Rogue FOAPAL Strings Roger Wade Brent Rasmus Sharee Wax University Accounting Services has been asked to address the issue of Rogue FOAPAL Strings as a follow-up to a meeting of the Business Affairs Committee of the Business Managers Group. To that end, Brent Rasmus, Sharee Wax and I have developed the handout materials and this brief slide presentation. Due to time restrictions, I will move through these slides quickly, and I will not address the handout materials directly. Also, I ask that you please hold any questions you may have until the presentation is finished. UAFR – University Accounting Services (217) 333-4568 Roger Wade Brent Rasmus Sharee Wax

Rogue FOAPAL Strings Business Affairs Committee Report Risk of understating departmental expenses No way to terminate a rogue FOAPAL string Greater need for control and centralization Increased need for specialized training Data integrity issues The Business Affairs Committee Report identified five specific consequences resulting from the creation of Rogue FOAPAL Strings: First is the risk of misstating departmental expenses either by posting transactions to other University units or other funds within the department or unit. The second consequence is that once the Rogue is created, it cannot be terminated. Due to the nature of Banner, each segment must be active in order for a transaction to process. Since FOAPAL segments are sequentially created an invalid segment for one unit would be valid for another and cannot be terminated without unintended consequences. The third impact noted by the committee was the need for more control and a greater centralization of the creation and use of FOAPAL strings, especially in larger colleges or units. The committee recognized a need for more specialized training and personnel with more accounting expertise as a fourth area of concern. As Rogue FOAPALs are identified, the necessary corrections require a greater understanding of the interrelationship between each FOAPAL segment. Finally, the Rogue strings create questions about the integrity of data within the system. Specifically, the NACUBO function, which defines the intended use or purpose of the fund, is imbedded within the Program Code. The use of incorrectly matched Fund and Program Codes will result in the misstatement of University operations in its Annual Report.

Rogue FOAPAL Strings Finding Rogue FOAPAL Strings Understanding FOAPAL Design Monthly Reconciliations Enhanced EDDIE Reports Customized Reports University Accounting Services Training and Communication How do you identify or find a Rogue FOAPAL String? The first step is to develop an understanding of the FOAPAL design and the relation of each segment to the other. For example, with State and ICR Funds, the first three digits of the Organization and Programs should be the same; for Gift Funds, the first three characters of the Fund title and the first three digits of the Organization Code should be the same; and for Self-Supporting Funds, the first three characters of the Fund title and the first three digits of the Organization and Program Codes should all be the same. Monthly reconciliations are extremely important and useful to identify and find Rogue transactions. In addition to matching individual transactions in the Operating Ledger to documents or lists of expected transactions, you should, where applicable (i.e.,Gift and Self-Supporting Funds), trace the total revenue, expenses and transfers in the Operating Ledger to the revenue, expense and transfer controls in the General Ledger reports. The handouts you received contain step-by-step procedures for monthly statement reconciliation and processes you can use to find Rogue FOAPALs when the reconciliation uncovers them. OBFS is in the process of developing additional enhanced EDDIE reports to assist units in identifying Rogue FOAPALs. Some departments have been successful in developing their own custom reports to identify Rogues. Others use a separately maintained listing of transactions and expected balances to compare with their Banner statements. We in University Accounting Services can also assist units in finding Rogues if they are still having difficulty. Banner training continues to be available through University Accounting & Financial Reporting. We encourage units that develop useful queries and reports that help to identify Rogue strings to share those with other units.

Rogue FOAPAL Strings Preventing Rogue FOAPAL Strings Fund code defaults Index codes Departmental review FOAPAL string listings Training and Communication We just talked about methods to identify Rogue FOAPAL Strings…But how do we prevent them? The short answer is, “Without significant and costly policy and process changes to the Banner system, we don’t.” As long as a human element is involved in the system, there are going to be errors. But, there are some steps we can take to lessen the chance of errors. One way to reduce the error rate is through the use of Fund Code defaults. Defaults can be set for Funds, other than State and ICR, that will automatically insert an Organization and Program code when the fund code is entered on a Banner form. Another option is the use of Index Codes to create default FOP strings for transactions. This would work well for JVs; however, not all Banner input forms and feeder transactions have the capability to use index codes. More attention to detail through increased departmental review at early levels in the processing cycle can help prevent the creation of Rogue FOAPAL Strings. For example, review your input in journal vouchers, invoice vouchers, purchase orders…all electronic transactions before you complete or submit them. Once they are submitted or completed with an incorrect segment a Rogue is created. Some departments have created an internal listing of their own valid FOAPAL strings to reduce the chances of mismatching segments. This practice could be a lot of work since the information must be maintained centrally and updated regularly to be of value. Finally, we continue to stress training and communication at all levels within individual units and throughout the University.

Rogue FOAPAL Strings Correcting transactions posted to rogue FOAPAL strings Payroll appointment changes (EPAF) Labor redistributions (PZAREDS) Budget transfers or corrections Contact University Accounting Services or the Budget Office P-Card Defaults (P-Card System) Invoices (Banner Xtender) Once you find the Rogue FOAPAL, how do you correct transactions posted to it? If the error is the result of a payroll appointment, the appointment must be changed through EPAF. In addition to changing the appointment, you will need to process labor redistributions using PZAREDS to transfer personnel charges that have previously posted. You cannot use journal vouchers to transfer personnel charges. If budget transfers or corrections are necessary, please contact either University Accounting Services or the Budget Office for assistance. If the transaction was the result of an erroneous P-Card default value, you will need to work with Purchasing to correct the default values within the P-Card system. For errors resulting from the posting of Invoice Vouchers, you should review the vendor invoices through Banner Xtender to determine if they belong to your department or another unit and then make the entries necessary to correct the error. It may be necessary to contact University Payables for copies if the vendor invoices are not available in Banner Xtender.

Rogue FOAPAL Strings Correcting transactions posted to rogue FOAPAL strings Purchase Orders and Requisitions Contact Purchasing Department Cash sales or receipts Contact University Student Financial Services and Cashier Operations Journal Vouchers (excludes personnel expense) General Encumbrances If the Rogue string was created as the result of an error on a Purchase Order or Requisition, you will need to work with Purchasing to determine what corrective action is necessary. If Cash Sales or Reports of Money Received are posted incorrectly, you will need to review the document to determine what correction is needed. Copies of those documents may be obtained from University Student Financial Services and Cashier Operations by specifying the document number shown in the description and the transaction date. Posted journal vouchers can be reviewed on-line using FGIDOCR. A description of the transaction and the individual responsible for it should be available in the FOATEXT associated with the journal voucher. General Encumbrances created by the department must be researched within the department and corrected by the department.

Rogue FOAPAL Strings OBFS Website www.obfs.uillinois.edu Banner Alerts and Resources – Banner Finance Toolkit JV Feeder Document Prefixes Banner Rule Codes FOAPAL and Index code maintenance requests OBFS Home > Form > Accounting & Financial Reporting These are some resources available and accessible on the OFBS Website. You may be familiar with some of this information, but the JV Feeder Document Prefix listing may be particularly helpful in identifying the source of a particular charge.