As a follow up to the 1/4/2019 Intercom message, the Office of Business & Finance would like to remind everyone that Ithaca College is changing its fiscal year-end.
In October 2018, the Board of Trustees approved changing the College's fiscal year from the current June 1st - May 31st to July 1st - June 30th.
This will go into effect in 2019. This means that fiscal year 2019 will end on May 31, 2019 and fiscal year 2020 will begin on July 1, 2019.
There are many reasons which support making this change, including:
1. This model is standard in the higher education space.
2. Allows Ithaca College to become aligned with the external agencies which we are required to report to (e.g. Department of Education, IRS, and NYS Department of Taxation & Finance), making the filings less cumbersome and time-consuming.
3. IC staff that process financial related work will have more time to complete their year-end duties without the complications involved with end of the semester and commencement responsibilities.
Anticipated Questions and Answers:
Q: For Budgeting purposes, what happens to the month of June 2019 if our old year ends on May 31, 2019, and our new year begins on July 1, 2019?
A: The current Budget Cycle will end on May 31, 2019. A new, one-month Budget Cycle will begin on June 1, 2019 and end on June 30, 2019.
Q: Do we need to complete a separate budget for the month of June 2019?
A: Since changing the fiscal-year is a one-time event, departments were not asked to submit a budget in BudgetPak. Instead, a form is being developed to allow departments to request the funding that they need for the month of June. Only college expenses that relate to the one month of June 2019 can be expensed in that month according to GAAP “Generally Accepted Accounting Principles”. Expenses relating to fiscal-year 2019-20 need to wait until at least July 1st to be processed.
June 2019 Budget funds will NOT be allocated using a 3-year Actuals average, as this data proved insufficient to anticipate our budgetary needs during this transition.
More communication is forthcoming in the next couple of weeks which will provide additional information related to the fiscal-year change, where to find the June budget request form and the year-end procedures that will be required to close the months of May and June.
Join us on Monday, April 8th from 10-11 a.m. in School of Business, Room 301, during the Financial End-Users meeting where we will cover this very important topic.
We will also be holding open hours on the 14th Floor of West Tower every Thursday from 1-3 p.m. if you would like to meet and ask questions in person. As always, we look forward to working with you and value your feedback. If you have any questions, please send them to me directly at lsweet@ithaca.edu.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/2019040216574428