1300 PR.01 Requesting, Modifying, and Closing Chart of Accounts Segments

Contents

1.     Overview

2.     Requesting New and Modifying COA Segments

3.     Closing COA Segments

4.     Timing of COA Segment Maintenance

This procedure assumes an understanding of the Chart of Accounts (“COA”), as implemented at the University.  For detailed information, refer to the Chart of Accounts website and to Policy 1300 Chart of Accounts Governance.

This procedure is intended to help users make informed decisions about requesting new, modifying, and closing COA segments.  It is further intended to assist in the preparation and completion of the COA Request Forms.

A.  Individuals With Authority to Request Changes

Any person authorized by a department’s Lead Administrator or central process owner within University Finance may submit a request to either obtain a new COA segment or modify an existing COA segment.  There are certain segments where the COA unit expects requests to come solely from University Finance central process owners, such as, central-only programs and projects, accounting, pay or funding components, etc. Requests to modify can be made at any time.

B.  Requesting a New COA Segment or COA Segment Modification

Appropriate request forms, with full instructions, can be found on the Chart of Accounts website.  Completed forms should be sent by email to coa@yale.edu.  Complete all sections of the form.  All fields are required, unless otherwise stated.

Requests to establish or modify Gift or Grant COA segments should follow the below guidance:

• Gift – all requests to establish or modify a Gift COA segment should be submitted to giftawards@yale.edu.
• Grant – all requests to establish or modify a Grant COA segment should be coordinated as part of the Award setup process through proposal development (“PD”) or via submission to the Office of Sponsored Projects (“OSP”) via a TranSum for non-PD submissions.  The Award Budget Setup (“ABS”) form is required for new award setups, and for those setups requiring more than one grant line in Workday. The ABS form can be found on the OSP forms page.  If that process is complete, please coordinate with the departmental contact in OSP.

Note: Requests associated with Gift Hierarchies and Grant Hierarchies are not part of this exception and must be sent to coa@yale.edu.

C.  Departmental Review of Requests for New and Requests to Modify

All request forms require departmental review and approval prior to submission to the Chart of Accounts unit.  Please note that the requestor and department approver must be different people.  The department approver must have authority over the cost center or business area and is typically the Lead Administrator or Operations Manager.  Requests originating from University Finance central process owners generally require the approval of the cognizant Controller, Associate Controller, and/or Budget Director.  Approval can be indicated in one of three ways:

• Approver sends the request to coa@yale.edu;
• Approver is carbon copied (“cc”) on the request submission; or
• Approver’s authorization is included in the request’s email string.
• For Medical School only: All Yale Designated, Cost Center, Program, Project, Ledger Account, Spend Category, or Revenue Category requests from Medical School departments must, first be submitted to ysmcontroller@yale.edu. If approved, Medical School Financial Operations will send the request to COA.

Cost Center modifications that impact more than one Planning Unit will require coordination with the following:

• COA unit;
• Lead Administrator of all impacted Planning Units; and
• Office of Financial Planning & Analysis (“FP&A”).

Additional approvals outside of the requesting unit are required in many instances.  The COA unit will facilitate those approvals.

D.  Providing Additional Information or Revisions

If the COA unit requests additional information or revision:

• Enter the additional data or make the appropriate changes to the form; and
• Resubmit the form for approval.

E.  Receive Notification of Approval or Rejection

The COA unit will notify the requestor when a decision has been made on the request.

Avoid common mistakes by:

• Reading the form instructions and filling out the form clearly, completely, and correctly;
• Maintaining consistent COA usage principles; and
• Ensuring that you understand the COA segment definitions and how each one should be used.

F.  Review of Confirmation Decision

Once the requestor receives confirmation of a request from the COA unit, review the information provided to confirm that it corresponds with the request.  In conducting this review:

• Ensure that the information and detail is consistent with the request;
• Review and verify any changes made to the request by the COA unit;
• Notify the COA unit immediately if there are discrepancies, or if there are questions;
• Communicate changes or charging instructions to all impacted parties;
• Update charging instructions or costing allocations in financial systems, as applicable;
• Review and modify access and roles/permissions, as applicable; and
• Update scheduled reports and custom report filters, as applicable.

Any person authorized by a department’s Lead Administrator or central process owner within University Finance may submit a request to close COA segments.  There are certain segments where the COA unit expects requests to come solely from University Finance central process owners, such as: closures of short-term unique or central-only program and projects or closeouts of accounting, pay or funding components, etc. Requests to close can be made at any time.

B.  How Closure Requests Are Made

In order to close a COA segment, all pending transactions must be processed, certain balances must be cleared, the segment must be removed from all costing allocations and position restrictions, and all commitments must be cleared.  The departmental requestor is responsible for performing the majority of these actions.  A checklist, including links to reports and streamlined reporting dashboards, is available to assist departments with these actions. 

Appropriate request forms, with full instructions, can be found on the Chart of Accounts website.  Completed forms should be sent by email to coa@yale.edu.  Complete all sections of the form.  All fields are required, unless otherwise stated.  Closure requests should be submitted to the COA unit no later than three days prior to the calendar month-end to allow for central review and additional clearing entries, if required. 

There are three exceptions for segment closures:

• Gift – all requests to close a Gift should be submitted to giftawards@yale.edu.
• Grant for sponsored awards (FD02 / FD28) – all requests to close a Grant should be coordinated as part of the Award closeout process with the departmental contact in SPFA.
• Industry Clinical Trial (FD29) Closeouts is a departmental responsibility managed by Unit Lead Administrator and/or Operations Manager (consult YSM Controller on clinical trial closure form / residual balance clearing required to initiate central / Workday closure process).

Note: Requests associated with Gift Hierarchies and Grant Hierarchies are not part of this exception and must be sent to coa@yale.edu.

C.  Departmental Review of Closure Requests

All request forms require departmental review and approval prior to submission to the COA unit.  Please note that the requestor and department approver must be different people.  The department approver must have authority over the cost center or business area and is typically the Lead Administrator or Operations Manager.  Requests originating from University Finance central process owners generally require the approval of the cognizant Controller, Associate Controller, and/or Budget Director.  Approval can be indicated in one of three ways:

• Approver sends the request to coa@yale.edu;
• Approver is carbon copied (“cc”) on the request submission; or
• Approver’s authorization is included in the request’s email string.

Additional approvals outside of the requesting unit are required in many instances.  The COA unit will facilitate those approvals.

D.  Providing Additional Information or Revisions

If the COA unit requests additional information or revision:

• Enter the additional data or make the appropriate changes to the form; and
• Resubmit the form for approval.

E.  Receive Notification of Approval or Rejection

The COA unit will notify the requestor when a decision has been made on the request.

Avoid common mistakes by:

• Reading the form instructions and filling out the form clearly, completely, and correctly
• Maintaining consistent COA usage principles; and
• Ensuring that you understand the COA segment definitions and how each one should be used.

F.  Review of Confirmation Decision

Once the requestor receives confirmation of a request from the COA unit, review the information provided to confirm that it corresponds with the request.  In conducting this review:

• Ensure that the information and detail is consistent with the request;
• Review and verify any changes made to the request by the COA unit;
• Notify the COA unit immediately if there are discrepancies, or if there are questions;
• Communicate changes or charging instructions to all impacted parties;
• Update charging instructions or costing allocations in financial systems, as applicable;
• Review and modify access and roles/permissions, as applicable; and
• Update scheduled reports and custom report filters, as applicable.

The below guidelines regarding the timing of COA segment maintenance are general and subject to change:

• New segments – any time during the month;
• Simple segment modifications (ex: rename project) – any time during the month;
• Complex segment modifications or reorganizations (hierarchy changes) – after month-end close; and
• Segment closures – after month-end close.

There are certain times of the year that reorganizations (also known as hierarchy changes) are limited or not performed.  As applicable, information will typically be posted on the Chart of Accounts website.

For significant reorganizations, it is recommended that requestors consult with the COA unit well in advance of the desired implementation date, as some reorganizations can be complex and require additional approvals or pre-work.