This issue of the Financial Management Office Newsletter includes information about the following:
- Update on Changes to AP 8.851 Employee Out-of-State and Intra-State Travel
- Student Employee and Graduate Assistant Summer FICA Tax Exemption Status
- Office of Strategic Development and Partnership (OSDP) and GASB 87
- Recording and Reconciling Bank Deposits
- Review for Impairment of Capital Assets
- Administrative Procedure 8.770: Student Refunds Update
- Resources
The Financial Management Office Newsletter is distributed monthly. Should you have any questions about this newsletter, contact Amy Kunz via email: amykunz@hawaii.edu.
Subscribe to this FMO Newsletter
Unsubscribe from this FMO Newsletter
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Update on Changes to AP 8.851 Employee Out-of-State and Intra-State Travel
Target Audience: Travelers, Fiscal Administrators and Fiscal Support Staff
The updated AP 8.851 for employee travel has been uploaded to eTravel with an effective date of August 15, 2023. The principle revisions to the policy are to address travel advances and to encourage the use of PCards and POs for airfare and conference fees.
Effective August 15, 2023, travel advances may be granted to employees under the following conditions:
- Employee is set up to receive advances and reimbursements via ePayment
- Employee does not have any outstanding advances within 30 days
- Travel advances for Lodging and M&IE are limited to the Federal Allowable Rate (FAR)
- The 4-day minimum to be eligible for travel advances has been removed
The policy will also allow travel advances for “unconventional travel” such as:
- Student athlete travel associated with athletic competitions and recruiting
- Student travel related to UH sanctioned business as well as any travel related to a chartered student organization
- Travel related to the Study Abroad Program
- Research travel to remote areas.
The AP was forwarded to UHPA, HGEA and UPW for comments and feedback. It was also vetted to various UH departments, including Fiscal Administrators, Business Offices, Faculty Senate and Staff Senate prior to submission.
The current AP 8.851, with review date August 2018, will be in effect until August 14, 2023.
Should there be any questions regarding these changes, please email etravel-help@lists.hawaii.edu.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Student Employee and Graduate Assistant Summer FICA Tax Exemption Status
Target Audience: Personnel Officers, Fiscal Administrators and Student Employment Coordinators
Student employees, except graduate assistants as noted below, must be enrolled (at a minimum) in a summer session term on a half time basis (3 credits or more) to maintain and/or qualify for the FICA tax exemption. Student employees who do not qualify for the FICA tax exemption during the summer months must participate in the State of Hawai’i Part-time, Temporary and Seasonal/Casual (PTS) Deferred Compensation Program. Departmental personnel are responsible to determine student employees’ FICA exemption status and update the FICA codes on applicable payroll documents.
To assist departmental personnel in determining FICA exemption status for these employees during the summer, the UH-Manoa Student Employment and Cooperative Education office (SECE) has developed a questionnaire (Attachment A) and flowchart (Attachment B). These documents are located on the SECE website.
Changes to the FICA code for an existing student employee record must be made on-line via the SECE System. Attachment C shows UH Payroll Office guidelines and deadlines for making on-line changes for pay periods during the summer months.
Any changes to Graduate Assistant FICA codes are made via submission of an ePNF through the PeopleSoft system. Go to the FMO website’s Payroll AO/PO section to view the 2023 Payroll Due Dates. Documents must be submitted by appropriate deadline dates shown. Please note:
- 9-month graduate assistants are not affected and remain exempt from FICA since their compensation is prorated over 12 months.
- 11-month graduate assistants must participate in the PTS Deferred Compensation Program during the summer if they are not enrolled for at least 4 units during any summer session. If the one-month off duty period is taken during the summer, compensation received during this off-duty period would qualify for FICA tax exemption since no work is performed. If a change in the FICA code is required, prepare and submit a PNF to reflect the proper FICA code. Use action/reason “Data Change / 950” (Change in Record – Other Changes).
Timely FlCA code changes in the SECE Student On-line System and PNF document submittal to the UH Payroll Office are critical as an erroneous FICA code results in either an over-assessment or under-assessment of the employee’s PTS deferred compensation contribution and Medicare taxes. If this occurs, corrective action must be initiated by the employing department.
In the event of an over-assessment or an under-assessment, departmental administrators will be required to refund or recover the PTS Deferred Compensation amount and the Medicare tax for the student and process adjustments to the State Payroll System via the UH Payroll Office to properly correct the student’s payroll records. Fringe benefit corrections for the Medicare tax will also be required for imposed accounts.
- If a student has already left University employment, departmental administrators will be responsible for tracking the student and executing the required corrective actions
- If Medicare taxes are owed by a student and cannot be recovered, the funding source (imposed accounts) will be responsible for both the 1.45% employee assessment and the 1.45% employer assessment for a total of a 2.90% assessment.
Questions related to the timing of documents should be directed to your campus Student Employment Office or the Graduate Division, as applicable.
Questions on Graduate Assistant appointment processing and requests for forms/informational material on the PTS Deferred Compensation plan should be directed to your respective Human Resources Representative.
Questions related to payroll processing requirements are to be directed to the UH Payroll Office at payroll@hawaii.edu.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Office of Strategic Development and Partnership (OSDP) and GASB 87
Target Audience: All
The Office of Strategic Development and Partnership (OSDP) is working in conjunction with the University’s General Accounting Office to fulfill the Real Property compliance requirements of the General Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 87 (GASB 87). GASB 87 was issued in June 2017 and its objective is to better meet the information needs of financial statement users by improving accounting and financial reporting for leases by governments.
Specifically related to Real Property, GASB 87 requires the University to analyze all Real Property leases, contracts, and agreements that convey the control of the right to use another entity’s land or building assets. OSDP will be sending an email to Fiscal Administrators (FA) in May 2023, which will include a listing of all active Real Property leases in Fiscal Year 2023 that require a rental payment that are associated with the FA’s campus/department. OSDP will request the FA’s assistance and support to confirm and provide additional information related to the Real Property leases for your respective campus/department.
In separate communication, the General Accounting Office will also be providing guidance and requesting updated information for the non-Real Property leases managed by the FAs for their respective campus/department.
OSDP looks forward to continue working with you and greatly appreciates your assistance in helping the University attain GASB 87 compliance.
Should you have any questions, please contact Michael Shibata at (808) 956-4205, email: shibatam@hawaii.edu or Sharene Chow at (808) 956-4342, email: skchow@hawaii.edu.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Recording and Reconciling Bank Deposits
Target Audience: All
With fiscal year-end coming soon, the Treasury Office asks that all bank deposits (cash/check, electronic fund transfers, and credit card payments) are reconciled and recorded in KFS in a timely manner. In addition, if you are notified by the Treasury Office of any deposit adjustment that requires a correcting entry in KFS or receive a follow up request on an unrecorded amount, please record as soon as possible. All funds received as of June 30, 2023, must be reconciled and recorded in KFS before KFS closes for the fiscal year.
As a reminder, in accordance with Administrative Procedure 8.701, Receipting and Depositing Funds Received by the University, the due dates established for recording of deposit transactions in KFS are as follows:
| Deposit Type | KFS eDocument | Initiate and Submit KFS eDocument within three (3) business days from: |
| Cash and check | Cash Control/Payment Application or Advance Deposit | Date of Deposit |
| Electronic funds transfer (wire or ACH) | Cash Control/Payment Application or Advance Deposit | Notification received from Treasury Office |
| Credit Card | Cash Control/Payment Application or Credit Card Receipt | Batch settlement Date |
The FA (or delegate) shall approve and finalize the eDocument as soon as possible, however, no later than three (3) working days from the eDocument submission date. Efforts should be made to record and finalize all eDocuments for the month by the last business day of the month.
For the month of June, all receipts received as of June 30, 2023, must be reconciled, recorded and the eDocument finalized in KFS by July 1, 2023.
Your assistance to ensure that these deadlines are met is appreciated. Should you have any questions, please contact Joanne Yama at jyama@hawaii.edu.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Review for Impairment of Capital Assets
Target Audience: Fiscal Administrators
The 2023 fiscal year end is approaching and it is important that we record all impairments of capital assets for audited financial statement purposes. Capital assets include equipment, buildings, facilities, infrastructure assets and construction projects.
In order to comply with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 42, “Accounting and Financial Reporting for Impairment of Capital Assets and for Insurance Recoveries”, fiscal administrators are reminded of the need to report events of impairment of capital assets to the Capital Asset Accounting Office so that appropriate accounting recognition can be determined for the current fiscal year.
For accounting purposes, capital asset impairment is a significant, unexpected decline in service utility (expected usable capacity at time of acquisition) of a capital asset. The events or changes in circumstances that lead to the impairment are not considered normal or ordinary.
Common indicators of impairment are as follows:
- Evidence of physical damage (e.g., fire, flood, wind, etc.)
- Enactment or approval of laws or regulations or other environmental factors (e.g., new water quality standards that cannot be met at a water treatment plant).
- Technological development or evidence of obsolescence (e.g., a magnetic resonance imaging machine that is rarely used because a newer one provides better service).
- Change in manner or expected duration of use of a capital asset (e.g., closing of a school prior to the end of its useful life).
- Construction stoppage (e.g., stoppage due to lack of funding).
Please contact Kelcie Watai at (808) 956-3103 or by email at kelciew@hawaii.edu if you believe your campus or department has experienced any kind of capital asset impairment in the current fiscal year by June 16, 2023. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Administrative Procedure 8.770: Student Refunds Update
Target Audience: All
The Administrative Procedure pertaining to Student Refunds has been updated to reflect current system procedures being implemented. Updates were made in Section 3-Administrative Procedure to the following Items:
- Item 2 Refund Methods: Sub- Item B –additional verbiage added to how credit card refunds are administered to student accounts with multiple credit card payments.
- Item 3 Refund Schedule: Sub -Item C- additional verbiage added to clarify refunds to cancelled classes that will result in a refund of tuition and fees that were paid as long as all balances due to the University are paid in full.
- Item 3 Refund Schedule: Sub- Item D-updated to reflect refunds being processed to once a week.
- Item 5 Refund Processing: Sub-Item B, item- ii b-updated refunds being made to student accounts that have a credit due from payment by a personal check. The refund date has been updated from a 5 business day to a 15 business day wait time in order for the check to clear the bank.
- Item 7 Payee: Sub-Item C-clarification was made to refunds to a deceased student account to reflect “as long as appropriate documentation is provided”.
If you wish to view the full text of Administrative Procedure 8.770, please see AP 8.770, Student Refunds.
If you have any questions, please contact Denise DeArment at dearment@hawaii.edu.