Monthly Closing Deadlines

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

Fiscal Year End 2024-2025 Memorandum is now available

The fiscal year-end closing process is quickly approaching. In preparation for the fiscal year-end close, please refer to the FY25 Year End Memo for important information, including all year-end closing deadlines and a listing of departmental contacts. Our team counts on you to meet crucial year-end and monthly closing deadlines, so we thank you for your efforts and cooperation throughout the year.

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.

Compliance Requirements for High-Risk International Travel Destinations 

FIU requires Travelers to complete the High-Risk Destination Questionnaire or Screening when traveling to a foreign country designated as Level 4 Restricted Travel Destination. This screening is now available in PantherSoft Financials through the T & E Compliance Center.

What to Know:

The High-Risk International Travel Questionnaire may be completed via the Travel Authorization by clicking on the Create Screening link through the International Travel Pre-requisites tile.

Once completed, the screening needs to be linked to the TA.

Note: A list of Level 4 Destinations is also found through the International Travel Pre-Requisites tile.

More information about this requirement will be available in the Travel and Expense System manual.

For any questions, feel free to contact a Financial System and Support Services Help Desk representative or trainer at (305) 348-7200 or email The Office of the Controller.

Airfare

FIU does not have a preferred airline for travel. Airfare reservations should be made using any commercial airline in accordance with Florida Statue 112.061.

FIU travelers will be reimbursed for economy, coach, or main cabin airfare.

Seat selection fees, costs for seat upgrades, premium seating, travel insurance, and early boarding fees are considered personal convenience items. These costs are the traveler’s responsibility and cannot be reimbursed. The Pro-card should not be used for these expenses to ensure compliance and avoid any issues. If the Pro-Card is inadvertently used for purchasing any of these items, the traveler must reimburse the University.

Coming Up: Mandatory Recertification of All Program Participants

As part of our program’s audit corrective actions, in June/July, all card program participants (Cardholders, Approvers, and Reconcilers) will be required to complete periodic retraining of the Pcard program processes and procedures.  

This “self-paced” training experience, available on Canvas, will meet this essential audit requirement. Additionally, all participants must pass a brief assessment with a minimum of 80% accuracy to complete their recertification.

Additionally, as part of the process, all participants will be required to fill out an updated eForm application to recertify the departmental information, BU authorization, and assigned approvers.

For those participants who have both a Departmental Card and a T&E Card, you must complete both courses.

In the coming weeks, you should receive an email containing additional information on how to access and complete your refresher training, including important deadlines.

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. 

Fiscal Year End – AP Reminder

As the fiscal year end approaches, we would like to remind you to complete the receiving in PantherSoft as soon as services are rendered or ordered items are received.  In most circumstances, you should not need to review the invoice in order to complete the receiving in PantherSoft. 

Please review the invoices that you have submitted to invoices@fiu.edu.  If the invoice has not been processed within a week, and you have not been contacted by someone in AP, please send a copy of the invoice to ldelcam@fiu.edu or bblancog@fiu.edu.  Do not send the invoice to invoices@fiu.edu.

Invoices Pending Receipt

A list of vouchers in PeopleSoft that are pending receipt is available on the Office of the Controller’s website under the News & Announcements section.  The list is updated on a weekly basis (usually by Tuesday morning).  If you need an updated list during the week, please contact Liza Del Campo at ldelcam@fiu.edu.

A receipt should be created as soon as an item has been physically received.

Supplier Check Payment Replacement Process

As a reminder, if a supplier needs a check replaced, a request may be submitted through our online process.   The supplier will be able to log into the Supplier Portal Home page and choose the check they need replaced from a list of outstanding checks. They can submit the request and will receive updates on their new payment request.

Please share our FIU Office of the Controller’s Disbursements website link with your suppliers where they can find the instructions on how to submit a request.

Memorial Day – Monday May 26

Please note that Monday, May 26th is Memorial Day, and Florida International University and banks will be closed in observance of the holiday.

As a result, Disbursement will not be running a pay cycle on Monday, May 26th. The next scheduled pay cycle will take place on Wednesday, May 28th.

We encourage all departments to plan accordingly to ensure timely payment processing ahead of the holiday closure.

If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Controller – Disbursement Services.

Deactivation and Chart Field Change Request

The last day to request deactivation or changes to chart field strings for activity numbers or projects is May 16, 2025, for FY25.  If a balance exists in fixed assets or liability accounts, it is not possible to process your request until the balances are zero, this may result in your request being processed in the next fiscal year.