Closing Memo

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To: Academic Department Chairs, Administrative Department Managers and Others with Budget Responsibility
From: Melissa Fletcher, Controller
Date: May 22, 2012
Re: Fiscal Year 11/12 Audit and Closing Process
AUDITING STANDARD
Our external auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers will need to follow an auditing standard that will be effective for the fiscal year 11/12 audit. The Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 115, Communicating Internal Control Related Matters Identified in an Audit provides guidance to the auditor on the reporting of internal control deficiencies to the Audit Committee.
Internal controls provide the keystone of sound business practices. These controls include adequate segregation of duties, diligent application of preventive and detective control systems, and conscientious compliance with authorization, reporting, and other established processes. Faculty and staff are expected to maintain and support internal controls structures at Wellesley College.
As part of the audit process, the auditors will be reviewing documentation to gain evidence that the College is following the internal control procedures established. In particular, the auditors will be looking to see if:
1. Invoices are properly approved
2. Timesheets are properly approved
3. Expenses are recorded in the proper fiscal year
The College depends on you to support the above internal control policies. If the auditor finds any evidence that the above internal control procedures are not followed, under SAS 115, the auditor may be required to report the details of the internal control exception to the Audit Committee. Therefore, it is extremely important that you support these internal control policies, with special attention to the procedures highlighted in this memo about the year end closing process for fiscal year 11/12.
FISCAL YEAR 11/12 CLOSING CALENDAR
Below is a calendar with key dates for closing out your department’s finances for fiscal year 11/12. Staff in the Controller’s Office are ready to assist you. If you have questions or issues that need to be addressed, please contact us as soon as possible. We have to be prepared for our external audit, and so the dates below are firm deadlines.
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Monday, June 11th
Fines or fees for the FY11/12 fiscal year need to be in the Student Financial Services Office in order to be billed in FY11/12.
Monday, June 25th
Last day to order from Office Max. All remaining backorders and unshipped orders will be cancelled and will need to be re-ordered.
Wednesday, June 27th
Charges that are posted to your ProCard by June 30th will be charged to FY11/12 if the goods and/or services have been received by the College. Please note that it normally takes 1-2 days for ProCard transactions to post on the bank’s system. Please plan accordingly.
Friday, June 29th at noon
All cash receipts for departments and student accounts to be credited to FY11/12 need to be into the Controller’s Office. Payment or deposit can be made at the Cashier window.
Friday, June 29th at noon
Petty cash expense reimbursements must be submitted to the Cashier’s window in order to be charged to FY11/12.
Pick up any checks held at the Cashier’s window.
Monday, July 2nd
Gift checks received directly by departments prior to June 30th postmarked June 30th or prior should be forwarded to Debbie Mulno in Resources for processing. Please include envelope showing postmark.
Monday, July 16th
All interdepartmental charges, including the Post Office, Copy Center, Facilities, Distribution Center, Wellesley College Club and Printing Services, etc, must be received by the Controller’s Office today.
Thursday, July 19th
The Controller’s Office will process invoices dated on or before June 30th for goods received and services rendered in FY11/12. All invoices and check requests for FY11/12 must be forwarded to Accounts Payable for processing. Any invoices or check requests received after this date will be charged to FY12/13 unless AP adjustment request procedures are followed. Please refer to the Controller’s Office website for detailed information about this adjustment process at http://www.wellesley.edu/Controller/genyrendadj.html
Thursday, July 19th
Expense reports for travel on or prior to June 30th need to be forwarded to Accounts Payable for processing in FY11/12. If travel crosses fiscal years, the expense will be prorated using the number of days of travel in each year. All outstanding travel advances will be charged to the FOAPAL on the Travel Advance form in FY11/12.
Friday, July 20th
All journal entries must be received by the Controller’s Office today to process any FY11/12 year-end adjustments or corrections. The transaction date on the journal entry form must be entered with a date on or before 6/30/2012 for the journal entry to be posted in the budget year FY11/12. To submit the journal entry, the authorized signer should send an email, with the journal entry attached, to the conference Controllers-Journals<controllers-journals@wellesley.edu>
NOTE: Please see additional information regarding journal entries below.
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Wednesday, July 25th
This is the first preliminary FY11/12 closing date. On Thursday, July 26th, a notice will be put on the Faculty/Staff Conference and an email will be sent to individuals on the Controller’s Office email list. At this time, departments should run their preliminary year-end reports. Journal Entries after this date must be submitted by an authorized individual of the FOAPAL to be charged. The transaction date on the journal entry form must be entered with a date on or before 6/30/2012 for the journal entry to be posted in the budget year FY11/12.
Wednesday, August 1st
This is the deadline for FY11/12 A/P adjustment requests. Since, the Controller’s Office cannot process invoices or check requests in FY11/12 received after July 19th even if they are dated on or before June 30th, requests for adjustments may be made for prepaid or accrued expenses. Please refer to the Controller’s Office website for detailed information about this process at http://www.wellesley.edu/Controller/genyrendadj.html
Wednesday, August 1st
Any final journal entries to adjust data based on the preliminary reports must be received by today. Final journal entries must be sent by an authorized individual of the FOAPAL to be charged. The transaction date on the journal entry form must be entered with a date on or before 6/30/2012 for the journal entry to be posted in the budget year FY11/12.
NOTE: Please see additional information regarding journal entries below.
Tuesday, Aug 7th
This is the second preliminary FY11/12 closing date. We ask that you review your budget for accuracy at this time. Please note: The Controller’s Office reserves the right to make adjustments as necessary after this date.
Late August
Notice will be put on the Faculty/Staff Conference and sent to individuals on the Controller’s Office email list when the books are closed. At that time departments can run their final reports.
Things To Keep In Mind
 The College does not accrue departmental operating budgets for items that were not received or services that were not provided by June 30th simply because they were budgeted for in this fiscal year. Any unexpended department unrestricted operating budget funds cannot be carried forward to FY12/13.
 Charges posted to your ProCard by June 30th will be charged to FY11/12 if the goods and/or services have been received. Please note that it normally takes 1-2 days for ProCard transactions to post on the bank’s system. If you have charges for goods and/or services that were received by June 30th but did not post in time, you must make an adjustment request by August 1st. Please refer to the Controller’s Office website for detailed information about this process at http://www.wellesley.edu/Controller/genyrendadj.html
 For audit purposes, to determine proper recording of ProCard purchases in the correct fiscal year, the Controller’s Office may request evidence of receipt of goods (i.e. packing slips). If the evidence suggests that goods were received or services performed after June 30th, the invoice will
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be charged to FY12/13. Failure to supply such evidence may result in an adjustment of the expense into FY12/13.
 For all purchases, during the last few weeks of June, we suggest that you contact the vendor to confirm delivery on or before June 30th.
 Since the Office Max billing month ends after the 25th of each month, items purchased through Office Max on or before 6/25/12 will be processed in FY11/12. After June 25th, all remaining backorders and unshipped orders with Office Max will be cancelled and will need to be re- ordered against your FY12/13 budget.
 Please arrange with vendors for timely invoicing of goods or services on or before June 30th and promptly forward all vendor invoices to the Controller’s Office for processing. If goods are not received or services performed by June 30th, the invoice will be charged to FY12/13.
 With the migration from First Class to Gmail, the Controller’s Office requests you utilize a naming convention for Journal Entries in the subject field of each entry that includes the fiscal year, the date sent and a unique description. This will ensure appropriate tracking of all Journal Entries. Please see the examples below:
To: Controllers-Journals@wellesley.edu
Subject: FY12 Controller Subject Example Entry 5/22/12
Or
To: Controllers-Journals@wellesley.edu
Subject: FY12 5/22/12 Controller Subject Example Entry #2
REPORTS AND ON-LINE QUERY INFORMATION
End-users have access to on-line Banner information regarding their budget and expenses. Those with on-line access may look up budget vs. actual information at any time. The Controller’s Office staff will post a message on July 26th on Faculty/Staff to inform users of the preliminary year-end closing date. When you see this message, you may print out departmental reports for June preliminary close FY12/13. Carefully review these reports and note any discrepancies or adjustments that need to be made. Authorized Signers please send in correcting journal entries promptly through the Controller’s Journal, or contact the Controller’s Office for consultation. Final adjustments must be received by August 1st. Final reports will be accessible in late August.
Actual expense information for the new fiscal year FY12/13 will be available for budget viewers on July 1st via on-line query forms. FY12/13 budget data will be entered into Banner as soon as possible before July 1st.
INVOICES AND ORDERING FOR FY12/13 PRIOR TO JULY 1ST
If you need to order items for FY12/13 prior to the start of the fiscal year on July 1st, please note “Budget Year FY12/13” on your requisition to the Purchasing Department. If services are performed or an item is received by June 30th, then the invoice will be charged to FY11/12 even though you were planning on charging it to FY12/13.
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OVERBUDGET ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEPARTMENTS
The Budget Office will review all departments that have overspent their FY11/12 unrestricted budgets. If an overbudget department has endowed funds or restricted gifts, and the restrictions on either the endowment funds or gifts do not prohibit it, these restricted funds will be appropriated to offset the overexpenditures. For those departments that have neither endowment funds nor gifts, FY12/13 non- personnel budgets may be reduced by the FY11/12 over expenditure.
MILEAGE RATE REIMBURSEMENT FOR FY11/12
The mileage allowance for the use of personal automobiles on College business will increase to $.555 per mile effective July 1, 2012 in accordance with College policy to implement current IRS standard mileage rates at the beginning of our fiscal year.
CONTROLLER’S OFFICE CONTACT LIST FOR ANY QUESTIONS
Name
Title
Extension
Email
Responsibility
Melissa Fletcher
Controller
2247
mfletche@wellesley.edu
General questions
Nicole Bolduc
Senior Accountant
2461
nbolduc@wellesley.edu
General questions
LynnAnn Falvey
Accounting Specialist
2488
lfalvey@wellesley.edu
Journal Entries Invoices
Check requests Expense reports
Lisa Kaufman
Sr. Cashiering/ Accounts Payable Specialist
2265
lkaufman@wellesley.edu
Deposits
Dotti Koulalis
Accounts Payable Manager
2469
dkoulali@wellesley.edu
Invoices
Check requests Expense reports
James Sullivan
Associate Controller
2250
jsulliva@wellesley.edu
General Questions Expense Accruals Journal Entries
PURCHASING DEPARTMENT CONTACT LIST FOR ANY QUESTIONS
Name
Title
Extension
Email
Responsibility
Tina Dolan
Purchasing Manager
3501
cdolan@wellesley.edu
Purchasing questions Encumbrances
Jackie Cheng
Purchasing Assistant
2471
jcheng2@wellesley.edu
Purchasing questions Encumbrances
BUDGET OFFICE CONTACT LIST FOR ANY QUESTIONS
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Name
Title
Extension
Email
Responsibility
Stephanie Tong
Budget and Systems Analyst
3621
stong@wellesley.edu

Budget questions