Accounting Services Section (ACT)
POLICY 25
Effective Date: 09/01/2004
Last Modified Date: 12/29/2005
Types of Approved Advances
Occasionally University departments have a need for cash advances to conduct University business such as group field trips, hosting foreign visitors, purchasing food and materials for large group functions, or compensating study subjects.
Non-Reimbursable Services
Requests to pay an employee for services should not be submitted as cash advances. If an employee fails to receive timely payment for services and all forms have been completed and approved for the pay process, please review the options with the Director of Payroll Services.
Approval Authority
The University Controller has delegated to the Director of Accounting the authority to approve appropriately supported requests for advances from institutional trust funds or special funds.
Procedures
Advances for the Purchase of Gift Cards to Compensate Study Subjects
Departments that wish to compensate study subjects with gift cards rather than with cash should complete a Request for Advance for Purchase of Gift Cards Attached to Check Request, available on the Financial Reporting and Management Services forms page. The advance must come from a departmental account, and the employee to whom the advance is made must be either the principal investigator or study coordinator.
To reconcile the advance, use the Reconciliation for Advance for Purchase of Gift Cards form, also available on FRMS's forms page.
Other Advances for University Departments
Prepare a check request (Form AP-1, linked from Finance Central) payable to the University employee, with an explanation of the circumstances for the advance in the notepad. The account number on the check request should be the general ledger account of the fund to be used for the advance. Have the employee sign the Cash Advance Agreement (in ACT Appendix 16), which shows the date the receipts are due to be returned to Accounting Services for the settlement of the advance and includes a provision to allow Accounting Services to deduct the total amount of the advance from the employee's pay if the settlement is not made on the agreed date. Make one copy each for the department and the employee, and send the original to Disbursement Services with the Supporting Documentation form for the check request.
Settlement
The settlement should consist of the following:
The settlement documentation should be forwarded to the Cash Management Accountant, CB #1210, 104 Airport Drive.
- paid receipts (except in the case of an approved UNC IRB in which the confidentiality of the recipients' identities is critical to the study),
- a summary list of expenses by account number and object,
- a copy of the check request, and
- a copy of the Cashier's Office deposit slip for the deposit of unspent cash (see below).
Upon receipt of the advance settlement, the Cash Management Accountant will prepare the appropriate entry to close the advance and record the disbursement in the accounting system. If the settlement is not received on the agreed date, the Cash Management Accountant will proceed with a payroll deduction from the employee's salary for collection of the advance.
Unspent Cash
Unspent cash from the advance should be deposited at the University Cashier's Office using the Daily Cash Transmittal Report (Form 446, linked from Finance Central). The account number used on the transmittal should be the general ledger account used on the check request for the advance.
Reimbursement of Additional Funds
If the employee uses the entire cash advance and uses additional personal funds to complete the transactions, the department should complete an additional check request for reimbursement to the employee, obtain approval of the request, attach appropriate documentation for the reimbursement, and forward to the Cash Management Accountant with the advance settlement documents. The Director of Accounting Services or the designee will review, approve, and forward the check request to Disbursement Services for processing a check to the employee.
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