UAMS ADMINISTRATIVE GUIDE

NUMBER: 6.1.02
DATE:07/15/96
REVISION:2/20/04

POLICY

Operating budgets for current unrestricted funds are approved prior to the start of each fiscal year by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees. An original budget is also approved for each sponsored program by the sponsoring entity prior to the start of the program. All subsequent changes to these approved budgets require the review and approval of various campus administrators.

All original budgets are recorded in the general ledger and require the processing of a Request for Budget Revision to reflect any changes in the budget as originally approved. A Request for Budget Revision Form must be completed to affect the following:

* Transfer of budget amounts between commitment items

* Transfer of budget amounts between funds centers
*  Creation of new budget or increase to total budget
*  Deletion of budget or reduction to total budget
*  Redistribute monthly budget

PROCEDURES

1. Any Fund, Commitment Item and Funds Center combination to be revised must be listed in complete form, and all budget revision requests must balance (debits must equal credits).
2. The preparer of the Request for Budget Revision Form will be responsible for the accuracy of the form. Requirements for completion vary by fund types. Specific requirements are detailed below. Inaccurate or improperly completed forms will be returned to the originating office for correction.

Current Unrestricted (1XX) Funds

3. Requests for budget revisions to increase, reduce or transfer budget authority will be initiated by the administrator of the requesting department or a designated department representative by completing a Request for Budget Revision Form. Any budget amounts being reduced or transferred between commitment items or funds centers must not exceed the annual departmental budget for those specific commitment items.
4. When the Request for Budget Revision Form has been completed and signed by the Department Director, it should be forwarded to that department's Dean, Executive Director, Vice Chancellor, or other designated representative for approval prior to submitting the form to the Budget Office for processing.
5. If no transfer of fund balance is required to support the budget revision, the requesting department will forward the signed Request for Budget Revision Form to the Budget Office for review, approval and processing.
6. If the Request for Monthly Budget Revision requires the transfer of fund balance or the transfer of budget between funds, and the change is also to be reflected in actual revenue/expenditures, an Interdepartmental Transfer form (IDT)¹ must also be completed by the requesting department. The, unprocessed Request for Budget Revision Form , with a copy of the Interdepartmental Transfer form (IDT) attached, should be sent to the Budget Office.  The original IDT should be sent to Financial Services.
7. Financial Services will review the request for availability of resources and the appropriateness of the transfer. If all criteria for a valid transfer are met, they will process the transfer of resources by entering the appropriate information into SAP.  After checking for this revised information, the Budget Office will process the Request for Monthly Budget Revision.
8. The Budget Office will assign an official transaction number to the Request for Budget Revision, review the transaction for accuracy and appropriateness, process approved budget transactions in the General Ledger, and return a copy of the approved Request for Budget Revision Form to the requesting department and to the appropriate division business officer.
9. Any Request for Budget Revision Form not approved for processing will be returned to the requesting department by the disapproving office.

REFERENCES
1 UAMS Procedure 8.1.03

REQUEST FOR BUDGET REVISION INSTRUCTIONS

COMPLETING THE FORM

1. Prepared By, Telephone Ext., Mail #, Date Prepared: Enter the name and telephone extension number of the person completing the form and the date the form was completed.
2. Purpose: Check the appropriate space for the budget transaction being requested.
3. Explanation: Enter a brief description of the transaction, and the reasons for the budget transaction(s) being requested. If the requested transaction will create a new budget, specify the source of income for the additional budget in this space
4. Fund: Enter the appropriate three-digit code identifying the Fund(s) affected by the requested transaction. If the request requires a transfer of fund balance or a transfer of budget between funds and the change is also to be reflected in actual revenue/expenditures, the unprocessed Request for Budget Revision Form , with a copy of the Interdepartmental Transfer form (IDT) attached, should be sent to the Budget Office.  The original IDT is to be sent to Financial Services.  (See page one of these procedures for details).
5. Commitment Item: Enter the appropriate six-digit number identifying the commitment item(s) being affected by the requested transaction. All budgeted income object codes begin with “4” or “8”,, and all budgeted expense object codes begin with “5” or “8”,  Check the list of commitment items in SAP, or call the Budget Office if you have questions as to which commitment item(s) are appropriate..
6. Funds Center: Enter the appropriate 7 digit number identifying the center(s) being affected by the requested transaction.
7. Effective Month/Year: On the Request for Budget Revision Form enter the month and year the amount revised is to be effective. Note: This field is not entered on 2XX Fund Budget revisions.
8. Sender/Reduce Budget: Enter the dollar amount of the transfer out or reduction to the budgeted expense amount that will be caused by the requested transaction.
9. Receiver/Increase Budget: Enter the dollar amount of the transfer in or increase to the budgeted income amount that will be caused by the requested transaction.
10. Totals: Enter the total transaction amounts for all rows in these spaces. The sum of all debit totals must equal the sum of all credit totals.
11. Adjustments to the Division Budget Base: If the requested transaction will cause a permanent adjustment to the division base budget, mark “Yes” in the appropriate space.  Otherwise, mark “No”.
12. Signatures: Prior to submitting the form to the Budget Office for processing, the Department Director or designated department representative, and the requesting department’s Dean, Executive Director, Vice Chancellor, or division business officer must sign the Request for Budget Revision Form authorizing the transaction.  Departments should consult their division’s business officer to determine if any other division-level signatures are required.  A list of authorized signatures for each division is kept on file in the Budget Office.