18.30 Assigned Responsibilities

Purpose:	To provide guidelines on establishing and operating a Service Center.
Owner:	Financial Management - Administration

Responsibilities

Department - Establishing Service Center Accounts

1. Submit the following to Financial Management - Operating Funds:

   1. A completed New Account Proposal form to establish service center or cost center accounts.

   2. A proposed operating budget (by FRS account).

   3. A summary of proposed Cost Accounting practices, including statistical/financial record keeping, rate setting methodology, billing/charge-out practices and initial billing rates.

   4. Additional information as requested by the Financial Services Office.

   Department - Maintaining a Service Center

2. Request Financial Management - Administration to:

   1. Assist in the determination of the permissibility of specific goods/services.
   2. Review and approve requests for exceptions to the Cost Accounting/Administrative Guidelines.
   3. Review and approve cost accounting practices according to the Cost Accounting Guidelines.
   4. Assist in determination of appropriate break-even methodology.
   5. Assist in the determination of allow ability of costs.
   6. Assist in the determination of the need for separate good/service billing rates.
   7. Assist in the determination of the types of customer billing rates.
   8. Assist in the determination of appropriate depreciation factors and methodology.
   9. Assist in the determination of the appropriate factor for Administrative Service Charges, if applicable.
   10. Review and approve administrative practices according to the Administrative Guidelines.
   11. Assist in the determination of the types of extended record keeping that are needed.
   12. Review and approve all requests to establish capital reserve accounts or transfer cash to these accounts.

3. Inform Financial Management - Administration of events or circumstances which could result in changes to rate setting methodology and cost accounting or administrative practices.
   
    
4. Obtain signed statements from outside parties that goods/services are not available from commercial sources. Also, maintain a permanent file of these statements.
   
   
5. Develop and update billing rate calculations according to rate setting methodology approved by Financial Management - Administration.
   
   
6. Establish and maintain extended record keeping procedures and systems.
   
   
7. Reconcile non-FRS financial records to FRS.
   
   
8. Separately identify service center and non-service center equipment.
   
   
9. Take physical inventories of raw materials, work in process, finished goods and resale materials.
   
   
10. Maintain a schedule of current billing rates.
    
    
11. Submit requests for new or revised financing arrangements to the Financial Management for review and approval.

    Financial Management - Operating Funds

12. Receive and coordinate requests to establish service center or cost center accounts.
    
     
13. Establish FRS accounts.
    
    
14. Establish appropriate methods for valuing inventories of raw materials, work in process, finished goods and resale merchandise.
    
    
15. Assist in the determination of appropriate billing procedures.
    
    
16. Assess Administrative Service Charges to a service center's auxiliary enterprise accounts and transfer these funds to appropriate institutional accounts.
    
    

    Financial Management - Administration

17. In response to departmental requests, assist service centers in the determination of:

    1. Permissibility of goods/services.
    2. Appropriate break-even methodology.
    3. Allow ability of costs.
    4. The need for separate good/service billing rates.
    5. The types of customer billing rates.
    6. Appropriate depreciation factors and methodology.
    7. The appropriate factor for Administrative Service Charges.
    8. The types of extended record keeping that are needed.

18. Review and approve:

    1. Requests for temporary exceptions to the Cost Accounting or Administrative Guidelines.
    2. Cost accounting practices according to the Cost Accounting Guidelines.
    3. Administrative practices according to the Administrative Guidelines.
    4. All requests to establish capital reserve accounts or transfer cash to these accounts.

19. Ensure that section 18.10, complies with OMB Circular A-21.

20. Ensure that section 18.10, complies with the Internal Revenue Code on unrelated business income and Board of Regents policy on competition with private enterprise.

21. Interpret section 18.10, and OMB Circular A-21 (as it applies to the cost accounting and administrative practices of a service center).

22. Coordinate communications with all governmental agencies on matters governed by the Service Center Policy.

23. Monitor service center compliance with section 18.10, and perform periodic "compliance studies" in selected service centers. Submit findings and recommendations to the Comptroller, the service center, and appropriate administrators (such as department head, dean, and vice president).
    
     

    Financial Management - Plant Fund Accounting

24. Review and approve financing arrangements and assist in obtaining the necessary approvals of Procurement and Contracting Services and others as appropriate.