Appendix A - Glossary

last updated: 6/89

1. ABR Pool Table: A table listing the Automatic Budget Reallocation (ABR) rules established in the system. This table is published in Section 7, Budget, and is also available for review on-line by accessing screen 047. For each rule, the defined budget pools and the object code ranges participating in each pool are identified.

2. Account: A record established in the accounting system to accumulate activity related to a specific purpose within an organizational unit of the University, with one individual having primary responsibility for authorizing the activity.

3. Account Control: A four digit subcode appended to a six digit general ledger account to represent a specific asset, liability, fund balance, fund addition, fund deduction or summary control.

4. Account, Six Digit: A six digit number representing an account.

5. Account, Ten Digit: A six digit account number combined with a four digit subcode to represent a specific line item within an account.

6. Account Statement in Whole Dollars: A standard monthly FRS report (report code - FBM090) providing summary dollar information posted to a subsidiary ledger account by object code.

7. Allowable Cost: Costs that the University incurs in carrying out a grant or contract, and is allowed to recover from the sponsoring agency. Under the terms of Federally-sponsored grants and contracts, the University will be allowed to recover t hose costs that are allowable in accordance with the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21.

8. Attributes: Nondollar descriptive data associated with an account. Examples include the responsible person, the fund accountant, the program, the school and the department.

9. Automatic Budget Reallocation (ABR): A process in which the system automatically transfers budget dollars from predefined budget pools to specific line items within the pool. This transfer is activated whenever a revenue, encumbrance, disbursem ent or journal entry is posted to a line item within a defined budget pool. The required budget is automatically transferred, or reallocated, to the line item.

10. Bank Transfer: A movement of cash from one memo bank account to another (transaction code 090).

11. Batch Reference Source Code: A three character reference that identifies the unit that originated or posted a transaction to FRS.

12. Budget: A plan of income and expenditures for a given period.

13. Budget Pool: A significant level of revenue or expense used to summarize budget for a specified range of object codes.

14. Budget Transfer: A movement of budget from one ten digit account to another ten digit account. Budget transfers (transaction code 022) only affect the amount maintained as revised budget in the system.

15. Budget Revision: A one-sided transaction that increases or decreases the budget in a ten digit account without affecting another account. Budget revisions (transaction code 021) only affect the amount maintained as revised budget in the system.

16. Cash Transfer: A movement of cash from one general ledger account to another general ledger account, performed as a journal entry (transaction code 06x).

17. Clearing Account: An account that is used to temporarily accumulate activity, then is periodically zeroed out as the activity is subsequently transferred to other accounts or otherwise distributed. For example, a payroll clearing account is use d to accumulate amounts withheld from employee paychecks. These withholdings are then remitted in lump sums to the appropriate payee, such as the IRS for Federal withholding taxes, and the Arizona Department of Revenue for State withholding taxes.

18. Compound Journal Entry: A journal entry transaction in which more than one debit or credit is posted (transaction code 069).

19. Cost Accounting: The accumulation and analysis of costs incurred in the production of goods or services during a specific period, used to obtain unit cost information.

20. Data Entry: The process of adding information to the system.

21. Dollar Data: Financial information associated with an account.

22. Encumbrance: A budgetary tool used to help prevent accounts from overspending by reserving funds for anticipated future expenses. Encumbrances, also referred to as open commitments, are established using transaction code 05x.

23. Encumbrance Adjustment: An increase, decrease or cancellation of an encumbrance resulting from an encumbrance transaction (transaction code 05x).

24. Encumbrance Liquidation: The removal of an encumbrance when the related expenditure occurs. To liquidate an encumbrance, the same account, object code and encumbrance reference number used to establish the encumbrance must be referenced when th e expenditure is posted, and the encumbrance liquidation indicator must be set for a partial or final liquidation. An encumbrance liquidation may occur during a disbursement transaction (transaction code 04x) or a journal entry transaction (06x).

25. Encumbrance Status Detail: A biweekly report (report code - PSOS090) generated by the PSOS system which lists the detail of salary and wage encumbrances by object code.

26. Flag: A variable used to set processing controls for an account.

27. Fund: An accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts for recording assets, liabilities, fund balance, and changes in fund balance. Accounts with similar accounting and reporting requirements are classifed into funds.

28. Fund Accounting: The process of analyzing, recording, summarizing, evaluating and interpreting the financial activity and status of a nonprofit organization and communicating the results.

29. Fund Group: Funds with similar accounting and reporting requirements that are combined for accounting and reporting purposes.

30. Fund Group ID: The second and third digits of the general ledger account, which identify the fund group with which the account is associated.

31. Fund Transfer: A movement of dollars from one fund balance to another.

32. General Ledger Account: A six digit account used to accumulate balance sheet information: assets, liabilities, fund balance, fund additions, and fund deductions. All general ledger accounts begin with the number zero.

33. General Ledger/Subsidiary Ledger Relationships: User-defined structures relating subsidiary ledger revenue/expense accounts to general ledger balance sheet accounts.

34. Global Subcode Edit: A system table which specifies valid combinations of six digit accounts and four digit subcodes. As transactions are processed, the system checks this table to determine if ten digit accounts are valid. Invalid combination s are rejected.

35. Indirect Updating: The automatic posting of real dollar activity to a general ledger account, usually as a result of a direct update to a subsidiary ledger account.

36. Interdepartmental Billing: An accounting entry in which one University department account is charged for goods or services purchased from another University department (usually interdepartmental billing units or service centers).

37. Interdepartmental Billing Unit: A service center established within the University community to provide goods or services to other departments at the University on a continual basis.

38. Interface: An interaction between data processing systems which permits communication between them.

39. Interfund Borrowing: The transfer of an asset or liability from one fund to another.

40. Journal Entry: A transfer of dollar records between two or more ten digit accounts (transaction code 06x).

41. Ledger: A collection of account records for an organization. FRS contains two ledgers: the general ledger (balance sheet) and the subsidiary ledger (revenue and expense). All accounts beginning with zero are general ledger accounts. Accounts beginning with numbers one through nine are subsidiary ledger accounts.

42. Map Code: A five digit attribute code in a subsidiary ledger account indicating the general ledger account to which it relates. This code is always the last five digits of the general ledger account.

43. Memo Bank Account: An account that represents the balances of demand deposits for operating accounts. Memo bank accounts are account numbers 0-00001 through 0-00030. Total dollars in all banks are also allocated across all general ledger 1100 account controls (Equity in Pooled Cash). The cash total of all memo bank accounts should equal the total of all equity in pooled cash amounts.

44. Object Code: A four digit subcode appended to a six digit subsidiary ledger account to represent a specific item of revenue or expense.

45. Offset Account: A field that appears on the FBM091, Report of Transactions, and on inquiry screen 023, Transaction Inquiry, to identify the account on the other side of an entry posted as a simple journal entry (transaction codes 060 through 069 ) or a budget transfer (transaction code 022).

46. Open Commitment: A budgetary tool used to help prevent accounts from overspending by reserving funds for anticipated future expenses. Open commitments, also referred to as encumbrances, are established using transaction code 05x.

47. Organizational Unit: An entity within the University, typically a department, center, independent research lab or institute, which submits a formal budget for either State or local funding to the University Budget Office.

48. Original Budget: A field that appears on the FBM091, Report of Transactions, and on inquiry screen 022, List SL Budget Data, which reflects the original budget posted in the system. The only transactions that affect the amount maintained as ori ginal budget are those posted using transaction code 020.

49. Original Budget Transaction: A one-sided entry that increases or decreases the budget in a ten digit account without affecting another account. Original budget transactions (transaction code 020) are reflected in both the original and revised b udgets maintained by the system.

50. Payroll Expenditure Listing: A biweekly report generated from the Personal Services Operating System (PSOS) which lists all payroll and payroll-related expenditures.

51. Personnel Action Form: A document generated by the Personal Services Operating System (PSOS) that contains detailed information about an employee and the funding for the employee's position.

52. Position Control Form: A document generated by the Personal Services Operating System (PSOS) that contains detailed information about a specific position number, including the position type, status, payment terms and funding.

53. Principal Investigator: The person assigned responsibility for program and budgetary management of a grant or contract.

54. Rate Determination: The process of analyzing cost data, principally for the purpose of determining billing rates and/or indirect cost rates applicable to grants and contracts and other University activities.

55. Report of Transactions: The monthly FRS report (report code - FBM090) that provides a detailed listing of all transactions posted to an account. The Report of Transactions for subsidiary ledger accounts lists the budget, revenue, expenditure, e ncumbrance and journal entry transactions posted to the account. The Report of Transactions for general ledger accounts lists the receipt, disbursement and journal entry transactions posted to the account, and also provides an opening balance and ending balance for all account controls.

56. Responsibility Roll-up Report: A standard monthly FRS report generated to summarize the activity of several accounts within a responsibility unit.

57. Responsible Person: The departmental user who has been assigned the responsibility for an account. This person must authorize all transactions for the account or delegate the responsibility for this authorization.

58. Simple Journal Entry: A journal entry with one debit and one credit (transaction codes 060 through 068).

59. Subcode: Four digits appended to the account ID to identify attribute and dollar records within an account.

60. Suspense Account: A general ledger clearing account reflecting real dollar activity directed to the suspense file during batch processing.

61. Transaction: An entry made to the system to record information and update the data base.

62. Transaction Code: A three digit code which uniquely identifies a transaction type and determines editing criteria and dollar fields to be updated.

63. Use Tax: A 5% tax on purchases of tangible personal property from an out-of-state vendor for use by the University of Arizona that is not for resale.

64. Vendor: A business or individual from whom goods or services are purchased.

65. Voucher: A document used to record information about the purchase of goods or services.