Barnard College Office of the Provost & Dean of the Faculty

FACULTY DEPARTMENT ASSISTANTS AND ADMINISTRATORS
HANDBOOK 2009-2010
as of August 4, 2009

The Chief Operating Officer, Greg Brown, has responsibility for all of the financial operations of the College (including Bursar, Accounts Payable, Payroll, and Purchasing); the preparation and monitoring of the College’s budget; and investment and stewardship of the College’s endowment. The office also provides students, faculty, and senior administrative staff with analyses and information that support major planning initiatives at the College.

The Budget Director is responsible for overseeing the preparation and monitoring of the annual operating budget. Mary Schlitzer is the Budget Director and can be reached at x4-6032. Budget reports can be accessed through eBear and allow the Department/Program Chair the ability to monitor budgets versus actual expenses. If your Chair would like you to be involved in this process, s/he must send an email request to Jackie Greene in the Controller’s Office granting you access. Once that is done, to view the budget reports, users should log-in, click on the Report tab, and select Budget Report.

In order to understand the budget reports in eBear, and to monitor your departmental expense budget, you must first understand the structure of the College’s account codes. Each department or major activity of the College is assigned an eleven digit account code for expenditures:

X – XXXXXX – XXXX
l        l           l
Fund   Unit  Object Code

“Fund” designates the source of funding:
0 = Unrestricted     1 = Restricted    2 = Endowment

“Unit” designates the functional area and department.

“Object Code” designates the type of expenditure for budgeting and classification purposes. The proper use of object code assists you in managing your departmental budget and allows the College to analyze its expenditures across departments in a consistent manner. In order to issue a purchase order or expense request, you must first verify that there are sufficient funds in the specific object code before initiating a transaction. A complete list of valid object codes may be found online.

If you do not have sufficient funds to complete a proposed transaction, you may be asked to transfer funds among budget lines in your department. For questions about initiating or processing a budget transfer, please see the Budget Transfer Guidelines.

Departmental Assistants are often asked by their Department Chair to prepare data for consideration for an upcoming budget year. Use the College’s annual budget calendar as a timeline and for related deadlines.

The Controller’s Office supports the financial operations of the College. Eileen M. DiBenedetto is Assistant Vice President for Finance – Controller. She can be reached at x4-7732. The Controller oversees Accounts Payable, the Bursar’s Office, Endowment Accounting, Finanical Reporting, General Accounting, Grant Accounting, Payroll, and Purchasing. Ricky White (x4-7746), Associate Controller-Operations supervises Accounts Payable, Endowment Accounting, General Accounting and Payroll. Associate Controller-Bursar Denis Riker (x4-2026) oversees the Bursar’s Office, Associate Controller-Financial Reporting Nancy Hirshan (x4-7734) is responsible for Financial Reporting and Grant Accounting; Purchasing Director Doug Maget (x4-5204) manages the Purchasing function for the College. For more information about policies and procedures of the Controller’s Office see the Finance and Planning website.

Accounts Payable is responsible for processing all vendor payments, reimbursements, and check requests. The staff includes David Banks (x4-7737), Denise Augustin (x4-7438) and Nieves Lorenzo (x4-2010). Please send approved check requests and vendor invoices to accounts payable via interoffice mail or deliver them in person to the Bursar’s Office window at 15 Milbank. Please note that all reimbursements to Departments Chairs must be submitted to Eileen DiBenedetto for approval.

The primary responsibility of the Bursar’s Office is student billings and collections. In addition the Bursar’s Office staff processes departmental deposits. You may also submit check requests and vendor invoices in a box located near the Bursar’s window. The Bursar’s Office is open Monday-Friday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For questions regarding the Bursar’s Office please call them at x4-2026.

Associate Controller-Operations Ricky White (x4-7746) handles the reporting and allocation of endowment income. All requests to charge vendor or payroll payments to an endowment account (accounts with a first digit of “2”) must be approved by Eileen DiBenedetto (x4-7732).

Associate Controller-Financial Reporting Nancy Hirshan’s responsibilities include the administration of all accounting, payment activity and financial reporting associated with federal, state and foundation grants and contracts. All payments and purchase orders charged to grants or contracts (“1” funds) must be approved by Nancy Hirshan. She can be reached at x4-7734.

The Payroll Office is responsible for the review and processing of all of the payrolls for the College’s faculty, staff and students. Faculty and administrative staff are paid monthly; members of Local 2110 are paid bi-weekly. For questions regarding payroll, contact the Payroll Manager (x4-7630).

The Purchasing Department is responsible for all procurement policies, practices and transactions at the College. The Purchasing website includes detailed information about the College’s purchasing procedures, including: general purchasing; methods of payments; required approvals, the Purchasing card; and computer and peripheral purchases. For questions regarding Purchasing contact Director Doug Maget (x4-5204) or Purchasing Manager Christina Johnson (x4-5205).

7. The following are some Purchasing & Accounts Payable –FAQs

What are my options if I want to make a purchase on behalf of the College?
You can use a purchase order, Purchasing Card (P-card) or a check request.

How do I use a purchase order?
1. Check that your budget line has sufficient funds for the purchase.
2. If not, contact Mary Schlitzer, Budget Director (4-6032) for a budget transfer.
3. If the budget transfer is approved, complete a two-part requisition form and submit it to Purchasing.
4. Upon receipt Purchasing creates a purchase order and sends it to the vendor.
5. When you receive the shipment, if it is complete, sign and date the receiving copy of the Purchase Order (the yellow copy) and return the yellow copy and the vendor invoice to Accounts Payable.

What is a P-card?
A P-card is short for the Barnard College Purchasing Card. It is similar to a credit card, however the department name appears on the P-card and the charges are paid directly by Barnard.

What if my purchase is over $500 and I don’t have time to use a purchase order?
In the event where you need to purchase goods or services over $500 and there are time constraints or special circumstances, you can use a check request.

What types of goods and services should I charge to the P-card?
Subscriptions, registrations, books, brochures, catalogs and price lists, promotional supplies, and dues & membership fees.

Are there any P-card limits?
$500 per transaction. $1,500 aggregate transaction limit per month unless otherwise approved by the Director of Purchasing. Cardholders cannot split transactions into smaller amounts to avoid dollar limits placed on the P-card. If this is done the P-card will be terminated.

What can I NOT use the P-card for?
It cannot be used for personal purchases, travel (airfare, hotel or automobile rentals), cash advances or cash awards including honorariums, construction or remodeling, employee benefits (entertainment, tuition), furniture and computer equipment, fines, late fees, penalties (including parking tickets), gifts, service contracts, special services, independent contractors, performers, consultants, speakers, student tuition, scholarships and stipends.

I lost my P-card! What do I do?
Immediately call the customer service number, afterwards notify Purchasing. The card will be replaced within 2 business days.

What documentation do I need to attach to my Check Request?
Attach the actual invoice or actual receipt to a completed and approved check request. The actual invoice or receipt must be provided, copies are not accepted. In a rare case where an actual receipt is not available, a copy of the receipt or credit card statement will be accepted. Include the business purpose of the expenditure.

How do I know who authorizes which Check Request?
See the chart on Approval Procedures.

Once I submit a Check Request, how long until I receive the reimbursement?
Check requests take an average of two weeks to be processed and reimbursed.

What about sales tax?
It is your responsibility to make sure that no NYS sales tax is charged by the vendor. The College is exempt from New York Sales and Use Tax. The College’s tax exemption number is printed on the P-card.

What if my purchase order shipment isn’t complete?
Make a photocopy of the receiving report of the Purchase Order. Circle and date each item received. Sign and date in the applicable “partial shipment” box. Submit this photocopy to Accounts Payable along with the vendor invoice. When the final shipment is received, circle and date on the original yellow form the final items that were received; sign and date in the “completed shipment” box and submit the original to Accounts Payable.

What should I keep as records?
Copies of approved P-card statement, copies of the transaction log, and all receipts and invoices. Records should be kept for 7 years.

What if the Provost Office is paying for a charge on the P-card?
Contact Gwen Williams, x4-2709, for approval. She will also provide the account number to charge for the monthly reconciliation.

Sean Bixler, x4-6030, the Institutional Research and Budget Analyst provides both historical data on the College and comparative data on peer institutions. The office also coordinates reporting to outside agencies, such as the College's accreditation associations. For examples of data and recent institutional studies see the Finance and Planning website.