Controller’s Office Departmental Information Session General Accounting May 25, 2004

General Accounting Who We Are Chris O’Brien - Associate Controller Ext John Wiswall - Assistant Controller Ext Kevin Armstrong – Accountant Ext Leslie Ardison – Sr. Accountant Ext Sean Bendall – Sr. Accountant Ext Kit Sum Lam – Sr. Accountant Ext Jane Lin – Sr. AccountantExt – Enes Sijamic – Equipment & Space Analyst Ext

The Accounting Basics Accountants maintain the financial records of the University, and prepare reports to various users, including: University Administration The Board of Trustees Government agencies Banks and other businesses At Brandeis, the main accounting software we use is called Peoplesoft. In addition, we use various sub-systems to track various detail records such as endowment assets, building costs, etc.

The Accounting Cycle At any point in time, a business has things it owns (assets), and debts (liabilities). These produce the basic accounting equation: ASSETS – LIABILITIES = NET ASSETS During the year, countless business transactions occur – supplies are purchased, tuition is collected, salaries are paid – which result in constant flows of funds into and out of University accounts. The flow of funds in is called revenue, and the flow out is called expense. If the net of all this activity is positive (more revenue than expense), the result is an increase in net assets. REVENUE – EXPENSES = CHANGE IN NET ASSETS

University Accounting Cycle Quarterly/Semi Annually -Effort Reporting - Check point of accounts - Various reports Monthly Closing Books -Labor reports -Budget manager reports -Account reconciliations Annually -Fiscal Year Reports - Financial Statements -Annual Audit -OMB A-133 Report Daily/Weekly -AP transactions -Procurement System -Development -HR/Payroll -Cash Receipts -Journals

Accounting at Brandeis Revenue and expense accounts are used to classify types of financial activity. They are sorted by fund, department (deptID), and program (similar to funding source). Here, as at all businesses, the accounting process has three basic steps: Transactions are recorded Balances are verified (reconciled) Reports are prepared

Accounting Reports 1.Monthly budget vs. actual reports to departments 2.Annual Financial Statements: –Statement of Activities (Income Statement) –Balance Sheet (Statement of Financial Position) –Statement of Cash Flows 3.Tax and survey filings based on Annual Financial Statements: –IRS form 990 –Mass. form PC –IPEDS Survey

Forms New Account Approval Account Associate Controller-General Accounting Department IDBudget Department Program Treasurer/Associate Controller-General Acctg Project ID – GrantOffice of Sponsored Programs\SPA Project ID – CAFCapital Projects Peoplesoft Chartfield Maintenance