Monthly Closing Deadlines

The August 2024 period in the general ledger has closed.  The current and future month-end processing deadline schedules are located at Monthly Closing Deadlines.

NEW Travel Inquiry Tile Enabled in the T&E Compliance Center

A new Travel Inquiry tile is available in the T&E Compliance Center. This tile provides all PantherSoft Financials users with view-only access to all Travel Authorizations, Cash Advances, and Expense Reports entered for any traveler – without the need for Proxy access.

Search by traveler or transaction. After selecting a result, the Travel Inquiry tile shows everything associated with a trip with clickable icons that provide direct access to that transaction.

The Travel Inquiry tile replaces the Travel and Expense view menu options through the Navbar, which will be removed on Friday, September 13, 2024.  Those include the following menu paths:

Main Menu > Travel and Expenses > Travel Authorization > View

Main Menu > Travel and Expenses > Expense Report > View

Main Menu > Travel and Expenses > Cash Advance > View

For assistance with using this new feature, please refer to the Travel and Expense training resources linked here or call the Financial Systems and Support Services Help Desk at (305)348-7200.

Compliance Reminder : International Travel

As a reminder, all FIU faculty, staff, student-employees, courtesy faculty, persons of interest, and volunteers traveling abroad on FIU-sponsored or FIU-related trips (Travelers), are required to complete a Travel Authorization Request (TA) and Expense Post Travel Compliance Report (ER).

Please note that students not employed by FIU follow a different process which includes completing a required pre-departure travel registration and orientation prior to going abroad through the Office of Education Abroad.

Pre-Departure Approval Process: When completing a TA, travelers are required to complete a pre-departure Foreign Travel Guidance and Screening Questionnaire and acknowledge their understanding of FIU’s Guidance for International Travel. This must be completed and approved before travel taking place. FIU travelers or proxies are expected to submit their foreign travel TAs at least twenty (20) business days before departure and before the University incurs any expenses to allow sufficient time for the request to be screened by the Export Control Office and fully approved. There are significant restrictions related to foreign countries of concern (FCC), which may impact screening time and approval (FCCs include the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicholas Maduro, or the Syrian Arab Republic). Please note that if the Export Control Office returns the TA unapproved, the traveler cannot proceed on the trip.

Suppose the traveler embarks on the trip without full TA approval. In that case, the traveler may be entirely responsible for all trip expenses incurred, resulting in non-reimbursement of expenses paid by the traveler from personal funds as well as a repayment required from the traveler to the University for expenses paid with university funds. This includes grant-funded international trips, as grant funds will not be disbursed without pre-departure TA approval. FIU will follow the requirements of FIU Regulation 1111, Employee Debt Collection for the collection of any expenses for unauthorized trips.

Post Travel Compliance Reporting

Additionally, all travelers to an international location must complete an Expense Post Travel Compliance Report (ER), that must be submitted within fifteen (15) business days after the completion of the trip, even if no expenses were incurred. The ER will also require travelers to report any honoraria and/or payments received from a foreign source within the expense report system. The traveler’s proxy may enter all trip related information (as provided by the traveler) in the ER, but the traveler must sign the completed ER document to certify its accuracy.

Non-Compliance with Federal, State, and Institutional Requirements: The Provost or his/her designee reserves the right to restrict international travel until further notice for travelers who do not complete and meet all legal and institutional pre-departure and/or post-travel requirements outlined in the University International Travel Policy and the Travel and Other Expenses Manual. Non-compliance with these requirements may result in disciplinary action.

Please refer to FIU Travel Policies,  320.099  International  Travel  Policy  and  1110.060 University Travel Expense Policy for additional guidance. Information regarding International Travel screening and guidance may be found on the FIU Export Controls website (“Guidance for International Travel”) or you can contact our Office of Export Controls at export@fiu.edu. Our Export Controls team will promptly partner with you to answer questions and provide support.

Rail Transportation

Travel by rail is allowed and will be reimbursed when traveling in Coach Class on Amtrak and Smart Class on Brightline trains. Employees must use their FIU Credentials(email) when booking to receive exclusive discounts. For instructions on how to set up an account with Brightline, click here.

New myFIUmarket Catalogs – Integrated DNA Technologies and Consolidus

We are happy to inform you that we have enabled two (2) new catalogs in myFIUmarket. They are Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT), which is a scientific catalog and Consolidus, a promotional item catalog. Effective immediately, you should order from both suppliers through the newly enabled catalogs if you have previously ordered from them using a pcard or through a special request requisition.

Limiting Allowable Hotel Expenses Continues for FY-2025

For the current fiscal year, the Florida Legislature has mandated in HB 5003 that lodging paid with state funding may not exceed $225 per night for university employees for events (meetings, conferences, or conventions) sponsored or organized in whole or in part by Florida International University. State funds include all E&G funds and state-sponsored grants.  Amounts exceeding $225 per night may be paid through an alternative funding source.

Departments must ensure this law’s requirements are met when lodging for FIU employees attending FIU-sponsored events.

Prohibited Expenses

A new regulation regarding Prohibited Expenditures 9.016 relating to DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) became effective in January 2024, and university-wide compliance with this new regulation is required by July 1, 2024.

A university committee has been working on guidance (i.e. FAQs, decision tree, checklists, etc) to assist departments with understanding and identifying contracts/agreements for services and expenses that are unallowable per the new regulation. All guidance developed to assist departments in compliance efforts will be posted on a new link titled “Regulation 9.016 – Prohibited Expenditures” in the Office of the Controller website.

In addition, the Controller’s Office has been updating our AP, Travel, P-card and Procurement manuals with information on DEI prohibited expenditures guidelines.

Immediate measures and steps that Budget/Finance managers must take include reviewing all existing activities, contracts and agreements for your department to ensure these do not include unallowable services/deliverables. All such contracts, agreements and invoices should be compiled and reported to your business unit head, and no purchases of goods or services related to DEI activities made with E&G funds can be approved as these are prohibited.  If you have any questions on prohibited expenses, please send an email to prohibitexps@fiu.edu.