p.m.

Thursday, July 10, 5 p.m.

Third

Friday, July 18, 2 p.m.

Thursday, July 17, 5 p.m.

Daily input deadline: Monday - Thursday, 6:30 p.m.

 

Please keep in mind the following:

    • The University is closed on Friday, July 4 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 6 and will be in the HDW on Monday, July 7.
    • Any June journals entered on Thursday, July 3 after 2 p.m. and before 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 6 will be posted to the GL on Sunday night and available in the HDW on Monday, July 7.
    • Any June journals entered on Friday, July 11 after 2 p.m. and before 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 13 will be posted to the GL on Sunday night, July 13 and available in the HDW on Monday, July 14.
    • Any June journals entered after the third close deadline of 2 p.m. on Friday, July 18 will be deleted.
    • Be careful to select the proper period (JUN-14 or JUL-14) when you are entering a journal.  Beginning July 1, the default period will be JUL-14 (FY2015). If you want to post a journal to FY2014 during July 2014 you will need to select JUN-14 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

Closing

Submission Deadline to OSP

First

Tuesday, July 1, 10 a.m.

Second

Wednesday, July 9, 10 a.m.

Third

Tuesday, July 15, 10 a.m.

 

    • 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:

June 6 (MAY-14 close) is the last date that values will be disabled in FY2014. Any CSMA requests not successfully disabled on June 6 will be held until the final JUL-14 close on Friday, August 22.

Requests to disable CoA values that require approval should be submitted through CSMA before 5 p.m. on Friday, May 16. Disable requests that do not require approval should be submitted through CSMA before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4.

Funds and subactivities with the status of "Ready to be disabled" in GMAS will be sent to CSMA on May 30 for processing on June 3. This is the last time sponsored funds and subactivities will be sent to CSMA to be disabled in FY2014. 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-14 period any CoA changes entered from July 1 through August 8 (the date of the 1st July close) should enter 30-JUN-2014 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.