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Financial Management Newsletter #41

October 2006

 
Happy Halloween!!

This issue of the newsletter includes information about the following:

	* The eTravel Initiative is Underway!
	* DHHS '07 Audit Plan will Focus on Effort Reporting
	* Accounts Payable Customer Service Improvement Plan and Survey
	* UWT and UWB Students May Purchase Health Insurance
	* GIM 15 Updates

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The eTravel Initiative is Underway!

The eTravel initiative kicks off this month with the plan to implement an
automated travel reimbursement system, replacing the current paper travel
reimbursement process.  This initiative, which has already completed a
preliminary scoping phase, is guided by the Strategic Initiatives Office (USER
Project), includes the eTravel Process Improvement Team (with broad campus
representation), Financial Management and Computing and Communications staff.
The eTravel Process Improvement Team will be seeking campus involvement and
feedback at many points along the way.  We will provide several opportunities to
contribute over the course of this exciting project.  Whether you receive travel
reimbursement, process travel reimbursements, or you are fiscally responsible
for operations that include travel reimbursements, the eTravel Initiative will
impact you.

For more information or if you'd like to find out about opportunities to be
involved during the eTravel initiative, please contact Project Manager, Erick
Winger at 206-221-5940 (erickw@u.washington.edu) or Teresa Crisostomo
at 206-685-9328 (tcris@u.washington.edu).  In addition, a website for the
project will be established soon and will include project status, organization,
and timeline.

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DHHS '07 Audit Plan will Focus on Effort Reporting

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), Office of the Inspector
General (OIG), has released their audit plan for FY 2007. Once again, the OIG
has identified researchers' level of commitment and effort reporting as a high
priority area for review.  Other post-award financial compliance areas to be
reviewed include direct charging of administrative and clerical salaries, cost
transfers, and graduate student compensation. The plan emphasizes compliance
with OMB Circular A-21, the NIH Grants Policy Manual, as well as institutional
policies.  Other compliance areas of interest include securing and accounting
for controlled substances and monitoring of extramural conflicts of interest.
Additional information can be found at the links below, or contact Grant and
Contract Accounting post-award compliance at: gcafco@u.washington.edu.

DHHS OIG 2007 Audit Plan:
http://oig.hhs.gov/publications/docs/workplan/2007/Work%20Plan%202007.pdf

UW Effort Report websites:
http://www.washington.edu/research/osp/gim/gim35.html
http://www.washington.edu/research/maa/fec/

GIM 23 - Costing Policy for Sponsored Agreements
http://www.washington.edu/research/osp/gim/gim23.html

GIM 15 - Transfer of Expenditures between Budgets
http://www.washington.edu/research/osp/gim/gim15.html

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Accounts Payable Customer Service Improvement Plan and Survey

Over 100 UW staff attended focus groups in September and October to identify key
AP customer service opportunities.  The AP Customer Service Improvement Team,
composed of AP staff and campus administrators, used this feedback to develop a
short survey to prioritize suggested improvements and to benchmark current
satisfaction for ongoing measurement.

The Catalyst survey was released to campus on October 24th, with requests to
respond by November 3rd, 2006.  Please take the time to let us know what's most
important to you.  Forward the survey to any of your staff who work with AP:

https://catalysttools.washington.edu/survey/?sid=28293&owner=donnaand

Outcomes and plans will be communicated before the end of the year.  If you have
questions about this customer service improvement project, please call Karen
Long at 206-543-8831, or email to klong@u.washington.edu.

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UWT and UWB Students May Purchase Health Insurance

UW-Bothell and UW-Tacoma students now have the option of purchasing
comprehensive health insurance similar to the plan available to the Seattle
campus students. A web-based enrollment process is linked at the following URLs:

UW-Tacoma
http://www.tacoma.washington.edu/student_affairs/student_insurance.cfm

UW -Bothell
http://www.uwb.edu/students/services/insurance.xhtml

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GIM 15 Recently Updated

As we've learned from other institutions' recent experiences, transfers of
expenditures continue to be highlighted for audit attention.  For example,
frequent and/or inadequately documented transfers may suggest that controls over
expenditures at the time they are incurred are not strong. Thus, Grants
Information Memorandum 15 was recently updated to incorporate additional
procedures to help ensure transfers are appropriately processed, timely and well
documented.  In addition, the changes will streamline the overall process.
Significant changes include:

(1) Instructions that RTE's and RST's must be submitted within 90 days of
DISCOVERING THE ERROR.

(2) Instructions to submit requests to transfer equipment or equipment
fabrication directly to Equipment Inventory Office (FAX: 685-9151, Box # 354615,
eio@u.washington.edu ) rather than to Grant and Contract Accounting.

(3) Instructions for processing RSTs after the related effort has already been
certified as correct.

For more information, please refer to the updated GIM 15 located below or
contact post-award compliance at: gcafco@u.washington.edu.

GIM 15 - Transfer of Expenditures between Budgets
http://www.washington.edu/research/osp/gim/gim15.html

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Ann Anderson, Controller (andera@u.washington.edu or 543-4993)

V'Ella Warren, Vice President, Financial Mgmt & Treasurer, Board of Regents (vwarren@u.washington.edu or 543-8765)