eLearning
Watch the CORE class on Salary & Cost Transfers (approx. 30 minutes).
Definition
An Accounting Adjustment, also referred to as a Cost Transfer pre-Workday Go Live, moves an expense:
- From one funding source to another
- From one Spend Category to another
- From one Project Cost Accounting (PCA) Code to another
A high volume of Accounting Adjustments may be an indication that the Award isn't routinely being reviewed or that a lack of internal controls are in place.
Accounting Adjustments should only be done for the following reasons:
- To correct an error (e.g., an expense was erroneously charged to the incorrect worktag or spend category)
- To correct an error when the value of the transaction is greater than $10.00 (See GIM 15)
- To re-allocate expenses where the expense can only be initially coded to one or a few worktags (e.g., rent)
An Accounting Adjustment is not:
- A financial management tool to be used to move costs for budgetary convenience
- A means to temporarily post costs on a sponsored award until an award line is set up in Workday
For complete Accounting Adjustment guidelines, see our Summary of Accounting Adjustments Guidelines page.
Accounting Adjustments and Risk
Accounting Adjustments are considered high risk transactions, as they may be an indication of weakness in a department’s Internal Controls. For example, Accounting Adjustments completed more than 90 days (3 months) from the original transaction date are typically an indication that the worktag has not been reviewed in at least three months.
See Why Accounting Adjustments Are High Risk for more information on Accounting Adjustments and associated risks.
Policies
UW's GIM 15 – Accounting Adjustments on Sponsored Awards states:
Accounting Adjustments onto a sponsored award must be made within 90 days of when the error is discovered. If, however, the transfer is requested more than 120 days after the transaction date, an explanation for why the transfer is late must be included.
Federal Regulations: 2 CFR 200.405 Allocable Costs states that cost transfers cannot be used to:
- Reallocate expenses to overcome fund deficiencies or utilize unused funds
- Avoid restrictions imposed by federal statutes, regulations, or terms and conditions of the federal awards
Process and Documentation
Accounting Adjustments are completed in Workday.
Cost Transfers and Workday Cutover
After 7/14/23, salary (and cost) transfers impacting pay periods ending 6/30/23 and prior will need to be done using a Journal Entry in Workday. This process cannot be done in MyFD after 7/14/2023.
Please see the following instructions on processing Pre-Workday Expense Transfers:
Accounting - Pre-Workday Expense Transfer Process (uw.edu)
Important for Pre-Workday faculty salary transfers:
Pre-Workday salary transfers that affect faculty salary on Sponsored Awards must also follow a manual process to update the Faculty Effort Certification ("FEC").
Contact effortreporting@uw.edu to initiate the manual FEC process.
If you have cost transfer questions that do not impact sponsored awards, submit a ticket via UW Connect Finance (available beginning 7/6/23). To learn more, refer to Customer Support.