• I noticed that there are now five report buttons on the home page from which to select. What type of information is behind each button?

  Budget Prep:	Focus on the Budget Prep button is primarily during the Budget Prep season - approximately March through July. Budget prep worksheets at the org level and area rollup reports are available to print or download to the user’s desktop. The worksheets and reports look exactly like the paper version users received in previous years. The reports and worksheets are taken from the production database and have not been modified to look like the other Web reports.
  Customized:	The Customized reporting tool permits greater flexibility in retrieving and using financial data. The tool allows the user to create up to 103 different reports, depending on the criteria selected on the Customized home page. Summary and org level reporting is provided for all sponsored and nonsponsored CUFS accounts. Object/Revenue and Subobject/Subrevenue level reporting is provided for sponsored CUFS accounts only. To access the Customized Reports you will need CUFSRDB access. For access and general information, contact the CUFS helpline at 612-624-1617.
  Nonsponsored:	Reports behind the Nonsponsored button can be accessed for accounts in nonsponsored funds such as the centrally allocated funds, internal service organizations, gift funds and the "other" unrestricted and restricted funds. Reports are available at the organization, area, area class, area group, and area category levels for each of the applicable intended users. Most of the reports are updated at month-end after the accounting period close. Three new nightly updated reports were added in September 1997.
  Payroll:	Six reports with detail salary, fringe and payroll encumbrance information are behind the Payroll button. Three of the reports are for regular payroll; three are for biweekly payroll. These reports were designed for departmental staff responsible for ensuring that all their employees received correct paychecks or direct deposit notices. A seventh report - the Payroll Encumbrance and Expense Summary - provides information on both salary and fringe expenses and encumbered amounts for a closed accounting period for a selected account number. To access the Payroll reports you will need PAYACCT access. For access forms and general information, contact the CCO Customer Assistance Center at 612-624-0555.
  Sponsored:	Most of the reports on the Sponsored page were created for principal investigators for monitoring their sponsored accounts. Sponsored accounts are funds provided by a grant or contract that are administered by the Office of Research and Technology Transfer Administration (ORTTA). The reports are classified as budget period, nightly updated, month-end, or other.

  NOTE: You can also get a complete list of reports that are available on the Financial Reports web site by clicking on the Reports button at the bottom of the home page screen.

• Can we suppress the paper reports that are considered mandatory, now that they have been duplicated on the Web?
  

  Mandatory paper reports can be suppressed as long as you can provide support that you are getting the same data in another manner. The following Web reports for the corresponding paper reports are considered an acceptable alternative to the paper version. We encourage you to use the Web version and request suppression of the paper report. Contact the CUFS Helpline at 612-624-1617 for more information or for a copy of the mandatory report suppression form.

  Web Report	Paper Report
  Transaction Detail-Expenses	UA611;UG201
  Transaction Detail-Revenues	UA611;UG201
  Budget Status By Fund: Organization	UA821
  Budget Status By Fund: Area	UA827-Area
  Budget Status By Fund: Academic and Administrative Units	UA827-Class
  Budget Status By Fund: RRC	UA827-Class or UA827-Group
  Budget Status By Fund: Vice President/Vice Chancellor	UA827-Catg

  If you have not done so already, we also encourage you to consider suppressing nonmandatory reports that you no longer use. A separate print suppression form for nonmandatory reports is also available from the CUFS Helpline.

• Are the Web reports available for previous months that are now closed?
  

  The Web reports contain the most recent available data. That means the nightly updated reports contain data as of the previous day, and month-end reports contain data from the most recent accounting period that is closed. Once the reports are updated with the new period information, the previous day or month’s information is no longer available.

  Before paper reports are eliminated entirely, we will address report retention requirements, determine what prior period reports you need to be able to access, and how to provide them to you.

• What is the advantage of using the Web reports rather than continuing to use the paper reports I receive after each month-end?
  

  The Web reports provide current information - three of the sponsored and three of the nonsponsored reports are updated nightly. The month-end reports are updated the day after the accounting period close, and can be accessed immediately, which eliminates the three to seven days you currently wait to receive your month-end paper reports. The Web reports are easily accessible with the appropriate software - you can access them not only from your office, but also from your home, or even while traveling. Flexibility is a plus with the downloading, faxing and e-mailing capabilities built within some of the reports.

  Some of the Web reports were developed because needs that were not currently being met with the paper reports were identified. These reports are available on the Web only and there are no plans for reproducing these on paper.

  The Web Reports Development Teams continue to look for more effective methods of delivering financial information to you, the user.

• Are there going to be more nonsponsored reports on the Web? Will all current CUFS operational reports be available on the Web in the future?
  

  Several more reports are envisioned for the Web, including more that are nonsponsored. The current CUFS operational reports are being analyzed for usage and functionality; we welcome your input as to what type of reports are needed on the Web. It is probable that many of the current CUFS reports will not be duplicated on the Web, or at a minimum will require format changes before they appear on the Web. The next area for consideration will likely be object/revenue and subobject/subrevenue reporting capabilities.

• I had heard that the UA850 and UA851 reports for nonsponsored funds were going to be put on the Web. Is this still planned?
  

  The design of the UA850 and UA851 for the Web had been completed several months ago, but construction of the reports was deferred because of other priorities. These two reports are continuously being requested for Web development. We hope to address the development issues as resources permit.

  The UA851 can be created now via the Customized tool, but you must enter each fund separately, and the reports will not provide subtotals. However, if you download the customized reports to your desktop, you can add the formatting you need.

• The original sponsored reports were put on the Web in July 1996. Are there going to be changes to these reports, or new sponsored reports added?
  

  The original sponsored PI reports went through an assessment process in January 1997, and enhancements were made to clarify each report and its purpose, and improve consistency between all the reports related to terminology and appearance. The original seven PI reports report inception-to-date information. The Budget Period Expense Summary, which provides financial information for a selected budget period, as well as inception-to-date, was implemented in July 1997.

• When will there be actual transaction ID data available on a Payroll Report?
  

  This will be recommended as an enhancement and will not be done by the existing Encumbering Payroll Reports project. Suggestions for enhancements to the Payroll reports will be accumulated and addressed as a group, approximately November 1997.

• How do I comment on the current Web reports or request certain reports or information be developed on the Web? What happens to my comments?
  

  The comment e-mail address is fsshelp@umn.edu. Once received, the comment/issue is logged and prioritized for review. Critical issues are addressed and corrected as soon as possible. The sender will receive a reply notifying them that their message was received, answering their immediate question or addressing how their issue will be handled. Requests for new reports are forwarded to the Reports Development team which maintains a file of report suggestions and determines priorities for new development.

• If I have not been on the Web site to look at the reports, will I be able to easily catch up with those using it regularly?
  

  Yes, you will be able to catch up. Comments from users indicate that they found it fairly easy to navigate throughout the pages, even without training. We are continually enhancing the Web site, based on user feedback and on our observations, to improve the functionality. You can help by introducing your Principal Investigators to their reports and determining how these financial reports may ease some of the duplicate effort in your unit.

• What training is available?
  

  Several hands-on training courses are available through Training Services. Training Services offers a Reports Class and a CUFSRDB class. Training Services also offers a class on the IDEA World Wide Web. To obtain further information on the classes offered, contact:

  Training Services at 612-626-1373.

  
  

URL: http://financial.reports.umn.edu

Last updated September 29th, 1997, fsshelp@umn.edu

© 1997 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.