BU$INE$$ MATTER$

November 2002
(from the Finance Division for distribution with the October, 2002 CUFS reports)
Enterprise Project Update
  • The overall goal of the Enterprise Project is not only to implement the financial, human resources and payroll modules, but also to insure that all of these modules are integrated into one system that can be accessed by budget managers across campus. Integration of all of these information sources into a single, sophisticated system will streamline our business processes; getting to this goal, however, has proven to be more difficult and complex than anticipated. As a result, the originally scheduled January 1 implementation date will be delayed.
  • Of the six financial modules, the Project Accounting module has turned out to be, by far, the most challenging. Five of the Oracle financials modules, General Ledger, Procurement, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable and Fixed Assets, while complex and difficult, do relate directly to our current systems. Project Accounting is completely different. While this module is expected to provide the greatest benefit to the University, we currently do not keep information in the required format and as a result, an electronic transfer from ‘old’ to ‘new’ cannot be made. Gathering, organizing and entering all of the current grants, contracts and fixed assets data into the Project Module is a manual process that unfortunately, is taking much longer than we anticipated.
  • In addition to the time required to enter all of the necessary data into the Project Accounting module, there are other reasons that argue for delay of the go-live date. For a successful January 1 implementation, much of the intensive training would have been scheduled during the December holiday season. Such a schedule did not seem to be in the best interests of anyone on campus. It is our belief that delay of the implementation date will do no harm, and may work to our benefit since we will have more time to prepare for the campus-wide changes ahead of us.

University-wide Financial Meetings

  • The University-wide Financial Meeting will be held Monday, November 18, from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. at Grover Center W115.

Payroll
  • According to the I.R.S., the personal use of employer provided vehicles is considered a taxable benefit and must be reported on an employee’s W-2. Ohio University must report the personal use of any vehicle provided to its employees whether the vehicle is titled, leased (from a third party or the motor pool), or donated to the University or the Foundation.
  • All commuting to and from work is considered personal use, except when on call employees are called in and actually report to the worksite.
  • Any employee in your unit who was permitted personal use (including commuting to and from work) of any vehicle during any part of the calendar year will be sent a letter requesting information to assist in the calculation of the taxable amount. Please provide the names, e-mail and campus addresses of anyone in your department you have allowed personal use of a university vehicle. Send this information to Mary Hogan in General Accounting, HDL Center, room 218. She may also be reached by phone at 597-1721 or e-mail at hoganm@ohio.edu,

Grants and Contract Accounting
  • When completing a memo or billing authorization to transfer an expenditure to or from a grant or contract account, please provide an explanation why the expense transfer is being requested. The expense transfers should be completed in a timely manner but no later than 90 days after the expenditure was incurred. Please forward documentation to Grants and Contract Accounting, 279 HDL

Purchasing Card
  • All purchasing card transactions posted through October 11 appear in the October, 2002 CUFS reports.
CUFS REPORT RECIPIENTS: please remind your staff to look up BU$INE$$ MATTER$ on the web at: http://www.finance.ohiou.edu/ and click on "Fiscal News"

Reminder: all changes in CUFS report distribution (name, address, accounts) for Foundation accounts should be reported to: Karyn Davis via email at davis@ohio.edu, Changes for all other accounts should be reported to: Texanna Well via email at wellt@ohio.edu