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6 Aug 2015: Introduction and overview Heads of Institutions that receive income from the sale of goods or services, including Research, must establish procedures to ensure that all sales are authorised and supplied as agreed.

6 Aug 2015: From 1 Jan 2021 Following the end of the Brexit Transition Period purchases from suppliers in the EC are treated in a similar manner to those from the rest of the world.

6 Aug 2015: From 1 Jan 2021 Following the end of the Brexit Transition Period purchases from suppliers both in the EC and outside are treated in a similar manner. Please refer to the Import Export Hub for the current information. When buying goods from

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: On this page: Ensuring the University's STC apply Currency Warranties Insurance A contract is created where:6 The buyer accepts without amendment a valid quotation that we have issued An order from the buyer is accepted in writing (including emails)

12 Aug 2015: The budget is divided into project(s), task and then into expenditure categories.

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

6 Aug 2015: From 1 Jan 2021 Following the end of the Brexit Transition Period purchases from suppliers in the EC are treated in a similar manner to those from the rest of the world. Please see the Import Export Hub for current information.

5 Aug 2015: The search facility enables staff to find current suppliers.

5 Aug 2015: For all enabled currencies within UFS (excluding US Dollar & Euro/Euro defined), the Treasury team will load a monthly Corporate exchange rate onto UFS. For US Dollar and Euro, the Treasury team will load a daily Corporate exchange rate onto UFS.

12 Aug 2015: Checking that all expenditure posted in the Grants module correctly posted to the GL is undertaken by Research Accounting.. Departments should not post any expenditure to ‘M’ source of funds codes.

31 Mar 2015: Recommended Guidelines What is a document? Documents do not have to be in physical paper form, although there will inevitably be paper documents. A document can also be an electronic document.

10 Aug 2015: Further information on year end procedures is detailed below:

5 Aug 2015: High Street suppliers should not be used. In general they do not provide the same credit facilities or preferential rates as larger companies offer. Warranties may not be valid in some instances where domestic goods are purchased that may be used in

11 Aug 2015: Departmental Key Contacts can request access for departmental members of staff to view research grant data in the UFS Grants module.

12 Aug 2015: Awards payable in US Dollars, Euros or other foreign currencies will be budgeted in sterling. The foreign currency policy is detailed under Foreign currency grants Awards denominated in Euros or US dollars are budgeted using a lifetime rate.

12 Aug 2015: UFS is a commitment accounting system. This means that details of any orders placed in the UFS iProcurement Module are transferred to the UFS Grants module and funds are then reserved for the purchase. These are shown as commitments on several

12 Aug 2015: Each department has one or more GL cost centres into which expenditure from the Grants module is mapped. The standard cost centre for this is **AG, the first two letters being the department code. This may vary in departments where more than one

12 Aug 2015: Staff costs are imported into the Grants module monthly. Where Staff costs have been incorrectly coded they can be transferred using the Tools/Transfer function in the Expenditure enquiry screen. Costs which fail validation will go to departmental

12 Aug 2015: Disbursements from petty cash can be charged to a research grant. There is a limit of £25 per item and all petty cash expenditure should be supported by a receipt.

7 Apr 2015: Ordering: iProcurement A department wishing to order goods or services should raise a purchase order on UFS to the supplying department. It is good practise to include a note on the purchase order of your department's AR internal customer number.

12 Aug 2015: Your School Team in the Research Operations Office must be notified of all amendments to a grant, e.g. extensions (cost and no cost), supplementary funding and virement of funds between expenditure categories.

23 Jul 2015: As well as the GL Financial Summary Report, there are other Cognos reports that deal with actual and budgeting variances. Refer to the Finance Division Training webpages Guidance and FAQs, Cognos reports, for a list of reports and detailed assistance

4 Sep 2015: This is used to define the department or institution processing the transaction, e.g. AG for the Finance Division. The first letter can help to indicate the group to which the department belongs.

5 Aug 2015: Department users are only able to use the Corporate exchange rates (i.e. are unable to enter User exchange rates). CUFS will usually default to this as the Rate Type. If prompted to complete this field when entering a foreign currency transaction,

20 Mar 2015: Institutional responsibilities for budgetary planning and control The amount of input required from an institution for Chest budgetary planning and control can vary by institution and whether the budget is devolved fully.

6 Aug 2015: All modules will be closed at 5 pm on the following dates.

6 Aug 2015: Click on the image to download the checklist Excel: PDF:

29 Jul 2015: Where applications are successful the sponsor will send an ‘Award Letter’ notifying the Research Operations Office and the applying Principal Investigator (PI). If the department of the PI receive a copy directly from the sponsor they should

23 Jul 2015: Cognos reports for monitoring grant expenditure at institutional level are available, including a summary report which provides an overview of grants expenditure and remaining budget on active awards. Furthermore, once-off, bespoke Cognos reports

10 Aug 2015: ON THIS PAGE Summary of tasks Key dates Accounting for AP invoices Enter and approve purchase (AP) invoices Review of outstanding invoices Review Internal AP invoices Concur: Barclaycard and out of pocket claims Visitors and students expense

5 Aug 2015: All reimbursements for travel and other expenses are made via the Accounts Payable Module, which means that a payment cannot be made to an individual unless they are on the Suppliers List. If required, refer to new supplier set-up procedures. This

5 Aug 2015: AR Invoices are automatically transferred overnight (via an interface) into the receiving department’s AP module. PDF invoice copies are automatically emailed nightly to the receiving department. Departments should be emailing any backup

12 Aug 2015: Grants that are awarded in a foreign currency will be converted to sterling at activation stage, using the University’s foreign exchange policy. The preferred currency for research grants is sterling. For US Dollar and Euro denominated grants the

5 Aug 2015: Amendments to an existing supplier record are only acceptable if they are accompanied by official documentation regarding the relevant change. This may be in the form of a letter from the company stating the change or a copy of an invoice headed

23 Jul 2015: When transferring costs between sources of funds, it is recommended that the transfer should use the original transaction code wherever possible. However should this not be practical then the generic transfer code of EZXX can be used, but must be

5 Aug 2015: If you come across an invoice that states the payment should be processed to a factoring company, then process the invoice as normal against the actual invoicing company. However, check to ensure that the supplier has been set up with a site named

12 Aug 2015: The Departmental Administrator and the Principal Investigator will be notified by email once the grant has been activated by the School Team in the Research Operations Office The activation notice will include a link to the sponsor’s terms and

12 Aug 2015: Some research sponsors, eg. Research Councils and the EC, may require a Principal Investigator to submit an interim or final scientific report. These are also known as Individual Grant Reviews (IGR).

23 Jul 2015: The primary purpose when monitoring expenditure against a budget is to ensure that expenditure does not exceed either the budget, or its planned or received income. The first problem is how to spot where expenditure has, or will, exceed the budget.

5 Aug 2015: To maintain a level of timeliness and good housekeeping within the Supplier database, suppliers who have not been used for over 18 months, and have had no activity, are classed as Inactive. This applies only where there are no open Purchase Orders

12 Aug 2015: Costs can only be incurred during the active period of research, i.e. after the start date and before the end date of the grant. After the end date, purchases can be charged if the goods were physically received before the end date. The start date

5 Aug 2015: Each department should designate two individuals to be responsible for requesting new suppliers or amendments. However, many staff may simply require the Supplier database to view suppliers and this is available to anyone with UFS access.

5 Aug 2015: BACS payments All Sterling University Suppliers are paid via BACS (Bankers Automated Clearing System). This is an electronic payment system whereby money can be paid directly into a supplier's UK bank account on a specified day, without the need to

2 Apr 2015: Departments should determine the appropriate source of funds code using the guidance in section Types of Donation for Accounting Purposes, complete the undertaking and return to CUDAR.

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

5 Aug 2015: If the distribution is incorrect when matching an invoice to a PO, the changes should be made at the invoice processing stage If you feel the PO distributions require altering then: • Within AP, match the PO to the invoice as normal (with the

2 Apr 2015: Before releasing a donation, CUDAR will check that the source of funds code is appropriate given the nature of the donation. They will then instruct the Finance Division to transfer the funds.

12 Aug 2015: Any external audit requirements will be included in the terms and conditions of each award. External audits will be arranged by ROO and auditors may need to visit departments to check invoices and payroll information. ROO will contact departments to