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February '24 Controller's Office News

February 29, 2024

New Items


PCard Suspension Notices

As noted in a message from Yale Finance on February 1, 2024, automatic notifications will be sent to cardholders and delegates beginning when there are unprocessed expenses that are 30 days and older. PCards will be automatically suspended at the 90-day mark. Some of the notifications have been revised while others are new.

The YSM Controller's Office will continue to follow up with department business offices each month with a list of cardholders and unprocessed expenses by aging category.

Please contact ysmcontroller@yale.edu with questions.

New Policies: Department Funding of Faculty Commitments and YSM Faculty Effort Review
Two new policies were approved and published in January 2024.

The Department Funding Of Faculty Commitments - Policy covers the use of faculty commitments greater than $50,000 and the practice of "pre-funding" faculty accounts from chair-controlled funds.

The YSM Faculty Effort Review - Policy establishes a parallel review for YSM departments during the semi-annual effort certification periods where effort is equal to or greater than 96% for faculty charged to sponsored funding. The related Procedure has also been published in PolicyTech.

VA IPA / JPA Contracts

The YSM Controller’s Office's Centralized Billing team distributed a message on February 5, 2024 noting that there have been observed discrepancies in information that should agree on each contract, namely the total contract amount and the periodic breakdown for salaries and fringe. These errors may lead to delayed and/or inaccurate billing to the VA.

Please contact ysminvoicing@yale.edu with questions.


Consolidation of Travel Booking Services
Beginning May 1, 2024, the University is consolidating its travel booking service providers. World Travel will replace Egencia for all Yale business travel booking needs. Note that World Travel is already available for travel booking now.

Please contact the Yale Travel Management team (travel@yale.edu) with questions.

Funds Flow – Ledger Account Additions
In preparation for and to facilitate the new funds flow model, which will take effect in FY2025, a number of new ledger accounts have been created in Workday to be used beginning with the FY2025 budget process.


In addition to the ledger accounts that were presented during Yale Medicine's recent budget preparation presentation, two new ledger accounts were created for salaries that do not related to medical directors, chairs, or chiefs.

They are as follows:
LA 42055 YNHH Income - Education, Research and Legacy Salaries
LA 42056 YNHHS Affiliated Entity Income - Education, Research and Legacy Salaries

Please contact Tara Costain (tara.gambardella@yale.edu) or Eric Hsiao (eric.hsiao@yale.edu) at Yale Medicine with questions.

Faculty Departures - Assignee in Workday
The YSM Controller's Office is collaborating with the University Controller's Office on a project to close out a significant number of assignees in Workday that should no longer be used. You may be contacted should there be a need to clear activity on the "do not use" or "DNU" assignee segment. Additionally, please remember to finalize activity on assignees as faculty depart your department or the University and use the Segment Closure Form and Checklist to have it inactivated in Workday.

Contact ysmcontroller@yale.edu with questions.


Reminders

YSM Policy and Procedure Exceptions
In rare circumstances, an exception to an existing YSM policy or procedure may be needed. Any exceptions should be formally requested, reviewed, approved, and documented. Please complete the YSM/YM Policy Exception Request Form and submit it to the Policy Sponsor (i.e., the individual who is responsible for editing the content of the policy). You may continue to email university-wide policy and procedure exception requests to ysmcontroller@yale.edu.

Departmental Journal Entry Uploads
As noted in an email distributed in November 2022, the YSM Controller's Office no longer prepares/uploads journal entries on behalf of departments (with a few limited exceptions). As we move closer to year-end, please ensure that your department has MFT upload capabilities and is properly trained.

Contact ysmcontroller@yale.edu with any questions.

IRS Mileage Rate Increase
As mentioned in the December 20, 2023 Business Update, effective January 1, 2024, the IRS standard mileage rates have increased to

  • 67 cents per mile for business use and
  • 27 cents per mile for moving purposes

OnCore Invoice Cancellations
On January 4, 2024, the YSM Controller's Office distributed an email to the YSM Community regarding cancellation explanations for OnCore invoices in the Workday system. Effective immediately, the YSM Centralized Billing team will not cancel an OnCore invoice in Workday without a valid reason provided by the department.

Please contact YSM Invoicing (ysminvoicing@yale.edu) with questions.

Procedure and Forms Update: Human Research Study Participant Remuneration
As noted in the January 10, 2024 Business Update, Procedure 3417 PR.01 - Human Research Study Participant Remuneration Process has been updated. In addition, five forms to assist with this process have been developed. This substantially revised procedure and new set of forms come from the University Controller's Office and are the results of significant work stemming from the Financial Review Enhancement project under the OneFinance initiative.

Please contact ysmcontroller@yale.edu with questions. Our office can facilitate communication with the University Controller's Office.

Policy and Procedure Update: Cost Transfers
As noted in the January 31, 2024 Business Update, effective on January 24, 2024, the Policy 1305 Cost Transfer and related procedures and processes have been updated. Effort Certification Reviewers will encounter updated reason codes within the effort certification business process.

Information sessions are occurring through the month of February.

For cost transfer process/procedure questions, please contact the SPFA Intake Portal.

Purchase Order (PO) Procedure Information Session Presentation and Recording Available
As noted in the January 10, 2024 Business Update, PO information sessions were held in November 2023 to review the updated PR>01 Purchase Order Process that became effective in July 2023. The recording and presentation have been posted to the Procurement website and are now available to view.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Salary Cap Increase
On January 29 2024, the NIH released new guidance regarding the salary cap. Grant applicants and contract offerors can use the new salary limitation for Executive Level II of $221,900 when preparing grant applications and proposals. The new salary cap applies to awards from the MIH, CDC, AHRQ, SAMHSA, and other DHHS organizations. Read more here, and contact your OSP Proposal Manager with questions.

Financial Review Checklist (FRC)
Procedure 1101 Procedure PR.02 Financial Transaction Review and Budget Monitoring, which supports Policy 1101 Guiding Principle for University Operations, describes the standards for financial transaction review, the role of the Financial Review Checklist (FRC), and the processes supporting the use of the FRC.

The YSM Controller's Office would like to remind department business offices of the importance of completing the FRC each month. Additionally, remember to escalate any known issues to your Lead Administrator or Senior Director to assist that individual in completing the quarterly FRC certification, as required by the University Controller's Office.

University Service Provider (USP) Resources
As the annual USP rate calculation process will commence soon, remember to visit the USP resource page for guidance.

Please contact Sara Verderame (sara.verderame@yale.edu) with questions.

Moveable Equipment Inventory (MEI) Count
This spring, the University will undergo its biannual MEI inventory. Federal Uniform Guidance requires that the University perform this procedure every two years. Stay tuned for more information regarding scheduling site visits soon.

Send Us Your Ideas!

Do you have suggestions for improving processes or cost savings ideas? How can we do things more efficiently, streamlines, automated, or at a lower costs? We want to hear from you! Click on the "Tell Us" button at the bottom of this page.

Submitted by Lena Smith Parker on May 14, 2024