FIS BULLETIN Number 24

Announcements | Calendar | Status | T&T-Q&A | Training | Inside Peek | Odds & Ends

September 14, 1998

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

NEW ACTIVITY CODE REPORT

See FIS Status for details.

GENERAL: SCHEDULED FIS BANNER DOWNTIMES - None.

Bannerslug’s 90 Second Accounting Lesson, Installment 4: see Insiders Peek

ACQUISITIONS: None.

BANNER REPORTS: None.

OTHER FIS / BANNER ITEMS: None.

CALENDAR OF FIS / BANNER EVENTS

The Monthly Interface Schedule is now available on the web at: http://www.uscc.edu/finaff/fis/fisInterface.htm

FIS STATUS

NEW ACTIVITY CODE REPORT: We have received several requests from various Service Centers for lists of their Activity Codes. While we are happy to comply, it occurred to us that since Service Centers manage their own Activity Codes, they should be able to run their own Activity Code Report. Knowing a quick win when we see one, we have rolled out new report FZRACTV (Activity Codes by Prefix) to all FIS users who currently have access to report FZRPTJV (Journal Voucher Print). FZRACTV is accessed through the Banner Job Submission form GJAPCTL. The Parameters are straightforward; the COAS_CODE (Chart of Account code) is always ‘X’; you just need to enter the two character prefix of the Activity Codes you want listed. If your Service Center has multiple prefixes, you’ll need to run the report multiple times. The report will show you the Activity Code Title, Effective Date, Termination Date (if applicable), Status (active or inactive) and the UserId of the staffer who updated the code. If you have any questions or problems with the report, or wish to grant access to additional FIS users in your Service Center, please contact Monique Leduc at mleduc@cats.

PROCARD UPDATE: The test phase of the ProCard Project has been successfully completed, with 4 Service Centers using 20 cards over the course of the summer. Materiel Management is now ramping up for the pilot phase, which will add 4 more Service Centers and an additional 47 cards to the project. The pilot phase is scheduled to run through the end of the year. In January, roll-out to the campus will begin in stages of 4 Service Centers at a time. Materiel Management will be hosting a Service Center Managers meeting in the near future to report on the ProCard project so far, and to explain how the campus roll-out will occur. Stay tuned!

TIPS & TRICKS/QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

TIPS & TRICKS: None

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS:

A Campus Ledger Reviewer asks:
Tell me again what these ZZ9997 activity codes are on my unit ledgers?

The ZZ9997 and ZZ9998 activity codes are "dummy" codes that are used to replace invalid activity codes received on transactions from other campus administrative systems.

For example, a unit may use activity codes to track certain types of faculty expenses like copier charges. The unit requests a copier card for a new professor with a FOAPAL containing new activity code ABCDE, then forgets to create ABCDE in FIS. The copier program system doesn’t know that ABCDE doesn’t exist, because that system is not part of FIS. At month end, the copier charges feed to FIS with the non-existant ABCDE code. This causes the Journal Voucher containing the copier charges to suspend (not post). Staffers in FIS and/or General Accounting then confer with staffers in Printing Services to try to fix the problem (eg, perhaps a typo was made when the copier services staff entered the FOAPAL into their system.) If possible, the unit in question will be contacted to see if they can help fix the problem.

Unfortunately, all this is occurring under a tight deadline; the charges must be posted before the period closes. If efforts to correct the problem with a valid Activity Code are fruitless within the time available, the offending code is changed to ZZ9997 to allow the journal to post.

We decided to use a dummy code rather than simply blank out the bad code so that units could recognize on their ledgers transactions which were intended to post with an activity code, but for which the code was invalid for some reason.

Another common occurrence that causes the ZZ9997 to be used is when units terminate activity codes, but neglect to inform campus billing systems to stop using the code on recharge transactions.

The Payroll system works a little differently; since it is the largest monthly interface, it would be impossible to handle problems manually. Therefore, a pre-edit occurs against all the payroll FOAPALs before they are passed to the ledger, with bad Activity Codes being automatically replaced with dummy code ZZ9998 up front.

If you would like additional information on this topic, please contact Monique Leduc at mleduc@ucsc.edu.

FIS TRAINING SCHEDULE

Please visit the FIS Training Web Page for complete info: ../fisSchedule.htm

________________________
Questions or problems regarding Banner FIS can be directed to:
Acquisitions, Accounts Payable - Karsen Jones (kjones@cats)
Ledgers, Closing, Other - Monique Leduc (mleduc@cats)
Banner Security, Approvals - Beverly Jaeger (bjaeger@cats)
FIS Training Content, Schedule - Nancy Miller (njmiller@cats)

INSIDER'S PEEK AT FIS

BANNERSLUG'S 90 SECOND ACCOUNTING LESSON

INSTALLMENT 4

LESSON #4: Never Trust a Slug that's not Slimy.

On this gala, second anniversary of the Bulletin, two more of the basic accounting principles of Bannerland to add to your confusion:

OBJECTIVITY PRINCIPLE ("I don't trust you" Principle):
Accounting must be carried out on an objective and factual basis. Example: the value of the library collection is based on original acquisition costs of materials. Though the fair market value of the collection far exceeds the value of the collection as recorded in the general ledger, no adjustments are made to increase the value recorded in the general ledger. This is because

1. Accountants hate to rely on estimates which may or may not be accurate. ("If you would have asked me yesterday, it would have been worth $100 more.")
2. Estimates are subject to a wide range of judgements. ("But in my professional opinion, I think "The Life and Times of a Travelin’ Slug" book is worth twice as much as what the other person told you.")
3. Estimates may be deliberately misstated to make a situation look more favorable. ("I always estimate on the high end, anyway," answered the appraiser, with a wink of the eye and outstretched palm.)

So what does this mean to me: It means that things are nearly always recorded in the operating or general ledger at original cost.

CONSISTENCY PRINCIPLE ("Big Mac® " Principle):
In the accounting process, all concepts, principles, and measurement approaches should be applied in a similar or consistent way from one period to the next in order to assure that the data reported in financial statements are reasonably comparable over time. Example: Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) cannot choose to include depreciation of equipment expense one year but not another so that net income will look "better." Showing less expenses may turn an apparent loss on financial statements into an apparent profit. Needless to say, this inconsistency could easily mislead the casual reader of the financial statements into thinking that the financial condition of the TAPS is better than it might really be.

So what does this mean to me: On a campuswide basis, there are University and campus policies in place that ensure that we treat similar types of financial transactions using the same accounting procedures and methods.

Fun Fact: The story behind this principle being dubbed the Big Mac® Principle (we do have to meet our minimum monthly requirement of humor): A longtime friend of one of the editors once worked at McDonalds® in his youth. He mentioned once that no matter what McDonalds® you visit anyplace in the world, the Big Mac® is prepared in precisely the same way and with precisely the same ingredients (unless you dare place a special order). In other words, it starts with the bun, then the sauce, then the first patty, then the onions, and so forth (or something like that). The sequence of assembly never varies. So in recognition of this extreme example of consistency, the accounting consistency principle has been given the nickname the Big Mac® principle by the editors.

® Big Mac and McDonalds are registered trademarks of McDonalds Corporation. (Yes, the editors are highly risk averse. They don’t want some clown coming around and giving them a hard time.)

Hope you enjoyed another scintillating edition of the Insiders Peek. For the past two years, it’s the only place where you can find the one-of-a-kind fascinating information that will undoubtedly impress your friends and relatives. Believe it or don’t, only one more installment of accounting principles to go.

ODDS AND ENDS

None

Contributors: Karsen Jones, Cherie Reveles, Monique Leduc, Kirk Lew
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Please direct them to the Editors, Monique Leduc (mleduc@cats) or Kirk Lew (kllew@cats).

Financial Affairs | Accounting Offices | Campus Controller | FIS

Comments to: controller@ucsc.edu - Maintained by FIS, Updated