Monthly Closing Deadlines

The February 2025 period in the general ledger has closed.  The current and future month-end processing deadline schedules are located at Monthly Closing Deadlines.

Prohibited Expenditures BOG 9.016

Per the Florida Board of Governors (BOG) 9.016 Prohibited Expenditures regulation, expenses related to DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) are unallowable. The regulation became effective in January 2024 and university-wide compliance was effective July 1, 2024.

Budget managers must review all expenses before submitting to ensure these do not include unallowable services/deliverables. No purchases of goods or services related to DEI activities made with E&G funds can be approved as these are prohibited.

Please use the following tools to determine if an expense is prohibited:

• PE Decision Tree – tool to determine whether an expenditure is permitted
• PE PowerPoint – presentation by the PE Team
• PE Justification Form – form to document justification for permitted expenditures

If you have any questions on prohibited expenses, please send an email to prohibitexps@fiu.edu.

Important International Travel Compliance Reminder

Effective March 1, 2025, if you depart on an international trip prior to full Travel Authorization (TA) approval, a confirmation of which is emailed to you, there will be no reimbursement of travel expenses paid by you from personal funds, and repayment from the traveler to the University for expenses paid with University funds will be required. Further, an employee may be subject to discipline and/or restrictions on international travel privileges. Regardless of whether a proxy assists in the TA process, the traveler is responsible for verifying that the TA is fully approved before departing on the trip and will be held accountable if it is not.

Please reference the full memorandum, which also includes details from previous notifications.

Smart Journals

Effective February 11, 2025 all Smart Journals will require supporting documentation to be attached before they will be posted.  Please see page 3 of the updated Smart Journal Entry Manual for guidance on acceptable documentation.  If you have any questions or need assistance contact Jose Zubimendi at extension 7-1139.

Avis/Budget Car Rental

• It is crucial for university employees requiring a rental car for official business to adhere to the university’s policies and procedures. This includes using the specified website for making reservations: STATE OF FLORIDA RESERVATION PORTAL.
• Renters should not use the “Pay Now” Option on retail websites or mobile apps as it voids many of our Stat contract provisions and is always non-refundable. Do not prepay your reservation.
• If using a retail website or app, please email FloridaHelp at floridahelp@avisbudget.com from your work email address to receive your agency or leisure code. Renters cannot share their AWD or BCD code with family and friends.
• Students cannot use the State Contract unless on official department business travel. The department must set up a Billing Pin (Corporate Account via Avis/Budget) Application Form, which can be found at this link.
• The State only permits full-time employees (40 hours per week) to use Leisure Travel Benefits with Avis/Budget.