FMO Newsletter-March 2024

This issue of the Financial Management Office Newsletter includes information about the following:

The Financial Management Office Newsletter is distributed monthly.  Should you have any questions about this newsletter, contact Amy Kunz via email: amykunz@hawaii.edu.

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ISAT Check at UH Login

Target Audience: All

Beginning April 1, 2024, if you are a KFS account holder, the login process will include a check of your most recent ISAT completion date. If your ISAT completion date is less than a year old, you will be able to log on normally. If your ISAT completion date is more than a year old, or you have never taken the ISAT, you will not be granted access to KFS. Instead, you will be redirected to a webpage with instructions on where to take the training.

Upon successful completion of the ISAT, your access privileges will be restored the following morning. For urgent situations where you need immediate access, ACER contains a link that updates your ISAT results on demand, allowing your access to be restored the same day.

In preparation for this upcoming change and to avoid access issues, KFS account holders with expired ISATs or no ISAT history are advised to take the training before April 1, 2024. 

Four other UH enterprise-wide information systems will have the same login validation requirements as of April 1, 2024: Banner Admin Pages, STAR (GPS Advisor, Balance, Cashiers, Scholarships Awarding/Management, Academic Logic, Kamaaina Admin, Service Opportunities Admin, Degree Rules Admin), PeopleSoft, and myGRANT.

As to why we are implementing this new requirement, our last AP 2.215 revision on mandatory training was back in 2021 when we changed the ISAT renewal cycle from two years to one year. This was done in preparation for stricter regulatory changes for Title IV institutions and federally sponsored research. Data users have been provided ample time to acclimate to the annual training requirement, yet one-half of the UH community remains out of compliance. The April 1, 2024 ISAT validation check reinforces the need for awareness and compliance. 

Refer to the ITS FAQ page for more information. For questions or issues, contact the ITS Help Desk from April 1, 2024.

For questions about this article, contact Sandra Furuto, yano@hawaii.edu.

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Accounts Receivable Processing Organization Zip Codes

Target Audience: All

Effective April 1, 2024, in preparation for the financial system upgrade and to remove customized code, any 9-digit AR processing organization zip code will be replaced with the appropriate 5-digit zip code. The organization’s zip code is included in the remit to addresses on KFS invoices. 

Should you have any questions, please contact Suzanne Efhan (efhans@hawaii.edu).

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Capital Asset – Equipment Object Codes

Target Audience: Fiscal Administrators and Fiscal Support Staff

As part of the requisition process, departments should identify capital equipment assets using the correct object codes.  If you are unsure if the purchase you are making should be classified as equipment, the decision tree below can be used as a guide:

For more information, please reference AP 8.550, Capitalization.  Please contact CAAO at caao@hawaii.edu for questions.  For questions regarding purchases using extramural funds, please contact ORS.

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UH WH-1 Form for Individuals Under COFA

Target Audience: Administrative Officers, Fiscal Administrators, Business Office Staff

Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the Republic of Palau are entitled under the Compact of Free Association (COFA) to travel and apply for admission to the United States as nonimmigrants without visas. However, they are not citizens of the United States, thus, all sections of the WH-1 still need to be completed in order to assess tax status.

For Section B of the form, fields that are not relevant, such as Expiration Date of Current Visa, can be left blank. If Intended Length of Stay and Anticipated Departure Date are unknown, they can be left blank as well.

For Current Visa Type, they can select “Other INS Classification” and then enter their Class of Admission as shown on their I-94: “CFA/FSM” for FSM citizens, “CFA/MIS” for RMI citizens, and “CFA/PAL” for Palau citizens.

Other required documents for COFA individuals include I-94 and Passport. If one of the “NO” checkboxes in Section C, Step 2 of the WH-1 form are checked, indicating that the individual does not pass the IRS Substantial Presence Test, IRS Form W-8BEN is also needed.

Should you have any questions, please contact Donnie Feng, Disbursing Office at donnie@hawaii.edu.

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