To:

American University Community

From:

Nicole Bresnahan, Controller

Subject:

Fiscal Year 2018 Close

The university’s year-end closing process requires the coordinated efforts of all VPFT offices and campus departments to ensure that financial activity is recorded accurately. It is important that all departments review and reconcile their ledgers, verifying that all requisitions, invoices, travel expenses, and payroll transactions pertaining to the 2018 fiscal year have been recorded accurately.

During March and April, please review your financial reports. If there are transactions that have not appeared or are incorrect, please take the necessary action by the posted deadline to ensure the corrections are processed timely. Actions to be taken may include expense transfers, payroll corrections, deposit corrections, or a phone call to the appropriate department to assist in booking a correcting entry.

The objective of the year-end close process is to create an accurate record of financial activity for the entire fiscal year. The following information is provided to assist you in planning for year-end closing:

Year-end Closing Schedule

The year-end closing schedule is included below, and also is located on the Controller’s Office website.

Requisitions & Open Purchase Orders

The last day to enter requisitions into Colleague is April 20, 2018. If you need to make a purchase above $10,000 after April 20 and the goods or services will be delivered prior to April 30, please contact the Purchasing and Contracts Department (PCD) directly. No invoices will be paid by Accounts Payable without the proper purchase order reference number. 

The open purchase order (PO) list will be sent to departments no later than March 12. Departments should review the open PO list to verify that the PO’s are valid and goods and services are expected to be delivered before April 30, 2018. Please notify PCD immediately if a PO needs to be adjusted.

Fiscal year 2019 requisitions may be entered into Colleague on April 25, 2018 and will be processed starting May 1, if all required documentation (quotations, proposals, etc.) is received by PCD. Any follow-up questions or concerns related to purchase requests should be sent to pcd@american.edu.

Corporate Card Purchases

The cut-off for FY18 corporate card expenses is April 30, 2018. Please note, the transaction must be posted on your Corporate Card statement by the 30^th in order to be expensed in FY2018. All transactions that are still pending or not processed on your Corporate Card statement as of the 30^th will be expensed in FY2019.

Prepaid Expenses

Pre-paid expenses are payments made for goods and services that will not be received or supplied by April 30, 2018. Please note, pre-payments will NOT be expensed to the department’s budget until FY 2019. All pre-payment requests including supporting documentation must be submitted to Robert Lancaster, Director of Accounts Payable, by May 7.

Accrued Expenses

Accrued Expenses are obligations to pay for goods and services that have been received or supplied but not yet invoiced to the university. It is imperative that all departments make an estimate of any expenses related to FY18 to ensure the university’s financial statements properly reflect the current year purchases. 

Accrued Expenses requests, including supporting documentation, must be submitted to:

• General Budgeted Accounts – Robert Lancaster, Director of Accounts Payable (rlacast@american.edu)
• Grants & Contracts Accounts – Deominic Napoleon, Director of Grants & Contracts Accounting (napoleon@american.edu)
• Construction Contracts – Shannon Olson-Ogburn, Director of Accounting (olson@american.edu)

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Controller’s Office at x2840. See also the year-end closing timetable.