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fad_communications@harvard.edu
Or via the UIS Helpdesk, 6-2001

Three New University Financial
Policies   back to top

Three new University financial policies have recently been adopted to provide guidance on establishing new departmental bank accounts; the signature requirements for processing travel expenses and reimbursements; and the impact of Europe's January 2002 transition to the Euro on University disbursements and deposits.

Policy: Cash Management Series: Requesting New Bank Accounts

Summary
This document provides policies and procedures on opening a Harvard bank account. FAD Cash Management is responsible for opening all Harvard University bank accounts; local units must submit requests for all new accounts directly to Cash Management.

Policy: Travel and Reimbursement: Signature and Forms(s) Requirements

Summary
This policy addresses questions regarding the requirement of original signatures for travel and reimbursements. It clarifies the requirements for both employees and non-employees.

Policy: National Currency Unit Conversion to the EMU Euro

Full Text
Europe is transitioning to the European Monetary Union (EMU) Euro on January 1, 2002. You will need to take action to respond to changes in currency disbursements and currency deposits. Please take the time to read the following information carefully.

The transition of the National Currency Units (NCU) to the EMU Euro will impact your ability to process foreign currency checks deposited on a Credit Voucher or issue Foreign Currency Drafts in the NCU currencies after the conversion date. Keep in mind that these changes also apply to any checks in these currencies deposited directly into lockbox accounts or checking accounts, so you may elect to include a warning message in your billing statements.

Beginning January 1, 2002, the following NCUs will no longer be available: the Austrian Schilling, Belgian Franc, Deutsche Mark, Finnish Markka, French Franc, Greek Drachma, Irish Pound, Italian Lira, Netherlands Guilder, Portuguese Escudo, and Spanish Peseta. These currencies will be transitioned to the EMU Euro (EUR).

Cash Management will begin disbursing foreign currency drafts using the EUR effective December 1, 2001. During the transition the European Commission has established a fixed conversion rate between NCUs and the EUR. The conversion table is as follows:

You can be assured that the EUR is a completely acceptable alternative to NCUs. For example, if a payment is requested in NCU or the beneficiary maintains an NCU account, an EUR equivalent payment may be sent without any loss or inconvenience to the beneficiary.

Items Disbursed by Harvard University:

No NCU cheques will be issued by Cash Management after the December 1, 2001 deadline.

NCU cheques issued to a vendor by Harvard University prior to December 1 will be accepted for clearing by Citibank until February 15, 2002. After this date, any uncleared cheques will be processed on a collection basis, subject to the validity period of the cheque. This means there will be higher charges per item and significant processing delays. It is also important to note that the beneficiaries may incur additional charges if they deposit an NCU cheque after January 1, 2002.

Items Deposited on Behalf of Harvard University:

For items deposited through Cash Receipts on a Credit Voucher, the banks will continue to accept NCUs until February 14, 2002. The items deposited must be dated prior to January 1, 2002. These items will be processed by the banks as a provisional credit or a clean collection.

Beginning February 15, 2002, the banks will only clear NCU-denominated checks on a clean collection and reasonable efforts basis, according to the final deadline established by each EMU country. We will no longer receive provisional credit for these currencies. The banks will not accept NCU currency checks dated January 1, 2002 or later.

Cash Management will work closely with you to minimize the impact to you and your customers during this transition period. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Ahva Davis at (617) 496-3018 or Michelle Sazo at (617) 495-1647. Thank you!

University Financial Policies and
Related Forms Updated    back to top

The Check Processing - AP Web Voucher policy now includes sections on Alternative Mail Sites, Check Enclosures, and AP Forms. In the grid contained in the document, the Non-standard: Special Handling Check Service column was revised to include and clarify criteria for using this service. (These are not changes in current policies, just clarifications.)

Two related AP forms (the Non-Standard Check Processing and Web Voucher Enclosure Request) have been revised and are available at: http://able.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/forms.pl?app=WV.

Cash Receipt Transactions to Appear on Detail Listing in a Different Format    back to top

Cash receipts are processed by the FAD Cash Management and General Accounts Receivable departments. Cash Management processes departmental deposits submitted with a credit voucher, whereas Accounts Receivable processes customer receivables sent to Harvard's lockbox.

Both kinds of transactions appear on the detail listing report routinely. The exhibit attached provides an example of how they now appear, the ways in which they look different, and how to decipher the information that appears in the various columns.

Please note that this procedure has changed slightly since the system was implemented earlier this year, and since most users received training. In particular, if you need to know which department processed a particular cash receipt so that you can research or question a transaction, look at the "Desc. 2" column. If there is no data there or if the data there starts with "AR," the receipt was processed by the General Accounts Receivable department (customer service available at 5-3787). Otherwise, it was processed by the Cash Receipt department, which can be reached at 5-2738 or 5-1903.

Improving ABLE     back to top

On September 24, FAD Training launched a major redesign of the ABLE online help system, now available from anywhere on the internet at: http://able.harvard.edu.

Please tell us what you think of the redesign and give us suggestions for further improvement by completing the online usability survey located on the Zoomerang web site.

We also need usability testers to "test drive" newly implemented or contemplated system features, so that we can better understand how to support your performance using University financial or reporting systems. It only takes an hour, and most testers have found it an interesting experience. Of course, there will be snacks. Please sign up for one of our slots on the morning of November 6 or 7 by calling Suzanne Eaton at 5-8891.

About the FAD e-News back to top

The Financial Administration publishes this semi-monthly electronic newsletter for users of Harvard University's financial systems, policies, and procedures. Generally, the e-News is published on or around the 12th and 26th of each month.

It contains:

• updates on projects underway to build or improve University financial systems;
• information about new University financial policies, procedures, and forms;
• reminders about upcoming deadlines and cut-over dates;
• tips and tricks for working more easily or productively.

We welcome questions and suggestions for improvement from readers. If your questions are of general interest, we will answer them in future issues.

Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for improvement by email to us at: fad_communications@harvard.edu