REQUESTS FOR BUDGET REVISIONS

Financial Planning and Budgets Section (FPB)

PROCEDURE 2

Effective Date: 03/09/2004

Last Modified Date: 05/25/2005

Procedure Description

Department heads should review their monthly FBM090 Account Statements and, when needed, enter an on-line budget revision. These revisions should be made as soon as possible when needed, so that budget reports will at all times reflect a realistic budget for the current fiscal period.

The Financial Planning and Budgets Office (FPB) will be responsible for object codes described in FPB Appendix 1, Object Codes for Budgets and Expenditures. A computer prorate program will transfer budget directly from unallocated staff benefits to UNC-Chapel Hill staff benefit object codes in the Revised Budgets column of the FBM090 to equal expenditures made from those lines.

Procedure Steps

Review of Revision Requests

The following areas should be given particular attention in departmental reviews and requests for revisions:

• Budgets must be established for Budget Control Level object codes (except those identified in FPB Appendix 1) before disbursements are made from the expenditure object codes.
• ABR will reallocate budgets from Budget Control Levels to UNC-Chapel Hill object levels.
• Budgets must be established to cover overdrafts in sufficient amounts to meet departmental needs for the remainder of the current fiscal period.
• Budgets must be established for Salaries-Overtime (Budget Control Level object codes 1120 and 1220) to cover employees scheduled to work more than 40 hours during any University standard workweek during the current fiscal year.
• The Management Initiative (MI) is a required data entry field for both F&A and state funds transfers and must be completed prior to submitting the revision for approval. The MI documents reasons for flexibility transfers that are subsequently reported on the annual UNC Management Flexibility Report. The coding and a description of each MI is available in Attachment A of On-line Budget Transfer Instructions. MI codes and descriptions are also available on the FBT/NBX system by tabbing to the new MI# field on the Budget Entry screen and using the F2 key.

Financial Planning and Budgets Office Approval

FPB reviews the requested transfers, makes necessary changes, approves authorized internal and flexibility transfers, and obtains approval from the State Budget Office when required.

Flexibility

Transfers of budgets (including lapsed salaries) may be made between any purpose(s) and object(s), with the following exceptions:

• 18XX (Fringe Benefits) associated with transfers of lapsed salaries.
• 7XXX (Debt Service) and 8XXX (Transfers and Reserves).
• Transfers from 3300 (Utilities), 5600 (Library Books and Journals), and 6XXX (Aids and Grants) will be reviewed based on justification of need.

Transfer requests must be justified in detail. Each requested increase must be explained because FPB has to report these transactions to UNC OP, the Office of State Budget and Management, and the N.C. General Assembly.

An example of proper justification would be "Purchasing a computer for office to improve productivity by providing access to the FRS accounting system." A justification of "covering overdrafts or deficits" is not acceptable.

Flexibility transfers should not be mixed with non-flexibility transfers. Please refer to the section immediately below to determine which type of transfer you are trying to make. For flexibility transfers you may use the on-line flexible budget transfer (FBT On-line).

Special Instructions

Non-Flexibility On-Line Budget Transfers (0BT)

• Budget transfers entered by campus departments on screen 0BT (zero BT) are simple-entry transactions; that is, the amounts in Increase Account and Decrease Account must be equal to each other.
• No revenue object codes may be used with State accounts.
• Budget transfers are in whole dollars only. No cents will be allowed.
• Sufficient budget must exist in the decreased account and object code.
• Budget transfers on frozen accounts will not be allowed.
• Transfers of budget for 14XX objects are allowed within an account, or between accounts in the same budget code and purpose code. You must have on-line access to all accounts involved.
• Transfers of budget for 19xx objects are allowed between accounts in the same budget code and purpose code, but cannot be changed to a different object (e.g., 1920 to 1990). You must have on-line access to all accounts involved.
• Transfers of budget for objects 2xxx thru 5xxx may be made between those objects and between accounts in the same budget code and purpose code, with the exceptions noted in the next point. You must have on-line access to all accounts involved.
• Budget transfers will not be allowed for object codes 33XX, 54XX, 56XX, 57XX, 58XX, and 59XX.

Flexibility On-Line Budget Transfers (FBT)

• Budget transfers entered by campus departments in FRS (Screen NBX) must be in balance-that is, the total increase amounts must equal the total decrease amounts.
• Budget transfers are in whole dollars only. No cents will be allowed. Commas are not required.
• Sufficient budget must exist in the decreased account and object code.
• Budget transfers will not be permitted on frozen accounts.
• Departments may use only those accounts to which they have on-line access in FRS.

Additional Information

See also:

FPB Policy 5, Maintenance of University State Budgets

FPB Appendix 1, Subcode (Objects) for Budgets-State Funds

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