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Ther e wi l l be NO
Januar y meet i ng due
t o t he hol i day br eak .
The nex t meet i ng
wi l l be hel d
Tuesday , Febr uar y 10
f r om 9: 30 am - 11: 00 am
i n t he At chaf al aya
Room, LSU St udent Uni on .
Office of Accounting Services Monthly Newsletter
204 Thomas Boyd Ha l l Ba ton Rouge , LA 70803 (225 ) 578-3321 www. fas . l su .edu/Acc tSe rv ices
Issue 363 January 2015
Inside this Issue
Administration 2
SPA 4
Procurement 5
Payroll 6
LaCarte 9
Travel 10
LSU Acronyms 12
Financial Accounting & Reporting
1099 Tax Forms 1099 forms issued to LSU should be forwarded to Jen Richard in Financial Accounting & Reporting, 204 Thomas Boyd Hall.
Petty Cash
Petty cash funds are governed by FASOP: AS-03 which can be found at http://www.fas.lsu.edu/fas/fasOps/FASOP_AS-03.pdf. All petty cash entries must include documentation of items purchased including, but no limited to, the following:
Date of purchase
Clear description of item purchased
Name of vendor
Amount paid
Signature and printed name of employee making purchase
Description of purpose
Restricted Accounts The Board of Supervisors approved resolutions in 2013 allowing departments to establish restricted accounts to record the following:
Registration fees collected in departments and colleges that offer training, academic sessions, camps, professional development and conferences; and
Space usage fees collected in departments to be used exclusively for the operation and maintenance of these venues.
A memo was distributed on August 21, 2013 that provides additional information. The memo can be found at http://www.fas.lsu.edu/AcctServices/forms/officeadmin/DDD%20Memos/AS-14-02.pdf. Depart-ments requesting a restricted account must complete an AS505 “Request for Restricted Self-Generated Account” and forward it to Financial Accounting & Reporting, 204 Thomas Boyd Hall. The form can be found at http://www.fas.lsu.edu/AcctServices/forms/far/AS505.pdf.
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Administration
February Business Managers’ Meeting There will be NO January meeting due to the holiday break. Meetings will resume in February. The topics to be presented at the February 10th meeting are as follows: Risk Management Autonomy Transition Student Employment Best Practices & FASOP Tentative – Demo of Applying Unused Tickets on
STO Meeting dates for the remainder of the fiscal year are as follows: March 10, April 14 and May 12 (Fiscal Yearend Seminar). Meetings are normally held in the Atchafalaya Room of the LSU Union (room 339) at 9:30 – 11:00 am. To be added to the Business Managers Mailing List, submit an idea for a future topic, or submit specific questions on topics announced for future meetings, please contact Maria Cazes at [email protected]. Information on prior meetings can be found at http://www.fas.lsu.edu/acctservices/archive.html. Special Accommodations for Training Courses Please be reminded that employees should communi-cate the need for special accommodations in training during the registration process via myLSU. When registering for classes through myLSU, please note any special needs or accommodations on the 'Profile' page, which is the first page that appears after clicking on "HRM Training Programs." Additionally, each of the in-structors in any training offered by Accounting Services can arrange one-on-one instruction of their topics to accommodate such requests. Newsletter Mailing List The Accounting Services newsletter is no longer printed and available electronically only. The .pdf version is e-mailed by Danita King monthly once the newsletter is available. In addition, the online version is posted to the Accounting Services home page by the 5th of each month – click “Newsletter”. Newsletters for the prior year can be found at http://www.fas.lsu.edu/acctservices/archive .html. To be added to the Newsletter Mailing List, contact Danita King at [email protected]. W-9 Requests All requests for a W-9 should be forwarded to Brenda Wright at [email protected] or Desiree Esnault at
Financial Accounting & Reporting continued...
Reporting Tools Online ledgers/reports can be accessed by: Logging into myLSU Selecting Financial Services Selecting Reporting Tools Important Notes Populate all parameters marked with an asterisk
(*). Verify the data being entered is in the proper
parameter format – for example December 31, 2014 month end date should be entered as 20141231 (YYYYMMDD).
Verify mainframe access for that account, department or college.
Adjust the print area through the Print Preview toolbar function when printing reports.
Security Access – GLS Individuals requiring access to GLS must submit a request through the online Security Access Request System. The View and Initiate GLS Entries (GLSVIEW) function will allow individuals to view information in GLS and Reporting Tools and bring an entry to incomplete status for their designated account scope. The View/Initiate/Balance GLS Entries (GLSUPDATE) function will provide all of the functions of GLSVIEW and allow an individual to bring an entry to pending status (F3).
Bank Reconciliation Contact us at [email protected] for questions/requests related to bank reconciliation to include the following: Stop payment requests Check copy requests Check status requests Unclaimed property Unrecorded deposits Expected wire or ACH payments In addition, the AS32: Stop Payment Request and AS500: Request for Copy of an LSU Check forms can be found at http://www.fas.slu.edu/AcctServices/far_b/ form.asp. Please ensure the most recent version is used when requesting information. Completed forms can be scanned and e-mailed to [email protected].
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[email protected]. This document must be signed by Associate Vice Chancellor Donna Torres on behalf of the university. The W-9 will be sent directly to the vendor from Accounting Services with a copy sent to the requesting department. Vendor Applications When LSU does business with an organization, the University (department) must enroll or register in that organization’s vendor database. This will oftentimes be referred to as the vendor application or enrollment process. During the registration process, various documents may be requested by the vendor such as a vendor application referenced above. It is the responsibility of the department to initiate the vendor application process by completing as much information as possible on the vendor application or enrollment form. This form will vary by vendor and will ask for specific information pertaining to the department, contact information, goods/services, etc. Note: it is common for a W-9 to be requested during this process. Upon completion, forms should be forwarded to Maria Cazes at [email protected]. The proper signature will be obtained and the documents will be returned to the requesting department or submitted directly to the vendor. Unclaimed Property Notifications If a department receives notification regarding unclaimed property due to their department, please submit the correspondence to Maria Cazes at [email protected]. Any information or history related to the referenced unclaimed property would be helpful in determining if the claim is legitimate and LSU is actually due any money. The claim will be researched within Accounting Services. If LSU is due the unclaimed property, Accounting Services will complete the paperwork, obtain appropriate signatures, and submit the claim. Maria will keep the department informed of the claim status from submission to the receipt of funds. Departments Moving Locations When a department on campus moves from one location/building to another, it is important that the departmental address be updated by informing Hope Rispone at [email protected]. Hope updates the “Department Address” in COA as this address is pulled for multiple purposes. There is also a web directory of departments on the LSU website that is updated
Administration continued...
through the “Editor” in each department. Editors may log in to their myLSU account, click Departmental Directory link, click My Listings and edit accordingly. New or additional directory editors should be sent to Tamara Mizell in Communications & University Relations at [email protected]. Departments may also consider the following to “spread the word” and: Send an e-blast to various departments informing
them of their new address so that information may be distributed among its unit to update any internal databases or label sets.
Contact Communications & University Relations to determine if a broadcast e-mail is an appropriate option.
Update their website, business systems, etc. Document Imaging Various documents that route to Accounting Services, Procurement and HRM are scanned by the Document Imaging section of Accounting Services to be stored as official University documents. Since these documents are oftentimes retrieved by Accounting Services person-nel and/or auditors, it is extremely important that the documents are legible. The workflow involved in imaging documents is a very tedious and time consuming pro-cess. In an effort to keep the workflow steady and avoid having to manually edit images, please use the following tips: Use white paper. Tape receipts to 8 ½ x 11 paper. The tape should not
cover the amounts on the itemized receipts since it tends to fade the ink which may make it harder to read once the document is imaged. Do not staple the receipts to the 8 ½ x 11 white sheet of paper.
Use fluorescent yellow highlighter. Other highlighters such as pink, blue, purple, etc. cause the information to be “blacked out” when imaged which causes Imaging personnel to manually adjust each individual page.
Use blue or black ink when writing on documents. Avoid using red or other colored ink pens.
Ensure that the document you are sending to be processed is legible. If an original is already difficult to read, the imaged version will be even harder. Signatures should be legible.
Ensure that copiers and desktop printers have dark ink/toner.
Replace ribbon on adding machines as soon as it
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Administration continued...
Fixed Price Agreements Fixed price agreements should be treated like cost reimbursable agreements during the agreement period. If the work is not completed by the expiration date, a no cost extension should be requested through your campus Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to the sponsor. Normally, a fixed price agreement should have a 10% or less unexpended balance when the project is completed. A large unexpended balance could mean that project charges were charged to another sponsored agreement or to state funds. It could also mean that the proposed budget was improper (non-project related costs were included). Tentative Account numbers When completing an AS494 “Request for Tentative Account Number” form, please ensure a contact name and phone number are listed on the form. The contact person will be notified when the account number is established. Please contact Keri Tweed at [email protected] or 578-2032 with any questions. Board of Regents (BOR) Graduate Fellows Status reports and invoices are due to BOR by January 31, 2015, for continuing LEQSF graduate fellowship and doctoral contracts. Please submit the status reports to Sponsored Program Accounting by Friday, January 9 as they are needed for invoice preparation. Reports must be submitted timely to SPA in order for the reports and invoices to be mailed to BOR by the due date. If you have any questions, please contact Brad Zimmerman at 578-4879 or [email protected]. Travel expenditures charged to a sponsored agreement must benefit the project. Please ensure that the Travel Expense Reimbursement Request (AS300) is complete and a description of the travel is included. Overdrawn accounts University policy states that restricted accounts are the responsibility of the department and should not be in an overdraft status. However, some accounts may be in an overdraft status which are acceptable due to extenuating circumstances (such as, a multi-year agreement, incrementally funded agreement or a pending request for additional funding). It is imperative that immediate attention be given to such accounts and appropriate
Sponsored Program Accounting becomes light.
Send originals when available (no carbon copies). Only send pages that are relevant to the document
being processed. For example, if an e-mail is used as back-up and only a phone number or a graphic is printed on the second page, the second page serves no relevant purpose and should not be sent to Accounting Services as part of back-up documentation. If “scratch paper” is being used to print documentation, then the pages containing irrelevant text will also be scanned and part of official University documents – so be cautious when recycling paper.
Mark page numbers accordingly such as page 1 of 3, page 2 of 3, and page 3 of 3.
Shredder Accounting Services has an industrial-sized shredder located on the 4th floor of Thomas Boyd Hall that de-partments can reserve. To reserve the shredder, please send an e-mail to [email protected]. The e-mail should include the day and time of your requested ap-pointment. In an effort to allow all departments across campus to utilize the shredder and maintain the work flow internal to our office, we have limited the use to 2-hour increments. Appointments can be made for 8:00 to 10:00 am, 10:00 to 12:00 pm, and 1:00 to 3:00 pm. If a department is more than 15 minutes late, the ap-pointment may be rescheduled. If a department has a project that includes a large amount of paper to be shredded and a timeline to abide by, we will do our best to accommodate. Any departments using the shredder will be trained on how to safely operate the shredder, clean the general area, and proper disposal of the bags of shredded paper. Note that the shredded bags of paper must be transported to the dumpster outside T Boyd & Middleton Library and can be fairly heavy when being moved. Also, due to budget con-straints, departments with a large amount of shredding may be required to purchase and replenish shredder bags and oil. Note: this equipment does not dispose of microfilm or microfiche - it is intended for paper only.
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Expenditure Freeze Departments are reminded to add a comment and attach necessary documentation in the Remarks section in PRO or in the Internal Notes section in LSU GeauxShop to identify the exemption the purchase falls under PRIOR to submitting orders. Failure to add the exemption note will result in processing delays. NOTE: The AS900 form is only needed if the purchase falls under one of the 4 exemptions noted on the form OR if the purchase does not meet the criteria of any exemption and you are requesting an exception. Click here for more information on the spending freeze and LSU’s implementation plan. Professional, Personal and Consulting Services For contracts that are subject to the Office of
Contractual Review (OCR), it takes approximately 4 weeks for the review and approval process to take place. This time frame is in addition to obtaining the vendor’s signature. Please be aware that payment cannot be made until OCR has approved and returned these contracts to LSU.
To check the status of a purchase order or contract that is pending, click continue on the PO header screen and view the status under “PPCS Information.”
When creating a requisition from a purchase order, verify and modify the pertinent information on the new requisition, such as the cost, dates and attachments. Delete attachments that may not apply to the new requisition.
Photography, videography, or graphic design services will ALWAYS require a contract (regardless of the dollar amount) due to ownership issues.
Procurement Reminders NO COMPETITION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL ITEMS LESS
THAN $5,000. However, to ensure that equipment items are tagged in accordance with State Property laws, per FASOP: PUR-05 equipment is NOT to be charged to LaCarte. To purchase equipment items between $1,000 and $5,000, a requisition must be released to Procurement with a single quote attached.
action taken to clear the overdrafts. Source Documents All requests from sponsors for source documents must be routed to the appropriate SPA contact. Please do not provide source documents to the sponsors because the official financial records for the University are located in Accounting Services. The SPA contact can be found on the COASPA screen (F3 key) of the Chart of Accounts (COA). The SPA contact can also be found by accessing the Grant/Contract Account Information query under Reporting Tools through Financial Services in myLSU. Request to Establish Scholarship/Fellowship (AS498) must be completed for sponsored agreements paying scholarships and/or fellowships. The form can be found on SPA’s webpage or http://www.fas.lsu.edu/AcctServices/forms/spa/as498.pdf. In order to expedite processing, please ensure that the following criteria information is provided:
Name of Scholarship/Fellowship
College and Department
Student classification and major
GPA for original award and GPA to be retained
Time frame of scholarship/fellowship and whether part-time or full-time enrollment is required
Semester(s) awarded
Other requirements
Amount Personnel Activity Reports (PARs) Please certify and return all outstanding FY 2014 and the below FY 2015 PARs now. If applicable, ensure cost sharing is documented before returning the PARs. In addition, all signatures must be in blue or black ink and contain the date of certification. PAR 3 — FY 2014 Due date 10/27/14 PARs A & B — FY 2015 Due date 11/17/14 PARs C & D — FY 2015 Due date 12/01/14 PAR 5 — FY 2015 Due date 11/24/14 Please contact the appropriate PAR analyst with any questions. Meg Wesson is the contact for wage PARs (PARs A – L) and Sarah Ulkins is the contact for Academic and Fiscal PARs (PARs 1 – 3 and 5 – 8). Meg can be reached at 578-2144 or [email protected]. Sarah can be reached at 578-1430 or [email protected].
Sponsored Program Accounting continued...
Procurement
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Payroll
Before attaching any documents in the PRO system, please ensure that they are NOT password protected. If an attachment is password protected, an error message will be displayed when attempting to send the purchase order.
Training All PRO Demo and LSU GeauxShop training classes will resume February 2015. Register for classes via myLSU (PAWS), under Employee Resources - HRM Training Programs.
Otherwise, process a Separation form to terminate the
student from employment.
Please process separation forms for any students who
graduated in December or who did not return to work
after the semester break.
Student Timesheets due early:
Procurement continued...
Academic Pay Basis
Please use pay basis 14 for spring semester only
academic employees and pay basis 84 for spring
semester only academic graduate assistants. These
employees will receive four equal checks with the first
payday on Thursday, February 21. If an employee is
starting during the spring semester but is in a nine-
month position, then pay basis 11 rather than 14, and
pay basis 81 rather than 84, should be used.
Insurance
It is important for employees to review their
December and January paystubs to ensure the
coverage options elected during Annual Enrollment
are reflected correctly. For employees who elected
LSU First or Vantage Home HMO, coverage will be
effective January 1. For employees who elected an
OGB plan under Blue Cross, coverage will be effective
March 1, and deductions will be reflected in the their
February 2015 paychecks. If there is a discrepancy, it
should be reported to Human Resources (HR)
immediately. Employees should also report to HR if
they have not received ID cards for newly elected
coverage. This will ensure benefits are available when
needed.
Monitor work study and chancellor student aid year-
to-date-paid amounts against the allocation
amounts. When a student has been paid their total
allocation amount, a Change in Source of Funds form
should be processed so that future earnings are
charged to the departmental budget account.
Payroll continued...
Payroll Voucher # Timesheets Due
Student 075-27 Friday, January 16, 2015
2014 W-2's Delivered Through myLSU
The 2014 W-2 forms will be delivered electronically
through myLSU for all current employees who have a
myLSU account. Paper copies of W-2's will be generated
for current employees who do not have a myLSU account,
and for terminated or retired employees. The electronic
W-2 forms will be available on or before January 23.
Paper copies for current employees will be sent to
departments via campus mail by January 31. Paper
copies for terminated and retired employees will be
mailed directly to the employee on January 31.
To access W-2 forms through myLSU, select Financial
Services, then Tax Documents.
Duplicate LSUID’s for Employees
An employee can only be paid under one LSUID number.
The process to merge LSUID numbers is time consuming
and may delay an employee’s payment.
To prevent creating a second LSUID number for an
employee with an existing LSUID number in Directory,
always enter the employee’s SSN when loading the new
appointment form. If the employee already has a LSUID
number on file then that number will automatically be
populated.
Employment of Minors
The Student Payroll Office is authorized to grant
Employment Certificates to LSU student employees who
have graduated from high school but not yet reached the
age of 18. Please contact Angie Ogle at [email protected]
for more details. Please direct students needing an
Employment Certificate to the Payroll Office.
Any employer desiring to employ a minor must complete
an “Intention to Employ Form” which can be downloaded
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Payroll continued...
from www.laworks.net. The form must be completed
describing the type of work to be performed and must
be signed by the minor’s parent or guardian, and
presented to an authorized issuing officer of the parish
Superintendent of Schools in the parish where the
work is to be performed. The minor must obtain an
“Employment Certificate” from the issuing officer
before beginning employment. The certificate cannot
be back dated since the system assigns the date when
entered. It is a violation, subject to fines if the
employer allows work to be performed prior to the
certificate period.
Minors aged 14-17 are prohibited from working in
hazardous jobs. They cannot work more than three (3)
hours on any day or eighteen (18) hours during any
week, in which school is in session. They cannot work
more than six (6) consecutive days in one (1) week or
more than eight (8) hours in any day when they are out
of school or school is not in session.
Sixteen year old minors may work until 11:00 pm, and
17 year old minors until midnight on days prior to a
school day. They may not, however, report to work
prior to 5:00 am on such days.
Helpful Hint when Completing the Electronic I-9 Form
If students are having problems accessing the form:
Check the Pop-Up blocker setting and ensure it is set to
allow Pop-Ups. The I-9 form will bring up a new
window. JAVA and cookies should also be enabled.
SSA Requirements for International Students
Any F-1 or J-1 student who will be employed by LSU
must apply for a social security number (SSN). The
procedures and requirements for international
employees to receive a SSN have recently been revised.
Detailed instructions for applying for a SSN can be
found at http://international.lsu.edu/IS/current/apply
forssn.php.
International Employees
International students and graduate assistants must
have a Work Permit approved by LSU’s International
Services Office before they can be employed on
campus. Newly appointed students will complete an
electronic Work Permit online through the HRS
Employee Information Page process. Once the Work
Permit is approved by International Services, it is part of
the employee’s online record and will update the
required fields in the payroll system.
International employees eligible for tax treaty benefits
for tax year 2015, but who are not currently
participating, may complete the appropriate forms to
apply for these benefits in 204 Thomas Boyd Hall. A
passport, visa, and I-20 or DS-2019 form are needed in
order to complete the forms. A listing of the eligible
countries can be found on the Payroll website.
International student employees, including GAs, must
not work over 20 hours per week while school is in
session. To ensure compliance with this federal
regulation, international graduate assistants are typically
not allowed to receive additional compensation. All
additional compensation for international graduate
assistants must be approved by the Graduate School
BEFORE the work is performed. This is a formal condition
listed on the Work Permit. Violations typically occur for
International GAs who hold a 50% effort assistantship.
50% effort assistantships are formally considered 20
hours per week of employment which is the maximum
amount of hours allowed under federal regulations.
Providing them with additional work beyond their
assistantship would exceed the 20 hours per week
limitation, and the student would be in violation of their
status in the United States. Any questions about the
work eligibility of international students or Graduate
Assistants should be directed to International Services.
I-9 Form Procedures for International Student Workers
and GAs
I-9 forms for international employees should be completed online through the HRS Employee Information
Page process. The online system includes edits to prevent the use of unacceptable documents while completing the I-9.
In the rare case where it is necessary to attach the I-9
form departments should be sure to use acceptable documents to certify employment. This is especially important for international students who have specific work authorization. For example, to use a Social Security
card for employment purposes there should be no restrictions listed on the card. A person in the U.S. on a
visa typically has a statement on their social security card
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information for item number 2. Once they submit the document the I-9 form will be routed to International
Services for approval.
Attached is the latest list of acceptable documents for form I-9 verification. Use this list to find an appropriate
document.
Payroll continued...
“valid for work only with DHS approval”. This state-ment prohibits the Social Security card from being
used as a list C document.
Student employees in the U.S. on a visa will select the “Alien Authorized to work until” option and then enter
the earliest expiration date of either their I-20 form,
DS-2019 form or passport. Next they will complete the
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Accounts Payable & Travel
Pending Invoices should be monitored in the PRO system on a regular basis using the Document Search screen. At the Document Search screen, select the Document Type of “Invoice” and the Status as “Pending Receiving Reports”. The search can be limited by one of the following:
Department Code (first 5 digits) Campus Business Manager Logon ID For PRO questions regarding Aged Listings, Pending Invoices or Receiving Reports, please contact one the following Invoice Processing contacts: Angie Mann 578-1620 or [email protected] Valery Sonnier 578-1541 or [email protected] Vanessa Santos 578-1531 or [email protected]
LSU GeauxShop questions regarding the invoice
workflow, please contact one of the following Invoice
Processing contacts:
Jessica Hodgkins 578-1545 or [email protected] Valery Sonnier 578-1541 or [email protected] Vanessa Santos 578-1531 or [email protected] For all other LSU GeauxShop questions, please e-mail [email protected]. AP & Travel Spring 2015 trainings have been scheduled and are available on the AP & Travel website under Trainings. To register for a particular session, log into myLSU => go to Employee Resources => select HRM Training Programs. Employees should communicate the need for special accommodations during the registration process.
Lacarte
Personalized office supplies that are specific to an employee’s preference or personality will be considered personal expenses and are not allowed on University funds. Examples of personalized purchases are pink staplers, pink mouse, monogrammed calendars and sta-tionery, etc. For questions, please contact Kathleen Elders at [email protected] or 578-8593.
1099-MISC and 1042-S Reporting Forms 1099 MISC will be mailed by January 31, 2015 to recipients of non-employee compensation (personal and professional services), other income and royalty payments. IRS Forms 1042-S will be mailed by the University in mid February 2015, to all foreign visitors receiving income, to all non-resident foreign students receiving exemptions and cash awards, and to all tax treaty benefit recipients. Internationals that plan to file a tax return claiming a refund of taxes withheld on income received will be required by the IRS to file with a valid SSN or ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number). The IRS will not accept tax returns filed under an international student LSUID (“89-" number). LSU’s “Expenditure Freeze” remains in effect through June 30, 2015. The Expenditure Freeze applies only to expenditures using state appropriated funds that are included in the University’s FY 2014-15 Operating Budget and/or identified with a zero (0) in the sixth digit of the account number. The Quick Reference Summary of LSU’s FY15 Expenditure Freeze Guidelines is available on the AP & Travel website or can be found at http://www.fas.lsu.edu/AcctServices/freeze.html. The Quick Reference Summary is a helpful tool to assist department personnel with meeting the documentation requirements for processing the procurement or payment transactions subject to the Expenditure Freeze. For questions regarding LSU’s “Expenditure Freeze”, please contact Patrice Gremillion at [email protected] or at 578-3366. Aged Listings of Outstanding Encumbrances as of December 31, 2014 will be distributed. Please review each purchase order balance on the listing. If an outstanding balance exists for items that will not be received, a purchase order alteration should be processed in the PRO system. The system will liquidate the encumbrance balance once the PO alteration is complete. For questions concerning PO’s, please contact Angie Mann at 578-1620 or [email protected] or Jessica Hodgkins at 578-1545 or [email protected]. Travel advance encumbrances are also included on the Aged Listings. For questions concerning travel advance encumbrances, please contact the Travel staff at 578-1550.
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LaCarte and CBA entries must be released to AP (RAPS status) with complete cost documentation no later than 30 days from the date of the purchase/transaction. LaCarte card privileges will be suspended if: LaCarte entries are greater than 45 days
outstanding and are not in “Released to Accounts Payable” (RAPS) status
LaCarte entries in RAPS status have incomplete cost documentation
Departments may request to have a cardholder privileges suspended if the cardholder is non-responsive or fails to adhere to departmental LaCarte business processes/guidelines
LaCarte card privileges will be revoked if: Repeat offenders violate the LSU’s Procurement
Rules and Regulations and/or FASOP: AS-20 “LaCarte Card Program Policy”
Card privileges have been suspended three times Suspended cardholders are non-responsive in
resolving their delinquent entries within 30 days of their card privileges being suspended
IMPORTANT PROGRAM CHANGE AT FISCAL YEAREND AP & Travel will no longer contact departments and/or cardholders for outstanding LaCarte or CBA entries. Departments are responsible for LaCarte and CBA entries not processed in the appropriate fiscal year. The consequence for noncompliance will be loss of funds to the departmental budgets. Please be reminded that during the month of June, the 30-day requirement is reduced to 7 days. An additional rollover of LaCarte and CBA entries will be implemented at the end of fiscal year 2015. The rollovers will be completed as follows: Rollover #1: LaCarte entries not released to AP (i.e., RAPS status) by close of business on the final due date will be rolled over into the next fiscal year. Accrual entries will not be accepted for any LaCarte entry that is rolled over. Rollover #2: LaCarte entries in RAPS status by the final due date with incomplete cost documentation that cannot be resolved by AP & Travel’s final completion date will also
be rolled over into the next fiscal year. Cardholder privileges may be suspended or revoked for cardholders with entries that roll over into the next fiscal year. Departments are strongly encouraged to stay current with all LaCarte and CBA entries throughout the year, especially during the month of June. For questions or concerns, please contact Patrice Gremillion at [email protected] or at 578-3366. For LaCarte-related questions, please contact a member
of the LaCarte staff:
DeAnna Landry 578-1544 or [email protected]
Theresa Oubre 578-1543 or [email protected]
Kathleen Elders 578-8593 or [email protected]
TRAVEL
Mileage for relocation expenses is reimbursed at the federal rate in effect at the time of the move. The mileage rate for calendar year 2015 is 23 cents (down from 23.5 cents). Itemized Receipts The AP & Travel office is receiving too many Travel Expense Reimbursement Request forms (AS300) without receipts for certain travel expenses such as, taxi, fuel for rental vehicles, etc. Please be reminded that the University Travel Policy states that itemized receipts are required cost documentation that must be provided in order to be reimbursed. Travelers should make sure itemized receipts for all out-of-pocket travel expenses are obtained and secured while in travel status. Travel-ers failing to provide an itemized receipt will not be reimbursed for that expense. For questions, please contact Jennifer Driggers at 578-3699 or [email protected]. Unused Airline Tickets Travelers/departments are required to monitor unused airline tickets on a continuous basis to ensure all unused airline tickets are being applied to new airline reservations when applicable. Therefore, departments are required to have procedures in place to monitor Unused Airline Tickets. The procedures should include obtaining written justifications from the travelers as to the business reason for the cancellation and the resulting unused airline ticket. This documentation should be kept
Accounts Payable & Travel continued...
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in a departmental unused airline ticket central file. However, if the airline ticket is reused, this documentation must also be included with the employee’s travel payment request for audit with the travel expenses. For any questions regarding the reusing of an unused airline ticket, please go to the Accounts Payable & Travel website, under Travel for the Airline Fee Guide listed under Airline Information. The Airline Fee Guide provides airline specific information on reusing unused tickets. If additional information is needed, please contact a Short’s Travel Agent at (888) 846-6810 or [email protected]. University Resources Available to monitor Unused
Airline Tickets:
1. Travelers receive 120, 90, 60, 30 and 14 day Ticket
e-mail notifications regarding unused airline
tickets in their name directly from Shorts Travel
2. Each campus receives Unused Airline Ticket
Reports on a monthly basis directly from Short’s
Travel
3. The Unused Airline Ticket Report by campus is
available on the AP & Travel website by the 15th of
each month.
Unused Airline Ticket E-mail Notifications Department Heads and Business Managers, including those individuals with a business manager profile, are copied on the automated unused airline ticket e-mail notifications sent from Short’s Travel to the travelers. This allows departments the ability to address the use of any unused airline tickets prior to expiration. IMPORTANT ENHANCEMENT TO SHORT’S TRAVEL ONLINE (STO) STO users now have the ability to make a request to apply an unused ticket credit toward the purchase of a new ticket. Travelers and Travel Arrangers can now see unused ticket credits within STO’s Search Results to assist them with choosing the best flight. They can easily request to apply an unused ticket credit toward the new ticket purchase at check-out. STO will only display fully open unused tickets with a value exceeding the airline penalty fee.
Accounts Payable & Travel continued...
When purchasing a ticket, the travelers will see their unused tickets for the airline selected and can request the credit be applied to their online booking. The reservation will be routed to a Short’s Travel Consultant to validate and apply the ticket credit less any airline exchange fees. The functionality does not exist today in the Global Distribution System (GDS) that allows for automating exchanges and for this reason if a traveler elects to apply an unused ticket credit, an agent transaction fee of $24 will apply. This is clearly stated on the check-out page, and the fee will also change from $5 to $24 if the user selects to use an unused ticket credit. If the reservation requires pre-trip approval, the total cost of the ticket (before exchange) will be displayed to the Travel Approver. The Travel Approver will see a message on the approval request when the traveler has requested to use an unused ticket credit. After the Short’s Travel Consultant exchanges the ticket, the confirmation invoice will reflect the final ticket cost including the original ticket amount, new ticket amount and airline exchange penalties. For a detailed booking example, please go to the AP & Travel website under Short’s Travel Management and select “Applying an Unused Ticket on Short’s Travel Online” or select the link directly at http://www.fas.lsu.edu/acctservices/forms/travel/Applying%20Unused%20Tickets.pdf. For travel related questions, please contact a member of the Travel staff: Arianna Elwell 578-6052 or [email protected] Ashley Matt 578-3697 or [email protected] Chantal Benjamin 578-3698 or [email protected] Jennifer Driggers 578-3699 or [email protected]
University Holiday
Monday, January 19
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Common Terms & Documents AMAF Award & Award Modification Approval Form BA Budget Adjustment BF Batch Feed CBA Central Billed Account CJ Compound Journal Voucher CR Cost Reimbursable CS Cash Journal Voucher CSAP Chancellor Student Aid Program CWSP College Work Study Program DJ Departmental Journal Voucher DT Departmental Transmittal EI Encumbered Internal Transaction ERP Enterprise Resource Planning F&A Facilities & Administrative Costs FASOP Finance and Administrative Services Operating Procedure FB Fringe Benefits FP Fixed Price GA Graduate Assistant GL General Ledger GLS General Ledger System HRS AUTH HRS Authority IPARF Internal Prior Approval Request Form IT Internal Transaction ITB Invitation to Bid ITIN Individual Taxpayer Identification Number JV Journal Voucher LSUID LSU’s Identification Number (replaces SSN in LSU’s computer systems) MC LaCarte entry (similar to CS, DT, IT, JV) NCE No Cost Extension PAF Personnel Action Form PAR Personnel Activity Report PAWS Personal Access Web Service PI Principal Investigator PM Permanent Memorandum PO Purchase Order PO ALT Purchase Order Alteration PPCS Personal, Professional & Consulting Services PRAF Proposal Routing & Approval Form PROAUTH PRO Authority PS Policy Statement RAPS Released to AP status RFP Request for Proposal RGE Record of Grant Establishment SJ Simple Journal Voucher SSN Social Security Number STO Short’s Travel Online TERR Travel Expense Reimbursement Request
Common Acronyms at LSU Below is a list of common acronyms affiliated with LSU and used on campus. It is very likely you will come across these acronyms in the Accounting Services newsletter or in training classes.
Departments & Organizations AP Accounts Payable & Travel AS Accounting Services BOR Board of Regents DOE Department of Energy FAR Financial Accounting & Reporting FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation FDN LSU Foundation FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency NIH National Institutes of Health NSF National Science Foundation ORED Office of Research and Economic Development OSP Office of Sponsored Programs PAY Payroll PROC Procurement PROP Property Management SACS-COC Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges SPA Sponsored Program Accounting SSA Social Security Administration TAF Tiger Athletic Foundation UAS University Auxiliary Services USDA United States Department of Agriculture
Financial Systems ABS Advanced Billing System APS Accounts Payable System BGT Budget COA Chart of Accounts DIR Directory ETA Employee Time & Attendance FMS File Management System GLS General Ledger System GSP GeauxShop HRS Human Resources System INS Insurance IPM Investment Portfolio Management LVT Leave Tracking PAR Personnel Activity Reporting PAY Pay Control PCARD Procurement Card PRO Procurement RCN Bank Reconciliation SAE Student Award Entry SPS Sponsored Program System SWC Workers’ Compensation TIS Treasurer Information System USM University Stores Management
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