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12 Aug 2015: All departments have access to Cognos, as well as reports within the UFS Grants Module, enabling them to view the latest financial position on their grants.

23 Jul 2015: Where finances can be managed using UFS this is the most efficient way. However, there may be times when off-line systems can add further detail/clarity. For example, trust fund managers may choose to record a simple budget for the fund on an Excel

6 Aug 2015: Human blood and products for therapeutic purposes made of human blood, human (including foetal) organs or tissue for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes or medical research are exempt. Therefore no VAT is charge on the purchase and these purchases

29 Jul 2015: When funds are received from a body external to the university, the following criteria are used to determine if those funds can be classed as a research grant or should be recorded as something else eg. a donation.

11 Aug 2015: The full economic costing methodology was adopted for costing all research grant proposals in September 2005.

2 Apr 2015: When funds are released they will be credited to the specified department / cost centre / source of funds combination with a transaction code: LFDO "Donations transferred from Development Office" It will also include any interest that has been e

2 Apr 2015: The Finance Division is responsible for the University's financial policies and accounting procedures: whereas, the Development and Alumni Relations (CUDAR) is responsible for the policy on the solicitation, acceptance and stewardship of

23 Jul 2015: A commitment is an agreement or a pledge to assume a financial obligation at a future date e.g. the funds that we are committing to spend with a supplier when we send them a purchase order. UFS is a commitment accounting system.

19 Mar 2015: If a service provider is required to and does in practice, provide major pieces of equipment which are fundamental requirements of their duties, then financial risk arises from acquisition, maintenance and

4 Sep 2015: Many departments receive income from trust funds. Each trust has its own deed that details the rules and regulations concerning its set up and use. Details of each trust are recorded in the University’s statutes and ordinances.

17 Aug 2015: Staff must not represent themselves as an agent of the University when undertaking personal consultancy work. University-headed document templates, the logo and the University’s Financial system (UFS) must not be used for charging customers for non

23 Jul 2015: Budgets should be input to UFS on the same transaction codes to which actual expenditure will be coded, as far as possible, otherwise meaningful analysis of Actual versus Budget expenditure is jeopardised at institutional, School and University level

23 Jul 2015: The primary consideration when budgeting for a non-Chest activity is to ensure that expenditure does not exceed the funds available. Therefore, the best place to start when budgeting for a non-Chest activity is to calculate the income available.

2 Apr 2015: CUDAR's 'Procedures for Handling Donations' document explains the detailed University procedures for accepting donations. Departments should use these procedures before approaching any potential donors.

7 Apr 2015: Transfers of donated funds to other institutions must always be approved by the Head of Department and be in accordance with the terms of the gift and the University's general charitable purposes.

5 Aug 2015: From April 2015, HMRC changed the rules as to how VAT should be accounted for on invoices with a prompt payment discount. Prior to the change, VAT would always be calculated on the discounted value irrespective of whether the discount was actually

5 Aug 2015: Some departments operate a single card for online and overseas purchases.

20 Mar 2015: The role of Finance Business Partners and Institution Heads of Finance in budgetary planning and control The University operates an annual Planning Round, one aspect of which is to collate financial forecasts from institutions (usually around

4 Sep 2015: Principally EZXX for transfer of expenditure and LXBB for transfer of income. Transfer codes Use with caution Refer to Best Practice Guide 3 or your Finance Adviser Latest version 01 May 2024

5 Aug 2015: The Accounts Payable Team, Finance Division arranges payment. Statements are sent directly to the cardholders’ home address, as provided on the application form, from the credit card service provider.

12 Aug 2015: Credit checks The credit control team within Research Accounting credit-check all new sponsors for credit worthiness where possible. Existing sponsors are monitored regularly.

5 Aug 2015: Suppliers that have been entered more than once onto the Supplier database are identified and deactivated by the Accounts Payable (AP) Team. Suppliers that the University does not wish to trade with in the future, for example, companies that have

1 Apr 2015: Often departmental activities will be funded from a variety of sources that may include income for a trust fund.

18 Aug 2015: Debt should only be written-off if it is genuine and due, and it has been established it is not possible or economic to recover, having completed all previously listed activities in this section. Uncollectible debts, including those in respect of

1 Apr 2015: Many departments have surpluses that are held on deposit with the University Deposit Account. Departments are responsible for monitoring account and deposit balances and can process deposit movements themselves through a General Ledger journal.

2 Apr 2015: Since 1 August 2003, overheads, calculated as a percentage of salary costs, have been charged on donation accounts and special funds. The policy aims to ensure that a contribution is made towards the infrastructure costs of activities funded from

19 Mar 2015: When the University pays a sum of money for service(s), consideration must be given to whether the Off-Payroll Worker rules allow those payments to be made gross or whether there is deemed employment for tax purposes.

23 Jul 2015: A variance is the difference between actual and budgeted income and expenditure. Therefore, at the University, we only get variances in GL (General Ledger) on Chest funded activities. For all other sources of funds budgetary control will be

12 Aug 2015: Departments charge expenditure (excluding Staff costs, Pooled labour, Overheads and Non-direct costs) using UFS iProcurement and Accounts Payables (AP) modules. When charging expenditure in these modules you need to enter the award, project and task

2 Apr 2015: A specific endowment is a donation where the donor has specified that the funds are to be invested and the investment income is to be used for specific purposes, which may be as wide as a department or academic area. The funds may be required to be

12 Aug 2015: Research Grant expenditure will always be mapped across to a source of funds code MA**. The MA indicates research, the next letter indicating the sponsor type, and the last letter indicates the VAT Status. The sponsor type “letter” is used for

31 Mar 2015: Ensure that the "Track as Asset" box in the AP module is ticked for all fixed assets purchases in excess of £5,000. This is essential. Notify the Fixed Asset Helpdesk of any assets not tracked. Notify the Fixed Assets Helpdesk of any fixed asse

7 Apr 2015: The GL is at the heart of CUFS, collating information from the sub-ledgers of all of the University's financial transactions. The GL is used for processing journals, account enquiries and running reports.

2 Apr 2015: The University will seek to avoid the situation where it becomes committed to expenditure for which it has insufficient funds. Accordingly, the terms of any specific donations and endowments must be carefully considered before a gift is accepted.

2 Apr 2015: Where possible, donors should be encouraged to make their donation by way of a single lump-sum in GBP sterling.

12 Aug 2015: Each department has a suspense project and award with the format RG00000 (dept cost centre) for the award code and dept cost centre/000 for the project code. Eg. RG00000 (EWAG) EWAG/000 The suspense account is used for posting expenditures which

17 Aug 2015: Chosen methods of marketing goods and services for sale must not result in negative attention for the University or affect its corporate branding and reputation. Institution websites must adhere to the University branding standards. Refer to Office

31 Mar 2015: Each department should make one or more persons responsible for the fixed assets. Their duties would include: Regular checks to ensure that assets are being correctly maintained. Notification to Fixed Asset Helpdesk of any assets disposals.

12 Aug 2015: The University Procurement Procedures must be followed for the purchase of all items of equipment and the ‘Track as Asset’ box in AP checked for all purchases over £5,000 (including non-recoverable VAT).

4 Sep 2015: All these sources of funds designate what the University describes as self-supporting activities. They should be self-funding in that they cover all their related costs. Thus, an overriding principle is that the full costs of an activity should be

23 Jul 2015: Income and expenditure on Trust Funds can be monitored using the Cognos General Ledger reports. However, there is a specific report for Trust Funds which summarises the purpose, performance, and activity of each Trust Fund.

5 Aug 2015: Expenditure without supporting receipts/vouchers may be considered by HM Revenue & Customs as a taxable benefit and therefore details should be submitted to the Payroll Section at the end of May for the previous tax year (ending 5 April) as part of

2 Apr 2015: A General Donation is one in respect of which the donor has either: not placed any restrictions; or has placed restrictions which are met by expenditure already committed or planned as part of the department's existing operations.

23 Jul 2015: A budget is the financial representation of a planning process, usually annual. It is finalised before the beginning of a financial year and actual income and expenditure are measured against it as a means of reviewing performance and controlling

6 Aug 2015: Cambridge University Technical Service (CUTS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of a Cambridge Enterprise Limited. By using CUTS, the University is able to avail of charitable tax reliefs to ensure that full economic benefit of profitable consultancy

31 Mar 2015: This ongoing process of correctly identifying assets at purchase is the key to the fixed asset system operating satisfactorily and is the main requirement for departments to follow. ... Equipment purchased under research contracts are subject to the

18 Aug 2015: The University’s STCs and the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 allow us to charge interest and fees on overdue debt. In deciding whether to charge interest, consider the relationship with the customer and the reason for

4 Sep 2015: Specific donation accounts are set up for funds donated by way of gift to the University, or a department, for a specific purpose excluding: a contribution to the construction of a building funds which are required to be held as an endowment grants

23 Jul 2015: In general, trust funds established after 1995 will pay an overhead of 20% (or 30% for most funds established after 2007) of the gross pay costs charged to the fund. This is normally indicated by the inclusion of the phrase “and associated

10 Aug 2015: Module closes at 5pm on Wednesday 7 August Essential Tasks Final date for completion Physical stock take (all institutions with stores) Wed 31 Jul Update Inventory balances with the results of stock take Wed 7 Aug Process all receipts and issues