AFM Newsletter for July 28, 2022

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Published:
July 28, 2022

In This Issue:

 

  • AFM and ISO Ask Staff to be Wary of Security Attacks and Scams
  • Costing Allocation Deadline – September 1st
  • Inventory Certifications Due in August
  • DEFINE Changes to Support Contract Monitoring
  • In Case You Missed It: AFM Celebrates New Hires
  • Submit Newsletter Feedback and Article Suggestions to AFM@austin.utexas.edu

AFM and ISO Ask Staff to be Wary of Security Attacks and Scams

 

We would like to remind everyone to please be cautious of possible phishing attacks and identity theft scams. The Information Security Office (ISO) provides resources on their website on ways to be vigilante against such attempts. We recommend checking out the video modules page (UT EID required) on topics such as:

If you ever run into any matters regarding security concerns, please email security@utexas.edu.


Costing Allocation Deadline – September 1st

 

All costing allocation changes must reach final approval in Workday by noon on September 1st in order for the corresponding cost transfer to be processed in the current fiscal year. Any costing allocation changes final approved after this deadline will be included in cost transfers processed on Wednesday, September 7th as a prior year cost transfer.


Inventory Certifications Due in August

 

The last day to submit inventory certification for the 2021-2022 fiscal year is August 22nd.  Final Inventory Certification reminders were sent on July 19th

Why do we do Inventory Certifications?

The provisions of the 52nd Legislature, Regular Session 1951, House Bill Number 753, Section 5 (3), require state organizations such as the University of Texas to take a complete physical inventory of all capitalized and controlled equipment in their possession every fiscal year. The purpose of the annual inventory certifications is to ensure that University is being a good steward of public funds.

What if you don’t turn in your certifications?

Failure to submit an inventory certification may result in an audit of the department’s inventory and inventory procedures. You will also be required to submit a memo from the department head (signed/acknowledged by your CUBO representative) for certifications that are incomplete or those that include missing items (totaling over 2% of the department’s inventory value.) Please see HBP 16.3.B for full information.

For any questions regarding annual inventory certifications, please contact Inventory Services at INVgeneral@austin.utexas.edu.


DEFINE Changes to Support Contract Monitoring

 

As of July 5, there are new and updated fields in VP2 and VPE payment documents in *DEFINE. A new required field called Contract? will allow document creators to indicate whether the payment voucher includes transactions related to a business contract that exists in Contracts+. The PO/CONTR# field (formerly the PO NBR field) will associate a specific contract number with the transaction. These changes are part of a project to improve how UT tracks payments related to business contracts that exist in Contracts+.

When do you enter Y for Yes into the Contact? field?

An answer of Y for Yes indicates the payment includes transactions related to a business contract that exists in Contracts+. If the document creator enters a Y in the Contract ? field, they are required to enter the contract number from Contracts+ in the field labeled PO/CONTR # at the transaction level on all relevant transactions. The contract number entered into the PO/CONTR # field must be in one of the following Contracts+ formats:

  • YYYY_NNNN
  • YYYY-NNNNN
  • DMS_NNNN

When do you enter N for No into the Contact? field?

An answer of N for No indicates the payment does not include any transactions related to a business contract that exists in Contracts+, and the document creators should follow their normal processing practices and procedures. Some additional examples where N for No would be the appropriate response include business contracts with a contract ID that begins with the letters CN and research/construction contracts that are not entered into Contracts+.

What do you do if the payment document includes both Contracts+ and non-Contracts+ transactions, and both need something entered in the PO/CONTR # field?

Contracts+ and non-Contracts+ transactions cannot be included in the same payment document. In this situation, you will need to create two separate payment documents. One document for the Contacts+ transactions and a second for the non-Contracts+ transactions.

  • Marking the field as ‘Y’ for yes and entering a non-Contracts+ purchase order or contract number, will result in severe audits. You will not be allowed to continue processing if the appropriate ‘PO/CONTR #’ is not entered.  
  • If you are processing an invoice related to a non-Contracts+ agreement, please ensure the ‘Contract?’ field is marked ‘N’ for no and proceed with processing as you have historically. 

Additionally, any local documentation (documentation within your college, school, or unit) related to processing VPE and VP2 documents will need to be updated to reflect these changes.

For detailed information regarding the project to add this functionality, please visit Procurement and Payment Services’ Tracking Contract+ Payments to Improve Contract Monitoring project page.


In Case You Missed It: AFM Celebrates New Hires

 

AFM has new hires for June and July. Read the previous newsletter to learn more about this.


Submit Newsletter Feedback and Article Suggestions to AFM@austin.utexas.edu

 

Many thanks to the readers who have written in with suggestions and feedback about the newsletter. Please continue to write in with any suggestions for improvements or comments to the AFM@austin.utexas.edu email address.