FY07 - February 2007 - ISSUE
9
*** UIS/OAS Financial News ***
University News
and Announcements
Confidential
information used in financial systems is critical and must be diligently
protected. This protection is required by law (Gramm Leach Bliley or GLB Act);
by contract; and by Harvard’s own policies. The GLB requires the following
safeguard practices to be implemented: Systems supporting these financial
transactions are secure, there is a training program in place for employees who
will be using the systems, and any electronic transfers of confidential
personal information must be encrypted. In addition, Harvard’s policy mandates
that no Social Security numbers, individual bank account numbers or credit
card numbers be stored on any individual computer of any kind.
In academic
institutions, it is clear that confidential information is just about
everywhere and is encountered by just about everyone. This information includes
student grades and evaluations, staff evaluations, credit card numbers, bank
accounts, salaries, and personal information such as home addresses and Harvard
ID numbers. Data stewardship must be a shared community responsibility.
Everyone at Harvard has a responsibility for
proper handling and protection of confidential information at all levels,
including the desktop and laptop. The University has developed a general Enterprise
Security Policy to provide direction on the protections that
must be employed. It is up to all members of the Harvard community to be aware
of the confidential information they have and threats to its security… and to
pass along this responsibility when they convey confidential information to
others. Central Administration senior managers and School CIO’s will be
requested to certify that their areas are in compliance with the Enterprise
Security Policy by mid-2007.
For more
information on GLB or other Enterprise Security Policies, contact Harvard Technology
Security Officer Scott_Bradner@harvard.edu
or Project Manager Liz_Eagan@harvard.edu.
Important Dates and
Reminders
Core
Budget – The FY08 Core
budget is due to the University Budget Office in early February 2007. If you
have budgeting responsibilities, your financial partner will be contacting you
to insure all necessary information is provided by the submission date of February
15, 2007.
UIS Service Center Budget – The FY08 UIS Service Center
Corporation budget is due to the University Budget Office mid March 2007. An
FY07 year-end forecast is required as part of the budgeting processes. If you
have budgeting responsibilities, your financial partner will be contacting you
to insure all necessary information is provided by the submission date of March
19, 2007.
Policy Highlights and
Updates
As a University Service Center, UIS businesses purchase and distribute technology products that
are maintained as inventory until they are sold or used. They include:
- Items purchased explicitly for resale
- Items purchased in quantity for subsequent use
- Materials used to produce items for resale
Items outside
of these classifications are not considered inventory and should be charged as
supplies or equipment expense to the business.
Successful
inventory management involves balancing the costs of maintaining a certain
level of inventory, with the benefits of having on-hand inventory available for
business use. Managers are responsible for establishing purchasing controls
and warehouse security measures over all physical inventories, and maintaining
separation of duties to ensure internal controls are enforced. Additionally,
management must verify the accuracy of regular inventory counts and the total
value of inventory on-hand, making sure that any damaged or obsolete inventory
is written off immediately upon discovery. All inventory accounts should be
reconciled on a monthly basis with the help of the UIS Accounting Office.
For more
comprehensive guidelines, including inventory accounting methods, valuation,
and other practices/processes, please refer to the UIS
Inventory Management Practices Policy.
Although the University discourages the frequent
use of a personal vehicle for business travel, employees may use their personal
car for business purposes when it is less expensive then an alternate
transportation or if it saves time. It is the responsibility of the employee to
carry adequate insurance. An employee will be reimbursed using the Federal
government mileage rate per mile and within IRS guidelines. Only the mileage
in excess of the employee's daily commute shall be reimbursable. This
reimbursement rate is issued each January and covers the employee's use of
their vehicle and gasoline. A Universal Expense Form (UEF) should be used when
requesting mileage rate reimbursement. Effective January 1, 2007 the new
mileage reimbursement rate is 48.5 cents per mile.
In addition to
the mileage rate reimbursement, an employee may be reimbursed for tolls and
parking. An employee will not be reimbursed for the following, even if
these costs are incurred during business travel:
- Car repair
- Rental car costs during
repair of personal car
- Tickets, fines, or traffic
violations
Helpful Hints
A
credit balance may occur on a Corporate Card as a result of monthly financial
transactions. When this happens, the employee MUST submit a Universal
Expense Form (UEF) to clear the credit balance, indicating the credit amount to
be processed and the 33-digit coding to which the original reimbursement was
charged. Do not wait for additional purchases to offset the credit, as this
goes against UIS/OAS Financial Services policy. Please see the Travel and
Expense Reimbursement policy for further clarification.
We hope that
this issue of the UIS/OAS Financial News has been helpful and informative. If
you have any questions, or would like to see a specific topic covered in a
future publication, please email us at uisfin_news@harvard.edu
