Financial Reporting

Timely, reliable financial reporting of your activities is essential for University and departmental budgeting, accounting, and compliance with tax laws and other regulations. In addition, depending on the country and entity type, most jurisdictions require accounting records to be on hand and available for inspection by local authorities.

Accounting for Advanced Funds

All programs operating with a cash advance are required to account for the spending of those funds to the Comptroller’s office on a monthly basis, before any additional advances are released. More information on program advances is available from the Cashier’s office and Treasury Operations/Cash Management.

Programs with overseas bank accounts are required, on a monthly basis, to provide General Accounting with:

• documentation of receipts and disbursements
• copies of bank statements
• a reconciliation of program revenues, expenses, and cash balances to the University’s General Ledger

Research and Other Sponsored Programs

Research and other sponsored program activities, in coordination with Post-Award Financial Operations, should follow financial reporting requirements of the sponsor organization.

Non-Research and Non-Sponsored Programs

In addition to accounting for spending of advanced funds, at least quarterly, all longer-term global activities should submit a financial report that details revenue and expenses for the period to their appropriate unit/department contact. Schools and departments may require more frequent and/or customized reporting. Topics that should be addressed include:

• explanations for significant changes in revenue and expenses
• comparisons to budget with explanations for significant variances
• budget projections (as necessary)

If a regular report is not submitted, further funds may not be provided.

Preparing Monthly Financial Reports

It is recommended that you designate an appropriate finance employee to review and analyze all financial reports produced for each respective activity. This employee should ensure that all financial activity in the report is reflected in BU’s General Ledger and make available an annual accounting of the program’s revenues and expenses to the University Comptroller to ensure compliance with IRS Form 990.

If your financial reports exhibit evidence of any of the following, please contact the appropriate office for assistance:

New revenue and/or expense contracts	Office of the General Counsel
Capital purchases	Property Management
New hires	Human Resources
New bank accounts or changes to existing ones	Debt & Treasury Management
New grants	Sponsored Programs and Post-Award Financial Operations