Year End Memo 2021

May 2021

 

Dear Faculty and Staff Colleagues:

Wednesday, June 30, is the last day of the College’s fiscal year (FY21).

This memo is packed with important accounting concepts and deadlines related to the fiscal year-end process and audit. You’ll find further details at https://controller.williams.edu/.

 

Appropriate Use of Funds

College funds must be used for their approved purpose only.  Please do not use funds for any purpose other than as approved in the budget process.  For example, within your accounts, unspent travel funds shouldn’t be used to purchase equipment (or vice versa).

Employee Recognition

Operating budget funds may not be used to financially recognize or appreciate employees including students. The college has policies and procedures for recognition, supporting our goal for employees and students to be recognized consistently across campus.

Gift Cards

In general, gift cards are considered by the IRS to be taxable income to the recipient.  Gift cards should not be purchased and given to employees for services or gifts.  If you feel you must use a gift card please contact Susan Hogan, Controller ([email protected]).

Travel

As we return to a more “normal” travel environment a reminder that travel costs are expensed in the fiscal year that the travel occurs, not in the fiscal year that the travel is booked.  For example, if an airline ticket is purchased in June 2021 for travel in September 2021 that travel will be expensed (hit your budget) in fiscal year 2022.  You cannot use fiscal 2021 budget funds to purchase travel that will be taken in a future fiscal year.  (This is explained further in the “prepaid” section of this memo below.)

For those employees who have unused airline credits issued as a result of the pandemic please alert Christina Gregory, Sr. Accountant ([email protected]) when you book travel and use those credits.

Faculty Funding

Fund 110 department operating budget accounts close out on June 30 each year.  Individual research accounts will continue to adhere to traditional roll-over caps as defined by the Dean of the Faculty Office.  Named Chair questions should be directed to Megan Konieczny  and Division accounts to Justine Beringer.

Remote access to finance

In order to access financial reports and to do many of the things listed below you will need remote access to the finance system.  Please follow the steps as outlined at

https://controller.williams.edu/articles/remote-access-for-williams-finance-systems-processes/

Journal Entries

Entries that need to be made to transfer funds between departments / projects, or between ps accounts within a department / project should be submitted by the end of day July 12, 2021.  If you realize that a je is required after this date please email [email protected] to see if that can be done.

Purchasing cards and reconciliations

Purchasing card transactions posted through June 27 will be processed as FY21 activity.

P-card expenses are posted daily for your review and accounting changes. Please go into the P-card system and approve your transactions at least weekly (by Thursday midnight). Approved transactions will post each Friday to your account and will be available for viewing on Monday which will allow you to see the most up-to-date balances.

For details on how to submit P-card reconciliations, please visit our reconciliation and submission guide on the Controller’s Office website.

 Accounts Payable (AP)

AP vouchers will continue to be processed electronically only.  Even after a return to campus we will no longer accept paper vouchers.

 

AP vouchers should be entered into finance once the work is satisfactorily completed, or the item is received in acceptable condition and the invoice is received and approved. You can find information regarding processing of AP vouchers, including the ability to copy and edit an existing voucher to a new voucher on these pages:

We continue to encourage all payments to be made by direct deposit.  Vendors can submit their information securely via our online forms (see below). Direct deposits for AP payments are processed every Wednesday. Paper checks are issued on the 15th of each month.

Tax form Upload – Formstack

Direct Deposit Enrollment – Formstack

The deadline for submitting vouchers to be expensed in FY21 is Friday, June 25. The final check run for this fiscal year, including both paper checks and direct deposits, will be on Wednesday, June 30. Payments to vendors will be made according to the vendor payment terms.  Please note that an item doesn’t need to be paid in order for it to be expensed and charged against your FY21 budget. As long as your voucher is processed by our office and the goods or services have been received, the expense will hit this fiscal year’s budget, even if the vendor payment terms call for the payment to be made after the deadline.

To ensure that items that meet the requirements to be expensed to next year’s FY22 budget are processed next year (FY22), please submit the voucher after July 1 only.

AP Accruals

To record expenses in FY21 for items or services over $1,000 that were received or rendered but not yet billed by June 30, please request an accrual. As an example, you should accrue an invoice for a shipment of materials that arrived on June 15 but didn’t bill until June 26.

To generate an accrual, please send an email to Christina Gregory.  The email should include a description of the purchase, the amount and date received, and the PeopleSoft account number to be charged (PS account, fund and department or project).  Attach a copy of your invoice or shipping document.

Prepaid Expenses

Please process as a prepaid any item or service over $1,000 that must be paid before June 30, but will not be received or rendered until after June 30. As an example, if you make a room deposit now for an event scheduled after June 30, this would be a prepaid item.

To submit a voucher as a prepaid:

  • Create an electronic voucher request in Finance, submit the voucher as you normally would but enter PREPAID as the first word in the description field.

Accruals and prepaids should be sent to Christina Gregory by Friday, July 9.

Carry-forward funds

As in prior years, the following funds will carry forward to next fiscal year:

  • Division research accounts up to maximum amount allowed
  • Named chair accounts up to maximum amount allowed
  • Faculty research accounts
  • Continuing start-up funds

Equipment disposals:

If you have disposed of or traded in any equipment with an original value of over $5,000 during the year, please notify Justin Kinney.

 Reports

Financial reports are updated daily and are available on the web.  To access the reports from off campus you will need to use VPN and go to  https://finance.williams.edu/.  If you cannot access your reports online please contact [email protected].  Please refer to the department or project number that you need and we will assist you.

Contact information

[email protected] – for help with anything related to accounts payable

[email protected] – for help with anything related to purchasing cards

[email protected] – for help with anything related to financial reports, processing financial information and transactions

 

If you must deliver paper please either place the documents in the box in front of the door to the Accounts Payable Office in Hopkins Hall (first floor) or mail them to:

Williams College

Accounts Payable

P.O. Box 67

Williamstown, MA  01267

 

Thank you for your attention and for your ongoing flexibility!

Your friends in the Williams College Controller’s Office