Accounting Manual

The Accounting Manual is a resource that provides information and guidance for accounting and financial management activities. The intended audience is Yale staff who have accounting and/or financial management responsibilities. Often, the documents here are related to the university’s Policy and Procedure documents and should be used along with these companion documents. For questions or additional accounting guidance, please contact the General Accounting team in the Controller’s Office at controller.genacct@yale.edu.

For additional support and guidance please note:

  • General Accounting provides accounting guidance, but does not provide technical support for the Workday financial systems. That team is now known as Financial Systems and Solutions. Questions and requests for that team should be sent to askfinance@yale.edu.
  • COA information, guidance and forms are found on the COA website.
  • Workday training and user guides are located on Workday at Yale.

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    Accounting Manual

    Title Topic Finance Activity
    1101 Guiding Principles for Business and Financial Administration Financial Management-General Policy Links
    1305 PR.04 Unallowable Costs Unallowable Costs Policy Links
    About Journal Sources Journal Entries Resources
    About Purchasing Cards (P-Cards) Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Account Certification Training Guide Month-end Financial Close Training
    Account Reconciliation Template Month-end Financial Close Policy Links
    Accounting Adjustments Financial Management-General Training
    Accounting by and for University Service Providers University Service Providers (USP – formerly ISP) Resources
    Accounting for Air Travel Expenses Travel Resources
    Accounting for Building and Land Costs Accounting for Building and Land Resources
    Accounting for fellowships Stipends and Tuition-related items Accounting for Fellowships, Stipends and Tuition-related Resources
    Accounting for Gifts - Training Gifts and Endowments Training
    Accounting for Grants Grants & Contracts – Sponsored Accounts Resources
    Accounting for Inventory Transactions Inventory Resources
    Accounting for non-Yale Entities (aka Agencies) Financial Management-General Resources
    Accounting for Software Costs, Computer… - Policy Capital Assets – Buildings and Equipment Policy Links
    Advance clearing (condensed steps) Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Advances and Spend Authorizations Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Award Purpose Code Definitions Gifts and Endowments Resources
    Balance Sheet Ledger Account Reconciliation & Certification Month-end Financial Close Resources
    Balance Sheet Ledger Account Reconciliation & Certification - Procedure Month-end Financial Close Policy Links
    Business Meals / Food & Beverage Travel Resources
    Buying Guide Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Capital Asset Overview Capital Assets – Buildings and Equipment Resources
    Capital Project Accounting Entries Capital Assets – Buildings and Equipment Resources
    Capitalization, Depreciation & Disposal of Capital Assets-Policy Capital Assets – Buildings and Equipment Policy Links
    Carbon Credit Offsets Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Cash receipts of refunds, rebates or reimbursements Cash Transactions Resources
    Change in Financial Responsibility for a University Building Location Capital Assets – Buildings and Equipment Resources
    Chart of Accounts (COA) Website Chart of Accounts (COA) Resources
    COA Business Use Case Guide Chart of Accounts (COA) Resources
    COA Charging Instructions Form Chart of Accounts (COA) Resources
    COA Training Chart of Accounts (COA) Training
    Commitment Journal Entries-Training Custom Commitments Training
    Complete list of COA Procedures, Forms & Guides Chart of Accounts (COA) Resources
    Create a Budget Amendment Planning & Budgeting Training
    Create Customer Contracts and Billing Schedules for Non-Sponsored AR Accounts Receivable (Non-Sponsored) Resources
    Create Customer Invoices for Non-Sponsored AR Accounts Receivable (Non-Sponsored) Resources
    Customer Set up for AR Accounts Receivable (Non-Sponsored) Resources
    Datamart Reporting Link Month-end Financial Close Resources
    Determining Funding and Disbursements on Capital Projects Capital Assets – Buildings and Equipment Resources
    Equipment-Policy Capital Assets – Buildings and Equipment Policy Links
    Express Shipping (eShipGlobal) Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    External Sales Approval Process University Service Providers (USP – formerly ISP) Resources
    Financial Management - Policies Financial Management-General Policy Links
    Financial Review Checklist Financial Management-General Resources
    Financial Review Checklist Certification Training Month-end Financial Close Training
    GA Sweep Year-end Financial Close Resources
    Gifts-Policies Gifts and Endowments Policy Links
    How to Reverse a Journal Entry Journal Entries Training
    Institutional Standards of Conduct Financial Management-General Policy Links
    Internal Ledger Account Pairs Journal Entries Resources
    International Activities - Tax International Resources
    International Activities - Toolkit International Resources
    Journal Entry Resources Journal Entries Resources
    List of Permitted ETs for Building Orgs Accounting for Building and Land Resources
    MEI Accounting and Workday book codes Capital Assets – Buildings and Equipment Resources
    Month End Calendar Month-end Financial Close Resources
    Moving and Relocation Financial Management-General Resources
    Net Balance Requirements Financial Management-General Resources
    Non-Sponsored AR Accounting and Guidance Accounts Receivable (Non-Sponsored) Resources
    Payroll Costing Payroll & Payroll Costing Resources
    Payroll Costing for Staff Phased Retirement Payroll & Payroll Costing Training
    Payroll Costing – Salary over the IRS pension cap Payroll & Payroll Costing Training
    Payroll Schedule Payroll & Payroll Costing Resources
    Payroll Toolkit Payroll & Payroll Costing Resources
    Procure to Pay-Policies Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Policy Links
    Procure-to-Pay Toolkit Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Procurement Website Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Procurement-Buying and Paying Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Purchase of Computers for less than $5,000 Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Resources
    Purchasing Card-Policies Buying Goods and Services (AP and Expenses) Policy Links
    Reclassification and Transfer of Funds Transfer and Reclassification of Funds Resources
    Reclassification and Transfer of Funds - CENTRAL PROCESS OWNERS Transfer and Reclassification of Funds Resources
    Record Cash Sale Cash Transactions Resources
    Reimbursed Expenses and 3rd Party Contributions Travel Resources
    Reporting Training and Guides Internal Financial Reporting & Review Training
    Reporting Updates Internal Financial Reporting & Review Resources
    School of Medicine (YSM) Finance Links Financial Management-General Resources
    Secondments Payroll & Payroll Costing Resources
    Service Provider Billing - Ledger Accounts and Categories University Service Providers (USP – formerly ISP) Resources
    Service Provider Policy, Forms & Procedures (area #1410) University Service Providers (USP – formerly ISP) Resources
    Service Provider – Journal Source Contacts University Service Providers (USP – formerly ISP) Resources
    Signature and Approval Authority-Procedure Financial Management-General Policy Links
    Spend Restrictions / Allowability Grants & Contracts – Sponsored Accounts Resources
    Suspense Transactions Financial Management-General Resources
    Travel Policies, Forms & Procedures Travel Policy Links
    University Service Provider Resources – includes training University Service Providers (USP – formerly ISP) Resources
    USP Monthly Revenue Ledger Account Reconciliation guideline University Service Providers (USP – formerly ISP) Resources
    USP Revenue Reconciliation Template University Service Providers (USP – formerly ISP) Resources
    Valuation of Inventory - Policy Inventory Resources
    When to use Unallowable Cost Spend Categories Unallowable Costs Resources
    Workday Book Codes and Books Financial Management-General Resources
    Workday Financials Training and Guides Financial Management-General Training
    Yale Budget Tool (YBT) Planning & Budgeting Resources
    Yale University Hotline Financial Management-General Resources
    Year-end Closing Calendar Year-end Financial Close Resources
    Year-end Closing Procedures Year-end Financial Close Resources