Account Management
Account managers are responsible for maintaining, monitoring and changing their accounts information when necessary. It is up to the account managers to ensure that their accounts have the most accurate and up to date information. Account managers can use the SUNY Business Intelligence (BI) System to access all account activity and identify overspending and/or available balances. Monthly monitoring will allow account managers to assess their account progress throughout the fiscal year.
Making Changes to Your Accounts
- Allocation Transfers
At any time during the fiscal year, a department can request an allocation transfer to move allocation within the same fund between accounts and/or object codes. A Budget Allocation Transfer Form would need to be completed and submitted to the budget and financial reporting office.
Budget allocations can only be transferred within the same major fund, i.e., state to state, IFR to IFR, etc.
- Accounting Transfers
Revenue Transfer: If the account purpose allows, available revenue balances may be transferred to other accounts within the same fund (IFR to IFR, SUTRA to SUTRA) to supplement or provide additional funding. When moving a revenue balance from one account to another the overhead assessment remains in the account where the originating revenue was posted. The balance in the originating account (the account from which the funds will be drawn) must be sufficient to process the transfer.
Expenditure Transfer: If an expenditure is charged to an incorrect account (PSR, TS, OTPS), the expense must be transferred from the account it was charged to into the account that it should have been charged to originally. Expenditure transfers can be done between all fund types.
- New IFR Account Requests
Faculty and staff who anticipate new operating programs or functions involving the receipt of revenue to be deposited into an IFR account will need to request a new IFR account. To request a new IFR account, an IFR Account Request Form will need to be completed with the required signatures and submitted to the budget and financial reporting office. If there is a fee associated with the revenue being deposited into this account, then proof of the approved fee must be submitted along with the new account request. Proof of approval will include the signed Campus Fee Request Form by the vice president of administration and finance. The completed account request form must describe in detail the program activity associated with the account and what goods and/or services will be provided. Finally, an estimated Year 1 budget must be completed for the new account. The budget should include the estimated revenues that will be collected and the anticipated direct and indirect expenditures.
The IFR Account Request Form should be used to modify/change or inactivate an existing IFR account.
Account Manager Guide
- IFR Accounts
IFR accounts generate revenue related to self-supporting services and activities beyond those funded in the core operating budget (State Operating Fund). IFR accounts are to be self-sufficient and operate on a break-even or better basis including the costs of assessed indirect overhead expenses. IFR accounts have clear and defined income/expense relationships. Each IFR must generate revenue sufficient to cover costs incurred and be managed to a positive cash position. The IFR Fund creates a mechanism for the campus to operate and administer educationally related activities according to the following objectives:
- To receive and expend external funds, other than those external funds which would normally be received by the Research Foundation, the Plattsburgh Foundation, and College Auxiliary Services, on behalf of the campus.
- To conduct activities or provide services to students, employees, or others who will be charged fees for such service, the sum of which is intended to be approximately equal to the direct and indirect expenses of providing such activities and/or services.
- To recover costs from agencies or organizations using campus property or services.
- To conduct activities under contract with a third party providing services to the campus.
- Revenue
IFR accounts are funded from revenue generated for services provided by the campus such as student fees, conferences, facility rentals, and other sources of income outside of tuition and the college fee. Account managers must manage these funds in accordance with NYS laws and rules and must ensure that sufficient revenue is generated to support the commitments of the direct and indirect expenditures. Under no circumstances are individual bank accounts to be established to collect revenue. All incoming funds must be routed thru Student Accounts. Please direct any questions to the Budget and Financial Reporting Office.
- Expenditures
NYS requires that expenditures in an IFR account must be directly related to the purpose for which income was collected. This means that expenditures made from an IFR account must fall within the stated purpose of the account as described on the IFR Account Request Form and must be related to the reason for which the revenue was collected. Any violation of this principle could jeopardize the existence of an account. Expenditures in IFR accounts must comply with all procurement related policies and procedures.
- Fringe Benefit Assessment
Fringe benefit expenses are assessed on all salary expenditures excluding student employees in IFR accounts. Fringe benefit rates are established each year and provided to the campuses by SUNY System Administration. Administrative and Maintenance Overhead Assessments IFR accounts are assessed administrative and maintenance overhead in accordance with SUNY Policy MTP99-1. Currently, most IFR accounts are assessed a 5.6% administrative rate and an 8.7% maintenance overhead rate on revenue. Campuses are authorized to develop campus specific indirect cost waiver categories. Each campus can determine whether a particular IFR program should receive an exemption (waiver) from the indirect cost assessment. Requests for waiver can be sent to the Budget and Financial Reporting Office to be reviewed.
- IFR Budget Allocation
IFR account managers are required to complete an IFR Spending Plan template during the campus budget development process. The spending plan outlines the estimated cash balances, revenue and direct and indirect expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year. A spending plan must be completed in order to have allocation distributed to the IFR account. The allocation is the fiscal year’s budget and the account managers authority to spend within the allocation limits.
IFR allocations should be viewed as budgetary guides only. IFR cash balances determine operational spending limits. For example, if during the fiscal year an IFR account is not expected to receive the revenue it estimated in its’ Spending Plan than the account manager will need to reduce their planned expenditures to ensure their spending does not exceed the total revenue received during the fiscal year. Alternatively, if an IFR account receives more revenue during the fiscal year than originally estimated in the spending plan, the account manager can submit a revised spending plan with supporting justification to request additional allocation from the Budget and Financial Reporting Office.
- IFR Deficits
IFR accounts should maintain a positive cash balance. The expenses charged to an IFR account should be covered by the revenue in which that account takes in. IFR accounts that develop cash deficits as of 6/30 will have two years to eliminate that deficit. A two-year IFR Spending Plan along with a narrative must be submitted to the Budget and Financial Reporting Office addressing how the deficit will be resolved within the two-year time frame.
The Budget and Financial Reporting Office will monitor progress toward deficit elimination. If a fiscal year-end target is not attained, the vice president will be notified and given the opportunity to take immediate corrective action. If the deficit elimination plan is not brought into balance by September 1 the Budget and Financial Reporting Office will fund the deficit from another departmental IFR account or the Budget and Financial Reporting Office may reduce the VP’s area state allocation.
- Management of IFR Operations
The duties, responsibilities and authority of the IFR account managers are as follows:
- Maintain account integrity — The IFR program for which the account was established must generate sufficient revenues to support operational costs. Account activity must adhere to the original purpose for which it was created and approved. Any subsequent changes in purpose or scope should be documented on a new IFR Account Request Form.
- Review and verify account expenditures regularly using the Business Intelligence (BI) System to ensure accuracy. Identify and report inaccuracies to the appropriate offices.
- All account actions are the responsibility of the individual VP areas. Consequently, departments should submit all requests for new accounts, changes to accounts, allocation, cash and expenditure transfers to the appropriate approval authority who will submit to the Budget and Financial Reporting Office for processing.
- Definitions
Account: Is a numeric code that identifies an allocation to a specific department. This numeric code is created by the Budget and Financial Reporting Office to facilitate expenditures.
Allocation: The distribution of appropriated funds to campuses and departments for expenditure control.
Appropriation: The authority to spend up to the amount indicated and for the purpose stated.
General Income Fund Reimbursable (General IFR): A self-supported fund dedicated to campus operations and funded from revenues generated by campus programs and broad based fees.