1. FD 601 Reconciliation Best Practices
May 12, 2017
Cassandra Balent
Accounting Operations Manager
CLS Fiscal Services
Adapted from Tricia Cook’s FD601 Training 5/17/2016

2. Introductions Name and where you work on campus?
What would you like to learn about reconciling and/or what do you find frustrating or struggle with?
Are you a CatBooks user?

3. Objectives for FD 601
Understand what reconciling is and why it’s important.
Become familiar with reconciliation processes and tools.
Develop problem solving strategies and learn about campus resources.

4. What Does “Reconcile” mean?
Compare two sets of records to ensure they are in agreement.
e.g. balancing your checkbook to your bank statement is a form of reconciling.
At MSU, we will reconcile our departmental financial records (checkbook) to Banner (bank).

5. Why Do We Reconcile? Verify the accuracy of transactions.
Identify and resolve errors in a timely manner.
Confirm the accuracy of fund balances.
Accurately inform decision making.
Ensure compliance with university, state and federal regulations, circulars and cost accounting standards.

6. How Often Should You Reconcile?
Normally, department funds should be reconciled monthly.
Special circumstances for more frequent reconciliation:
High volume
High risk
Time of year
Balance effectiveness with efficiency

7. Who Should Reconcile?
Reconciling should be performed by someone in the unit with sufficient knowledge to:
Compare transactions on financial reports to departmental records.
Match all transactions to appropriate backup documentation.

8. Who Should Reconcile? (cont.)
Identify, investigate, and resolve:
Unknown or unexpected transactions.
Coding errors.
Transactions that should but have not yet occurred.
Unallowable expenditures.
Report irregularities to appropriate authorities and fund balances to stakeholders.

9. Segregation of Duties
“Significant transactions” should not be controlled from start to finish by the same person.
High dollar transactions, e.g. procurement
Risky transactions, e.g. cash handling, pcards
Separate AP/AR and reconciling as possible.

10. Department Records Accounts Receivable Accounts Payable
Cash receipts
Invoices for services performed
Accounts Payable
BPAs/invoices (itemized invoices, not statements, reservations or confirmations)
Pcard reports (itemized invoices, not statements, reservations or confirmations; payment method shown)
Campus autobills
Finance and payroll correction forms

11. Department Records (cont.)
Procurement paperwork
Purchase order and sole source or tab of bids
Contracted services agreements
Travel and Hospitality forms
Student
OSP Fee Authorization
Third Party Billing form
Fellowship form
Secondary Ledger/Shadow System
CatBooks, Quicken, QuickBooks, Excel

12. Documenting Reconciliation
Maintain a record of:
When reconciliation was done and by whom.
Identification and resolution of errors.
Complete record of AP/AR.
Proof of review by fund end user
principal investigator, department head, director, etc.

13. Who Should Review Reconciliations?
Someone with sufficient responsibility and authority to:
Ensure reconciliations are completed in a timely manner and errors are satisfactorily resolved.
Review and evaluate fund activity and balances.
Principal investigators should review grant reports directly. Department Head/Director is ultimately responsible for all unit funds.

14. Banner Finance Reports (BANK)
SAIS, MSU Switchboard OR
Navigate to sais.montana.edu, click on “Banner Application Switchboard”
You will be prompted for your NetID credentials

16. Banner Reports and Fund Types
General Operating (State)
Grants
Restricted Gift & Designated
Index Types
41xxxx, 01XXXX, 91xxxx, 4Sxxxx
4Wxxxx
42xxxx, 43xxxx
SAIS Reports
Run by Index (or group type), FY, and Month
Operating Ledger Summary
Operating Ledger Transactions
Payroll Report
Inception to Date
General Ledger
My Groups Type
Index
Fund
Run the “Index Listing (by Org)” (SAIS – Finance Reports) to see all indices
currently active in your ORG.

17. Step 1: Reconcile Transactions
For all indices use:
Operating Ledger Transactions
Payroll Report
Compare departmental records (source documents and secondary ledger if one is used).
Reconcile to budget or cash, YTD expenditures, and encumbrances.

22. Clearing Transactions in CatBooks
CatBooks Menu >Tools > Reconcile
Select index from drop down menu
Click “Begin Reconcile” or hit “enter” key
Toggle transactions that appear on the SAIS Operating Ledger Transactions and Payroll Reports.
“Checked Total” field will show balance of all checked transactions

24. Clearing Transactions in CatBooks (cont.)
Click “Clear Checked”
This will enter the “month cleared” on the selected transactions.
Be sure to manage this feature.

25. Clearing Transactions in CatBooks (cont.)
Run “detail by month report” in CatBooks to double check

26. Step 2: Balance the Index (Based on Fund Type)
General Operating/State
Grants
Restricted Gift and Designated
SAIS report
Operating Ledger Summary
Inception to Date
General Ledger
How to Balance
SAIS: Sum of the “encumbered” and “available” columns
**should match**
Departmental encumbrances and available balance
(CatBooks: sum of “outstanding” and “remaining” columns – Summary Report)
SAIS: Sum of the “encumbrance” column and “free balance”
SAIS: “1104 Cash in Treasury” or “Total Fund Balance”

27. CatBooks Dropdown Menu > Reports > Summary

34. Balancing Fund Type Review
General Operating
Grants
Designated and Restricted Gift
SAIS Reports (use for reconciling)
Operating Ledger Summary
• Balance sum of “encumbrance” and “available” columns to dept. records.
Inception to Date
• Balance sum of “encumbrance” column and “free balance” to dept. records.
General Ledger
• Balance either “cash” or “fund” to dept. records.
Banner MSTR screens (shows ongoing activity – helpful for researching transactions)
FGIBDST
FRIGITD
FGITBAL or FGITBSR

35. Troubleshooting! Research and Resolve Check index expenditures
Don’t just make entries so that the index balances.
Track down mystery charges
Follow up on unpaid invoices
Check index expenditures
SAIS Operating Ledger Transaction by FY or by month
FGIBDST/FGITRND (MSTR will show activity to date)
Operating Ledger Summary (use for checking account code balances)

36. Troubleshooting! (cont.)
Check budget and cash entries.
SAIS Operating Ledger Summary, Inception to Date Report, General Ledger
FGIBDST, FRIGITD, FGITBAL
Budget transfers will appear on SAIS Operating Ledger Transaction report.
Remember, SAIS rounds budget entries! Check MSTR (FGIBDST/FGITRND) for exact amount.
Position Budget Adjustments appear on Budget by Position report in SAIS.

37. CatBooks Troubleshooting
Check imports by index and account code
CatBooks dropdown menu > data entry > index
CatBooks dropdown menu > data entry > account

38. CatBooks Troubleshooting (cont.)
Reconciling Sub-Accounts
Balance “main” index to Banner
Sub-account all transactions (recommended, based on need)
Balance “subs” to “main” index in CatBooks

39. Helpful SAIS Reports

40. Helpful Banner MSTR Screens

41. Campus Resources Salary, benefits, payroll encumbrances
HR Payroll Tech
AP/AR (pcard tx, BPAs), account codes, finance corrections
UBS, OSP
JD1 issues
Autobills
Campus office/department making the charge, UBS can help you look this up (by doc code)

42. Campus Resources (cont.)
General operating budget, budget transfers, position budget adjustments
Budget Office
Grant budgets, sub-awards, no-cost extensions, allowable costs
OSP Fiscal Manager
Transfers in 436/7/8xxx indices
VP RED
CatBooks questions
Me!
x5022

43. Questions?

44. Thanks!