1,003: University Accounts and Worktag Policy

Revised: October 2018

The University uses accounts to separately budget and account for revenues and expenditures by funding source. In the university's accounting system, Workday, an account is made up of a combination of worktags: company, unit, cost center, detail worktag, and activity code. While company, unit, and cost center are well defined and should only be established or changed in coordination with the Controller, Associate Vice President of Planning, Budget, and Analysis, and the Associate Vice President of Human Resources, detail worktags and activity codes are requested by staff in the colleges and departments.

Detail worktags are used to identify the funding source and associated expenses by type (program, grant, gift, and project). Activity codes are used to track types of activities within a detail worktag that a program may find useful to monitor. The Controller has responsibility over the chart of accounts, including non-grant worktags. Sponsored Projects has responsibility over grant worktags. Responsibility includes monthly reconciliation of accounts. As a result, this policy is designed to balance the needs of programs and to reduce the administrative costs associated with account management.

Unless approved by the Controller or his/her designee, no new non-grant worktags will be set-up for anticipated ongoing revenues and expenses less than $5,000, excluding start-up and facilities and administration (F&A) programs. Grant worktags will be established in accordance with the policies and procedures established by Sponsored Projects. For tracking revenues and expenses under $5,000, activity codes should be requested where there is a desire to track these revenues and/or expenses within an existing program, gift or project.

In order to balance the needs of units and to reduce administrative costs, at the end of each fiscal year, worktags with balances below $5,000 with no anticipated new funding or worktags with no activity for 18 months will be evaluated for transfer to another department account used for a similar purpose. The Controller or his/her designee will work with the affected individuals and department to determine if the transfer should occur and the appropriate worktag to move funds to.