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Resources

Reconciliation Approval Process

Reconciliation Packet

These materials from FileMaker Pro and PeopleSoft give information adequate to provide a cost center manager or DBA enough materials to review a monthly cost center reconciliation.

  • Project Status Summary (for sponsored projects), FMP

  • Cost Center Status Summary (for non-sponsored projects), FMP

  • 1074, PS

  • Commitment and Expenditure Categories (Cost Center Status Summary), FMP

  • Cost Center Detail Summary, FMP

  • Payroll Report, FMP

Reconciliation Review Confirmations

Requirements

The DBA and the cost center manager must review monthly cost center reconciliations.  To provide enough information, described above is the Reconciliation Packet to be submitted to the cost center managers and the DBA for review.  To provide an alternate avenue for a review, hardcopies of the Project/Cost Center Status Summary will be submitted to each cost center manager's mailbox in the Math mailroom.  Proof of this review should be retained in the form of an email forwarding back the reconciliations to confirm review or a signature on the hardcopy of the Project/Cost Center Status Summary. 

Create/Maintain the Master List of Cost Centers

  • Run a 1074 Department Verification Worksheet for the reconciled month, showing active cost centers only.  The number of pages on the main Verification workbook is the number of reconciliations that must be reconciled, and therefore must be reviewed.  Keep the worksheet in the R:\Reconciliations FY XX\Department Verification Worksheets folder in the R drive for future reference and use by the DBA.  All cost centers in H0110, H0111, and H0474 must be reconciled and reviewed, in addition to any in other departments that we have an agreement to reconcile.

  • Create a master list of cost centers to be reconciled and reviewed (those that are listed on the 1074 Department Verification Worksheet, ran above), and organize the list by the PI who must review the reconciliation.  Keep this document in R:\Reconciliations FY XX\Approved Reconciliations\<Month> with a filename in the format, Master.Reconcile.List.Math.<Month>.<Year>.xls. 

Email Reconciliations to Each PI

  • When reconciling is complete for the month and reports are pdf printed and compiled, email each PI the Reconciliation Packet for all cost centers they must review with the Reconciliation Email Notice.  The DBA should be cc'ed on all emails so that he/she may review the reports simultaneously.

  • BEFORE YOU PRESS SEND ON EACH EMAIL, after all cost centers are attached, open each attachment and check to make sure that each has a PI name either at the top of the Acct Status Summary or at the top of the 1074 that matches the PI we are sending the email to. If neither match, check the Acct Comments or Usage to see who has authority to approve transactions on the cost center. That person can be sent the reconciliation as well. Any discrepancies should be cleared by the main reconciler or the DBA BEFORE SENDING.

  • Send the emails.  All cost centers in the Department's or Chair's name, except for any sponsored projects, can go directly and only to the DBA.  Depending on the situation, the DBA may defer on a case by case basis to the Chair for their review/approval. 

  • As forwarded emails with attached reconciliations are received from the cost center managers (or DBA), they should be pdf printed and saved to R:\Reconciliations FY XX\Approved Reconciliations\<Month> in the format <Lastname>.approval.email.<MMDDYY>.<Month>.pdf.  ONLY AFTER the pdf document is saved, mark off on the Master Reconciliation List that the cost centers have been reviewed by the cost center manager (or DBA, as the case may be). 

  • If a cost center manager or DBA replies and does not forward the attachments, it is not acceptable for auditors.  Reply to the email that the reconciliations must be attached to the email that they send you for auditing purposes.  Resend the documents if necessary.

Followup with Missing PI Confirmations Each Week

  • Followup weekly on missing PI reviews by resending a copy of the original email.  BEFORE YOU PRESS SEND ON EACH EMAIL, open each attachment and print the first page. 

  • Print out the Sign and Return note, fill out the reconciled month and due date for the reconciliation review, and make enough copies for each PI on hot orange paper.  Cut into strips and attach a strip to the front of each PI's set of Account Status Summaries (printed during the review of the attachments above), put their name on the slip, and put the set in their box.

  • Collect hard copy reconciliations signed from the Reconciling Group Box in the mailroom daily, and route to the DBA for approval or retain, if all approvals are received.

  • Save a pdf scan of signed hardcopies in R:\Reconciliations FY XX\Approved Reconciliations\<Month> with a filename in the format <Lastname>.<PI or DBA>.approval.signed.<MMDDYY>.<Month>.pdf in to the Master Reconciling List.  E.g., if a DBA approved Morgan's cost centers, the filename should be Morgan.DBA.approval.signed.020210.pdf.  ONLY AFTER the pdf document is saved, mark off on the Master Reconciliation List that the cost centers have been reviewed by the cost center manager (or DBA, as the case may be).

  • By the 1st of each month, followup on all outstanding reconciliation reviews and cc the DBA, resend the documents as necessary, and utilize the front desk staff to assist in collecting review confirmations.

  • By the 8th of each month or when all cost centers are approved by PI's and the DBA, whichever is earlier, an email should be made to the DBA to confirm that # out of # of reconciliations have been reviewed by the DBA and cost center managers. This should happen at least by the 15th of each month for the month of two months prior (July recon review is due September 15).

  • Upon verification that all cost centers have been submitted for review by their appropriate cost center manager, the master list created as described above should be signed by the reconciler, submitted to the DBA for approval/auditing, signed by the DBA and returned, and then scanned and saved to R:\Reconciliations FY XX\Approved Reconciliations\Month YY in the format Recon.Review.Log.<Month><YY>.pdf.

DBA Monthly Reconciliation Review Tasks

  • Review each cost center's 1074.2 vs. Usage to determine if there are any issues with the charges on the cost center.

  • Review balances and any other possible issues as described in account comments, Account Details, or Usage.

  • Email all issues to the group that should handle the issue, and provide a due date.  Mark the date on the outlook calendar as a reminder.

  • At least spot check, if not fully review that all cost centers listed on the department verification worksheet have been submitted for approval.

  • Confirm upon opening a cost center review for a non-department cost center that the Cost Center Manager listed on the Acct Status Summary is the person emailed the cost center reconciliation.

  • Upon receipt of the Master Reconciling List for each month, audit the list against the scans