Newsletter 2022-2023 Volume 7

News

Monthly Closing Deadlines

The January 2023 period in the general ledger has closed.  The current and future month-end processing deadline schedules are located at Monthly Closing Deadlines.

New myFIUmarket Catalog – Cell Signaling

We are happy to announce that we have enabled Cell Signaling as a new scientific catalog in myFIUmarket. Effective immediately, you should order your lab products through the newly enabled catalog.

Coming Soon in myFIUmarket – Amazon Business

We are excited to announce that we are working on enabling Amazon Business as our latest catalog in myFIUmarket. The catalog should be live before the end of the fiscal year and will leverage the functionality of the soon to be released Shopper Role. The Shopper Role will enable users to browse any myFIUmarket catalog, add selected items into a cart then once done with shopping, assign that cart to a Requestor to complete the requisitioning process in PeopleSoft ePro. We will be conducting training on the Shopper Role within the next 30 -60 days.

Procurated

We’re excited to partner with Procurated on a pilot program aimed at enhancing our vendor relationship management efforts for FIU. Training webinars on the new vendor evaluation tool called Procurated was conducted on January 24 and January 26, 2023. If you missed the training please check out the FIU/Procurated partnership landing page to learn more information about this partnership. As time goes on, Procurated will add more content here about how FIU users may benefit from their tool.

You will start receiving emails and calls from Procurated in the coming weeks to write a review about a supplier you’ve worked with. Please take 60 seconds and write a review! This is how we know if a contract works for you. Go to Procurated’s website and log in. Look for information about suppliers you are talking to or who have responded to your quotes or bids. If you don’t see a review, email support@procurated.com and they will try to get one for you.

Thank you in advance for helping us make this pilot valuable for us all.

Minimum order requirement for Office Supplies

ODP Business Solutions is committed to bringing you outstanding products, innovation, service and value. In an economic landscape that is rapidly changing and impacting how business is conducted, ODP Business Solutions will always seek to provide their customers with extraordinary service. ODP is implementing strategies that enable them to maintain high levels of service, while addressing economic headwinds and embracing their commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles. To manage costs and fulfil ESG commitments, ODP is implementing initiatives to reduce small orders. ODP is to share in the goals set forth in Higher Education around sustainability and especially at FIU. FIU’s Office of University Sustainability’s mission is to create a culture of environmental stewardship at FIU.

Effective, January 2023, ODP is instituting the agreed upon delivery charge within our competitive contract. If the total amount of the ODP order is lower than the minimum order threshold of $50, then a small order fee of $5.95 will be added to that order.

Mandatory Use of The Travel Authorization (TA) Request Process for International Travel

Pursuant to Florida State legislation (HB 7017/ F.S. 1010.36), the University has expanded its travel authorization process to require screening and pre-approval for all international travel and foreign activities. All (even if paid by 3rd Party) international travelers must now complete a Travel Authorization Request (TA), which includes a Foreign Travel questionnaire, specific disclosure requirements regarding travel expenses, and the traveler’s Acknowledgement certifying that they have read this Guidance. You may refer to this Quick Guide to provide you with an overview of the international travel screening and reporting process.
It is encouraged that FIU travelers submit their TA request at least 7 business days before their trip to allow sufficient time for the request to be screened and approved by the Export Control Office.
Guidance on How to Navigate the New Processes
Detailed information on international travel, foreign influence, and compliance concerns are available on our Guidance for International Travel website.

International Travel Screening and Reporting and Foreign Influence Risk Travel

Screening and Reporting Requirements Prior to departing abroad, all employee travelers, not their proxy, must complete, as part of the TAR workflow, a short questionnaire pertaining to foreign influence and other travel risks, as well as acknowledge their understanding of FIU foreign travel guidance. Contingent on the traveler’s responses and where the destination is a Foreign Country of Concern (FCC), which includes China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela, a compliance reviewer will promptly communicate any risk mitigation measures, if necessary, to the traveler. Once the compliance reviewer is satisfied that risks have been addressed, the TAR will follow the regular process towards approval by the supervisor. This process was already embedded in the TAR workflow since Summer 2021, and travelers have navigated it successfully.

Upon return from an international trip, all employee travelers must report any payments or honoraria made directly to the traveler or on behalf of the traveler (i.e., to cover some or all expenses) by an entity or person, including for travel, food, or lodging at any time related to the trip. Payments on the traveler’s behalf may include some or all expenses, or other complimentary items provided, that are not promotional items customarily given at conferences, such as pens, plaques, etc. Should one or more international destination(s) be an FCC, additional information will be required. It will be the proxy’s responsibility to obtain this information from the traveler and to enter it together with all other expense records in the ER. The traveler will be asked to certify the accuracy and completeness of the information by signing the ER. This post-trip process will be effective in PantherSoft as of July 1, 2022. Travelers who went abroad between January 1 and July 1, 2022, have already or will receive an email request to report this information via a Qualtrics survey.

Guidance on How to Navigate the New Processes
Detailed information on international travel, foreign influence, and compliance concerns are available on our Guidance for International Travel website.

 

Unidentified Wire Transfers and ACH Payments

The Controller’s Office occasionally receives payments that cannot be applied to the appropriate department due to inadequate information. Click here for the list of unidentified wire transfers and ACH payments as of January 2023.

To claim a payment, please contact Cash Management and provide the following information:

• Payment details
• Activity/Speedtype to which the payment should be recorded
• Revenue Account to which the payment should be recorded

Payments that are not identified within 45 days of the wire/ACH date will be returned to sender.

Purchase of Controlled Substances and Hazardous Chemicals

The purchase of controlled substances is strictly prohibited with the Pcard; all controlled substance purchases must be procured via a purchase order.

The purchase of hazardous chemicals/materials with the university card is limited exclusively to Fisher Scientific on an emergency/expedited basis only. We have partnered with Fisher to ensure that the purchase complies with all EH&S safety regulations. The purchase of hazardous chemicals/materials from any other merchant is not allowed with the Departmental Card. Dry Ice will be allowed, under 25 pounds from the vendor of choice.

 

Reminders & Deadlines

Monthly Departmental Card Deadline

As a reminder, Departmental Card billing transactions regularly load the first business day of the month; program participants will have 10 days to process this activity in its entirety. This month’s billing statement (dated 1/31/2023) loaded into PantherSoft on February 2nd and must be completely processed by the end of business on February 15, 2023.

Any charges not processed by the closing deadline will be automatically charged to the cardholder’s default accounting on file and will not be eligible for expense transfer.

Additionally, cardholders with three unjustified non-approvals in the same fiscal year will have their card limits suspended until they complete a retraining session.

Card Security: Card Sharing

Each Cardholder is responsible for the security of the Card assigned to them. All precautions should be used to maintain confidentiality of all information relating to the card, such as the Cardholder account number and expiration date. University issued card or card number should always be protected and kept in a secure location. The only person authorized to use university issued Card is the Cardholder whose name appears on the face of the card. Under no circumstances will a card and/or card number be given or loaned out to another person or e-mailed in its entirety.
Any Cardholder sharing their Card information or allowing another individual to use their Card for purchases may have their card privileges revoked.

Surplus Form Submission Requirements

Effective immediately, the University has implemented changes to the Surplus Form submission requirements. The most significant change is that pictures must be attached to the email sent to property@fiu.edu of the equipment that is listed on the Surplus Form.
The Surplus Form has been updated with specific instructions on page 2 of the form.
Please take a few minutes to review the form located at: https://controller.fiu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/SurplusForm.pdf 
Should you need additional information or have any questions, please contact Property Control at: property@fiu.edu or (305) 348-2167.
For additional information, please visit Asset Management’s website: https://controller.fiu.edu/departments/accounting-reporting/asset-management/ 

Pending Travel Reports

Please approve Travel Authorizations, Cash Advances, and Expense reports in a timely manner. Documents that have not been completely finalized and are older than 90 days will be canceled or deleted by the Travel Department.  A list of pending documents is located here.  For information regarding report status abbreviations and how to close or cancel Travel Authorizations and/or Expense Reports, please click here.