Ithaca College

Submitted on behalf of Beth Reynolds, Interim Controller

I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone of College policy regarding expenditures for the balance of the fiscal year, which ends on May 31, 2017, so you can plan accordingly.

At the end of each fiscal year, the college has to ensure that both revenues and expenses are captured in the correct fiscal year. The information below provides some context as to what needs to be paid close attention to as we approach the end of the fiscal year.

Please review the following instructions carefully.  If any of the conditions below are not met, it creates challenges with the timeliness of our annual financial audit, creates unnecessary points of friction as expenses are being researched after the fact, and more severely, the expenditure will be charged to the new fiscal year which is not optimal.

IC Marketplace and Parnassus iProcurement

Purchase Requisitions/Orders

All requisitions for ordered goods and services chargeable to the 2016-2017 fiscal year must be submitted and approved through IC Marketplace or iProcurement in Parnassus by May 1, 2017.  No new orders should be entered through IC Marketplace or iProcurement in Parnassus from May 1 through May 31, 2017, for Fiscal Year 2016-2017 unless coordinated with the Procurement Office by contacting Karen Cleveland (274-7341).

An exception is being made this year for Staples orders only as they may be submitted and approved through IC Marketplace until May 15, 2017.

This is very important so that the Financial Services staff can make sure that the expenditures are classified to the appropriate fiscal year. For example, payments in the form of deposits for events (i.e. conferences, travel, etc.) that will occur after May 31, 2017 are expenses for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. That should be noted, and tracked accordingly.

Receiving Process for Purchase Orders

1. By May 31, 2017, all goods must be in possession of the College or any services completed, and they must be received by the department in IC Marketplace or Parnassus iProcurement.  If they are not received by this date, they will be charged to the new fiscal year.  This also applies to project and grant accounts (account numbers that begin with 02, 03, or 06).
2. If departments have last-minute receipts they are unable to receive in Parnassus by May 31, 2017 they should contact Karen Cleveland.

Purchase Order Invoices

1. All invoices must be dated on or before May 31, 2017.
2. By noon on June 8, 2017, invoices referencing purchase orders must be received by the Accounts Payable office.

Retrofit Orders in IC Marketplace

Retrofit Orders to pay an invoice (not originally ordered through IC Marketplace) dated on or before May 31, 2017 must be entered and approved in IC Marketplace. After June 1, 2017, prior year invoices can be entered through IC Marketplace until June 8, 2017 at noon.  Please refer to Retrofit Orders to Pay Invoices after June 1 documentation.

EZPay and Personal Vehicle Mileage Reimbursement Requests

1. Must be entered into Parnassus by May 31, 2017.
2. Must be dated on or before May 31, 2017 and the associated goods physically received or services rendered by this date.
3. After May 31, 2017, contact the Accounts Payable office concerning invoice payments and personal mileage reimbursement requests that would normally be processed through the EZPay system.  These must be dated on or before May 31, 2017, and the associated goods physically received or services rendered by this date.

Purchasing Card

1. Items acquired using the purchasing card should be purchased by May 15, 2017, as those transactions not submitted to the bank via the vendor by May 31 will be charged to 2017-2018.
2. On Monday, June 5, 2017 the last 2016-2017 purchasing card transactions will be loaded into Parnassus.  These will be available for departments’ approval on Monday, June 5, 2017, after 12:00 PM (noon).
3. All purchasing card transactions must be updated in Parnassus by noon on June 8, 2017.

Travel Reimbursement and Travel Card

1. Travel reimbursement requests to be charged to 2016-2017 must be received in the Travel Services office by June 8, 2017, at noon.  Travel that overlaps the May 31, 2017 date should be charged to the fiscal year in which the majority of the trip occurred.
2. On Monday, June 5, 2017 the last 2016-2017 travel card transactions will be loaded into Parnassus. These will be available for departments’ approval on Monday, June 5, 2017 after 12:00 PM (noon).

All travel card transactions must be updated in Parnassus by noon on June 8, 2017. If there is an extreme emergency that requires entering an operating account (01 Fund) requisition for the new fiscal year prior to June 1, 2017, call Karen Cleveland for special assistance.  It is not necessary to call her for new fiscal year requisitions charged to restricted (02), grant (03), or plant (06) accounts.  New year requisitions for these accounts may be entered normally.

We are targeting Friday, June 9, 2017, as the final closing date for fiscal year 2016-2017.

Please contact Procurement (274-7341), Accounts Payable (274-3808), Financial Services (274-5795 or 274-3309), or Travel Services (274-1480) if you have any questions.

Be sure to check funds availability on your accounts (in Parnassus) before creating requisitions in IC Marketplace or iProcurement, before entering EZPay payments and before approving credit card transactions in Parnassus.  If there are not enough funds in your account, the transactions will fail.  For help in checking funds availability, refer to the following documents (or contact the Budget Office at 274-3385).

Inquiring on Funds Available User Guide
Reports User Guide