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Finance Frequently Asked Questions

        CO - Controlling Module
        FI - Financal Module
        FM - Funds Management Module


        GM - Grants Management Module
        General Ledger Accounts
        Journal Vouchers


CO - Controlling Module

         

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FI - Financial Module

        How do users get to the FI standard hierarchy?
        Can users export the FI standard hierarchy list into Excel?
        How are budget transfers handled in IRIS Financials?
        If a budget transfer crosses two areas, who approves the transfer?
        If two departments are sharing expenses, how do both gain access to both accounts?
        What internal tracking features are available in IRIS Financials?
        What are "document types" and "document numbers"?

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        How do users get to the FI standard hierarchy?
                        The transaction code to access the FI standard hierarchy is OKENN.

        Can users export the FI standard hierarchy list into Excel?
                        Yes, the list can be downloaded into Excel.

        How are budget transfers handled in IRIS Financials?
                        Budget transfer data is entered directly into FI, resulting in the creation of an electronic document. The
                        transfer creation originates at the department level and the creator routes the document through the system
                        to the next approval level. When the document has all necessary approvals, it is routed to the Area Fiscal
                        Officer for review, final approval, and posting.

        If a budget transfer crosses two areas, who approves the transfer?
                        The fiscal officer of the area where the transfer originates will approve it.

        If two departments are sharing expenses, how do both gain access to both accounts?
                        If authorized for view/display access, each department will automatically see the other account. Vice President
                        Butler and the President's Cabinet have endorsed the open security approach for the system.

        What internal tracking features are available in IRIS Financials?
                        Departmental users have two options for internal tracking. They can use Statistical Internal Orders to record
                        and monitor information for internal reporting purposes. This type of internal order is created with the master
                        data functionality and departments can establish individual statiscal orders for particular purposes, such as
                        short-term jobs or certain activities. There is an internal order field on the trnsactions where the statistical
                        internal orders can be entered.

                        The other option is the use of the Assignment Field, which is available on most transaction postings. This text
                        field can be defined and used by department users as desired. While the Assignment field feature is useful for
                        departments, it is not available for all postings.

        What are "document types" and "document numbers"?
                        In paper-based recordkeeping systems, particular documents or forms are created for certain tasks
                        or transactions. They are routinely numbered in a standardized fashion for organization, tracking,
                        and auditing purposes.

                        The same logic holds true for electronic records and processing. In IRIS, the document type is a key
                        to the kind of document created and the transaction involved. Document types in the new system are assigned
                        document numbers. This automatic numbering comes from predetermined number ranges designated for
                        particular document types. For example, a transaction with document type of Y1 denotes that it was
                        created the the Stores billing system. The list of
Document Types and Number Ranges offers more
                        information.

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FM - Funds Management Module

         

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GM - Grants Management Module

        What transaction do I use to view grant master data?
        Which dates on GMGRANTD are the dates for which charges are allowable? Why are there two sets of
                 dates on the GMGRANTD Basic Data tab?
        How will end-users receive notification of new grants/WBS elements? For example, some grants expire
                 at the end of September and new ones will be activated in October.
        How will the budget transfers be done for Grants? Will the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration
                 originate them?
        How will research subject study payments be made?
        If a user is editing a Procard transaction for a grant in a G/L account with no budget, will an error
                 message be displayed?
        How does an end-user see details of charges posted to grants?
        If a grant account was overspent, how was it converted?
        What should be done if there is a new budget to put into a grant, but it hasn't been transferred yet? Should
                 a clearing account be used until the budget is transferred?
        Availability control on grants will be problematic in some cases. What can departments do?
        Are CAS reports available on grants?
        Some items on GMAVCOVRW are negative and contain a lightning bolt. What does that mean? What
                 should users do?
        If the budgeted sponsored class is a payroll sponsored class, what should users do?
        Is training mandatory for Principal Investigators?
        In instances when there are encumbrances for subcontracts, I have been able to see the funds being released.
                 Will this work the same way in the future?
        Is the process for handling subcontracts the same as today?

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        What transaction do I use to view grant master data?
                        Use the GMGRANTD transaction to display all of the master data associated with your grant.

        Which dates on GMGRANTD are the dates for which charges are allowable? Why are there two sets of dates
                 on the GMGRANTD Basic Data tab?

                        The project period dates represent the dates for which the project is valid, according to the award document.
                        Items purchased on purchase orders, from service centers; or vendors must be received within the project
                        period dates.

        How will end-users receive notification of new grants/WBS elements? For example, some grants expire at
                 the end of September and new ones will be activated in October.

                        This process will remain the same. The Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA) will notify
                        the departments of the new grant/WBS element number when the new account is created in IRIS.

        How will the budget transfers be done for Grants? Will the Office of Sponsored Projects Administration
                 originate them?

                        The budget transfer process remains the same for Grants. The department will create the
                        
Request for Action/Revision form and submit it to OSPA for review and approval as appropriate. Following
                        review, OSPA will transfer information to Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) to alter the budget and
                        make entries in IRIS to reflect each change.

        How will research subject study payments be made?
                        There is no change. These payments will still be done on the DAV (Deparmental Authorization Voucher).

        If a user is editing a Procard transaction for a grant in a G/L account with no budget, will an error
                 message be displayed?

                        Yes, the end-user will receive a red error notice that the budgeted sponsor class is over budget. The
                        transaction may not be completed until a budget revision is processed.

        How does an end-user see details of charges posted to grants?
                        The transaction S_ALN_0100003 shows the following for each expenditure: Date of expenditure,
                        G/L Account, Sponsored Class, and Document Reference.

        If a grant account was overspent, how was it converted?
                        The grant account was converted with actual expenses, CAS items that were not properly budgeted in
                        FRS were removed and swept to the CAS cost center for the department/center.

        What should be done if there is a new budget to put into a grant, but it hasn't been transferred yet? Should
                 a clearing account be used until the budget is transferred?

                        When the grant for a new award has not yet been established in IRIS, a cost center may be used for
                        temporary posting of expenses. Such expenses should be moved to the grant as soon as the PADR is received.

                        Sponsored Projects Administration and Sponsored Projects Accounting strongly encourage the use of
                        e-status grants to reduce the number of JVs (Journal Vouchers) processed for new grants.

                        Users should contact the appropriate Research Administrator when grant fundign is anticipated and the
                        department chooses to incur costs prior to receiving the award notice.

                        If an award increase is pending, and the budget is fully spent, a cost center may be used to temporarily
                        post expenses. Those expenses related to the grant should be transferred as soon as the PADR is received.

        Availability control on grants will be problematic in some cases. What can departments do?
                        In order to prepare for this, end-users in departments with grants should review their existing budgets
                        and verify that appropriate budget is available in line item, prior to attempting to process documents to charge
                        the grant in FI. If sufficient budget is available for the transaction, then the document will go through without
                        difficulty. (Users can enter through green or yellow warning messages in IRIS.) The availability control on
                        grants will cause an error message to be displayed on the user's screen for all items except salary and
                        benefits. If posting salary and benefits will cause the grant to be overspent in total, the charges will post
                        to a suspense cost center.

                        In those cases where sufficient budget is not available to process the document, a Request for
                        Action/Reservation form should be completed and forwarded to the Research Administrator. Once the
                        budget has been approved and entered by Sponsored Projects Accounting, the document may be processed
                        normally.

                        When an item is needed immediately, the department may charge a departmental cost center the budget
                        transfer has been processed. The department may then process a Journal Voucher (JV) to transfer the
                        charge to the grant/WBS element. Appropriate documentation and adherence to the Cost Transfer Policy
                        are required.

                        For more information, see AVC Presentation.

        Are CAS reports available on grants?
                        To see budgeted sponsored classes that are over budget, use the GMAVCOVRW transaction. Items that
                        are overspent will appear with a negative amount in the available amount column. The deficit indicator also
                        will have a lightning bolt icon.

                        A standard IRIS report is available to view balances over and above the budgeted amount through the
                        GMBDGTOVIEW transaction (Budget Overview). Detail of the transactions that have posted to the grant
                        may be viewed usingtransaction S_ALN_01000003 (Budget vs. Commitment/Actual Line Items).

        Some items on GMAVCOVRW are negative and contain a lightning bolt. What does that mean? What
                 should users do?

                        The lightning bolt indicates that this budgeted sponsored class is over budget. If the item is a CAS
                        budgeted sponsored class, a
Request for Action/Revision form may be needed. To see the detail
                        behind the sponsored class, users should use transaction S_ALN_012000003.

                        1) If the G/L Accounts used were direct expenses in FRS, with no additional charges incurred on this
                        budgeted sponsored class, no action is required.

                        2) if the G/L Accounts used were indirect expenses in FRS, a Request for Action/Revision is required. If
                        these expenses are not budgeted or removed prior to the grant closing, Sponsored Projects Accounting
                        will transfer them to the CAS cost center for the department.

        If the budgeted sponsored class is a payroll sponsored class, what should users do?
                        If the budgeted sponsored class is a CAS category, a budget is requried prior to the grant closing. If
                        the sponsored class is direct, no action is needed.

        Is training mandatory for Principal Investigators?
                        No courses are mandatory. PIs are encouraged to attend to learn about Grant Management and
                        information they can display in the system.

        In instances when there are encumbrances for subcontracts, I have been able to see the funds being released.
                 Will this work the same way in the future?

                        Yes, it will be the same. When the purchase order for the subcontract is entered, an encumbrance for the
                        entire amount will be created. Then, as the subcontract is paid, you will observe the balance declining,
                        just as you do today.

        Is the process for handling subcontracts the same as today?
                        Yes, you will continue to send vendor transmittals to Accounts Payable. Transmittals do not go to the
                        Office of Sponsored Projects Administration.

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General Ledger Accounts

         

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Journal Vouchers

         

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