Funds Management.

Fund centers (also referred to as Cost Centers) support budgets at the department level and are used to track revenue and expenditures within an organizational unit (e.g., SPH departments).

Each Fund Center number has a ten-digit code based on five different elements:

• Business area (one digit)
  • 1 – CRC
  • 2 – BUMC
  • 3 – NBL
  • 8 – SUB
• School/college (two digits). The SPH code is 44.
• Department (three digits)
• Type of fund (two digits)
  • 00 – general
  • 60- debt
  • 70 – capital projects
  • 95 – MOA – cost reimbursements
• Departmental activity (two digits)

Because all SPH departments are on the same campus, all SPH fund centers begin with 244 (the campus code, followed by the SPH code).

Helpful Link
SAP Enterprise Structure

Internal Order/Funded Program/Sponsored Program

An Internal Order (IO), also referred to as Funded Program or Sponsored Program (for Grant accounts), resides within a Fund Center and is used to allocate budgeted funds that support a specific strategic initiative.

The account structure used for Internal Orders is as follows:

• Each account number has a ten-digit code that begins with the number 9.
• The second and third digit indicates the Internal Order Type (IO Type)
  • 09 – designated general
  • 20 – endowment principle
  • 21 – endowment sep invest
  • 25 – endowment spendable
  • 30 – gifts
  • 32 – gifts – building
  • 34 – undesignated gifts
  • 35 – gifts pledged
  • 50 – grant – federal
  • 55 – grant – non-federal
• The last seven digits are system-generated. They have no meaning and are not specific to any school or department.

Examples

• 909xxxxxxx – Designated General. Pilot accounts, discretionary accounts, etc. Often referred to as “909 accounts.”
• 930xxxxxxx – Gifts
• 950xxxxxxx – Grants – federal
• 955xxxxxxx – Grants – non-federal

Notes

• All Internal Orders/Funded Programs/Sponsored Programs reside within a Fund Center
• All Internal Orders/Funded Programs/Sponsored Programs accounts begin with a 9

Unrestricted funds are distributed annually and are used to support each SPH department’s structural operating expenses. Typical charges found under this type of accounts include salaries, personnel training, office expenses, and technology. Although the use of these funds is unrestricted, they must follow Boston University accounting rules and SPH best practice guidelines.

When running Business Warehouse reports, there is no Internal Order (or “Funded Program”) designation for unrestricted accounts. Instead, Business Warehouse reports categorize the Funded Program as “Funded_Program_NR” (Funded Program not relevant).

Designated Funds are general use funds that support a particular purpose or project at SPH.

Restricted Funds, on the other hand, carry explicit stipulations that must be met before the funds can be spent. Funding provided by sponsored agencies or corporations for a specific grant or contract work is also considered restricted.

The School of Public Health has four types of Designated/Restricted Funds:

• Pilot Awards Program (909) – The SPH Pilot Awards Program offers multiple funding opportunities to support research and education initiatives that are carried out by our faculty members.
• Discretionary Funds (909) – Each faculty member with a primary faculty appointment at SPH (above the rank of Instructor) has an individual discretionary account. Funds in these accounts can be used by the faculty member to support their research, teaching, and service activities and to invest in their professional growth and development.
• Gift Funds (93) – Gifts are irrevocable transfers of assets, i.e., contributions from private sources, for which no goods or services are expected, implied, or forthcoming in return to the donor, and in which no proprietary interests are to be retained by the donor.
• Endowment Funds (92) – Endowment Funds are resources received by the University that help to provide a sustainable level of support for the University’s operating budget. The donor gift or principal amount is invested in the University pooled endowment to provide both income and long-term growth. Individual endowment funds comprise a specific number of “units” or shares within the University endowment that generate annual income either for distribution use or returned to the principal.

Grants or Sponsored Activities are those undertaken by the University with the support of an external entity that expects in return specific outcomes that either directly benefits the provider or a public purpose.

At a minimum, the provider requires the University to report on how the funds were spent or what progress is made to accomplishing the goals of the activity. To differentiate funding sources and track financial transactions for each activity, Boston University uses the structure for grant accounts:

• Grant accounts reside within a Fund Center to identify the School and Department responsible for administering the funds.
• Grant accounts funded by the Federal Government start with the two-digit code 50.
• Grant accounts funded by sources other than the Federal Government start with the two-digit code 55.

Generally, multiple Internal Orders, most commonly referred to as Sponsored Program accounts, are associated with one particular Grant and are structured as follows:

• Federal Grant accounts that begin with 50 contain Sponsored Program accounts that begin with 950.
• Non-Federal Grant accounts that begin with 55 contain Sponsored Program accounts that begin with 955.

Note that Internal Order numbers associated with a grant will not necessarily be in sequential order. For example, Grant # 50123456 may have order numbers 9500423783, 9500127400, and 9500374259 for years 1, 2, and 3.

Requesting new accounts. The procedure for creating a new Fund Center or Internal Order accounts will vary depending on the type of account and funding source.

Please contact the following departments for assistance on creating new accounts:

• Fund Center (244) – SPH Finance Team
• Discretionary (909) – SPH Finance Team
• Gift (92) – SPH Development and Alumni Relations
• Endowment (93) – SPH Development and Alumni Relations
• Sponsored Program (95) – SPH Department Research Administrator

Note that Sponsored Program Pre-Award Accounts can be set up to 90 days in advance of the actual award start date or in advance of delayed receipt of an award. The Office of Sponsored Programs will assist with the Pre-Award Account and the completion of the IPAR form.

Maintaining current accounts. Monthly and quarterly reports should be run for each type of account to review the status of existing funds and the rate of spending. Certain Sponsored Programs will be required to produce periodic reports as part of the funding contract.

Please visit the Reporting, Reconciliation, and Corrections section of the handbook for information on running financial reports.

Closing out empty/retired accounts. The procedure for closing out empty or retired accounts will vary depending on the type of account and funding source.

Please contact the following departments for assistance on closing out empty or retired accounts:

• Fund Center (244) – SPH Finance Team
• Discretionary (909) – SPH Finance Team
• Gift (92) – SPH Development and Alumni Relations
• Endowment (93) – SPH Development and Alumni Relations
• Sponsored Program (95) – SPH Department Research Administrator

Note that Pre-Award Accounts allow for efficient accounting of sponsored awards’ spending and remove the need for creating correcting Cost Transfer Journal Entries later on.

The general ledger is an accounting document that provides a general overview of an organization’s financial transactions. An account, or general ledger (GL) code, is a number used to record business transactions in the general ledger. Boston University stores every general ledger (GL) code in the SAP system.

GL Coding Principles

• All General Ledger accounts have a 6-digit number
• The first digit of GL account number indicates the type:
  • 1xxxxx – Assets
  • 2xxxxx – Liabilities
  • 3xxxxx – Net assets (fund balance)
  • 4xxxxx – Revenue
  • 5xxxxx – Expenses
  • 8xxxxx – Allocations
• Payroll related GL account numbers range from 500010 to 500560, plus stipend GLs 523100 and 523105
• ISRs and FSRs are identified by leading digits = 89
• When creating and coding shopping carts, disbursement forms, and travel/PCard transactions, please remember to:
  • Use the most appropriate GL account for the transaction(s)
  • Ensure that the correct Fund Center, Internal Order or Sponsored Program is being charged
  • Enter a meaningful text or description for each activity booked
  • Include attachments as appropriate
  • Periodically compare the transactions you recorded to what was posted in BU’s Business Warehouse reports

SPH GL Accounts Short List

When looking to code travel or PCard expenditures, departmental and interdepartmental transactions, purchasing, etc., please refer to the SPH GL Codes Short List to find the most appropriate GL account to use.

Note that Unallowable does not mean that the SPH is not allowed to incur these costs; it merely means the government is not willing to pay for them, either directly or indirectly, through government contracts.

Helpful Links
BU’s GL Income and Expense Account Descriptions
Useful SAP Account Numbers and Doc Types