1. During rollout, provide DLCs with additional cost objects (MIT Accounts) while maintaining one-to-one mapping.
Due to the limited supply of accounts in the legacy system, requests for additional cost objects other than for new programs or awards cannot be accommodated until one-to-one mapping is broken. For example, requests to create new fund accounts to track individual PIs ILP funds or new general accounts to track teaching expenses at a more detailed level, will be postponed until after the one-to-one mapping is no longer required. When all feeder systems, including Payroll and Physical Plant, are adjusted to accommodate for SAP's seven digit cost object (currently five digit MIT account) and SAP's six digit G/L account (currently three digit MIT object code), one-to-one mapping may be broken. The goal is to eliminate the need for one-to-one mapping by December 31, 1998.
The current goal for breaking the one-to-one mapping is March 31, 1999.
2. If additional cost objects are established before the one-to-one mapping is broken, document the DLCs approach and assess the impact on external reporting and cost studies.
Please see #1.
3. During rollout, plan for the new financial architecture keeping in mind that one-to-one mapping will eventually be broken.
During rollout, CAO and MR will work with DLCs to develop a plan for their financial structure after one-to-one mapping is broken, but this plan will not be finalized and implemented until after rollout.
4. Develop a team to review the policy of reconciliation with an end state goal of reducing the need to a minimum.
Jim Morgan has chartered a team to start work on this. CAO is committed to reducing the effort involved in reconciliation. A new reconciliation process will be put into place after Milestone 4 is achieved and users are comfortable with doing their business in SAP. The goal is for this to be completed by April 1, 1999. Until that time, DLCs should continue using the current reconciliation process to meet MIT and Government auditing requirements.
CAO, Internal Audit, and OSP have started to work on a new reconciliation process.
5. Develop the concept of authorizing those individuals within a department with relevant experience and expertise to perform important financial duties.
This concept should not be developed until MIT establishes standards and detailed procedures of operations. At that time, a method to measure an individual's knowledge of these procedures will be needed and will require Human Resources and other units to work together to define the requirements.
6. As part of rollout, select an individual with a strong accounting background to collaborate with AOs to evaluate current accounting practices in departments. This individual could clarify pertinent accounting theory and how each unit relates to the Institute's financial records and published statements.
There are members of the CAO staff with strong accounting backgrounds working with departments on SAP implementation. Additionally, an accounting course, "accounting fundamentals", is currently being developed as part of an overall financial management training effort. This course is geared towards individuals within DLCs who perform financial duties. It focuses on learning basic accounting concepts while introducing various MIT forms ( i.e., Purchase Order, Monthly Statement, DTR, DACCA). The course simulates a month of transactions, how you would carry them out, what they would look like on the statement, how to make corrections, and how to link the activity to the treasurer's report. Throughout the simulation, various accounting concepts will be introduced. The current plan is to pilot this course during the next few months (possibly the summer months) with rollout scheduled for the fall.
A new course on accounting fundamentals is being given in the fall of 1998. This course introduces basic accounting principles and terminology, the general format and flow of MIT's accounting process, and the relationship between end user and central accounting. A variety of individual and group learning activities demonstrate step by step the Institute's annual accounting cycle. No prior knowledge of accounting is required. Please see Personnel's yellow training book or look on the Training and Development Website at <http://web.mit.edu/personnel/www/training/>.
7. Bring authorization issues that require a change to Institute policy — whether access to budgets, expenditures, and salary information should be on a need to know basis or on an open information basis — to Academic Council.
This was done for Purchasing information. Academic Council has determined that access to all Institute purchasing data in SAP will be open.
A recommendation is currently being forwarded to the Faculty Policy Committee and then to Academic Council that states that Academic Deans, Academic Department Heads and Center and Laboratory Directors may have viewing and reporting access to Institute-wide financial data pertaining to PIs with research activities in their units. These individuals may share their data access rights with designated administrators, such as AOs, in their units and are responsible to ensure that such access is used only for legitimate MIT business purposes.
The official Institute budget/plan will be available to users only through reporting, and will be limited by their authorizations. The Institute general and fund budgets will be at the same detail as today; the authorized total will be used for research budgets. If DLCs want to maintain more detailed budgets for managing their accounts, they may create an Organization (DLC) budget/plan. Authorized users will have access to all Organizations’ (DLCs’) budgets/plans within their School.
Academic Council approved this recommendation. See also item #8 of the Research Management Implementation Report Card.
8. Decentralize journal voucher processing, enabling DLCs to process and post their own vouchers.
DLCs may process and post their own vouchers without central approval with the exception of sensitive type vouchers (such as those with research accounts or payroll and travel object codes). After the DLC enters a sensitive type voucher in SAP, it will not post immediately to the DLCs account but will be electronically routed to CAO for review and posting. If a JV does not pass review, CAO rejects it with an explanation and SAP electronically routes it back to the originator for modification.
The DLCs will be able to import a text file into the SAP JV system as currently done in SUMmit.
9. DLCs involved in the pilots should be given the authority to process journal vouchers.
Sloan and ASO are currently doing journal vouchers in SAP. Beginning in March, other DLCs started training and using SAP to process journal vouchers. This training will continue until all DLCs are processing vouchers in SAP. The goal is to have all vouchers processed in SAP by July 1, 1998.
10. Perform a review of cash management practices, specifically with a goal of reducing the time checks are received at the Institute and when they are deposited at the Cashiers Office.
This is being addressed as the Cashiers Office is brought onto SAP. CAO will work with DLCs and the Cashiers Office to implement procedures to reduce the time between MIT’s/DLCs’ receipt of checks and their delivery to the Cashiers Office.
11. Improve communication between DLCs and Accounts Receivable on incoming wire transfers to the Institute to allow for better identification and posting of moneys received.
CAO has been working on this and has a web page listing the unassigned wire transfers <http://web.mit.edu/org/c/cao/www/cao_pubs.htm>. CAO will continue to work on this issue to ensure that all wire transfers are quickly identified and applied to the appropriate accounts.
12. As part of rollout, evaluate the high volume of low-dollar receivables to identify ways to eliminate processing costs.
Expanding use of the MIT Card (ID Card) is currently being addressed by CAO and ODSUE (for example, use by students and employees to pay their library fines and medical fees), as well as the Athletic Department (for students and employees to pay their activity fees). In addition, CAO is encouraging DLCs to receive payments by credit cards (i.e. Master Card and Visa) rather than billing through accounts receivable, for example the sale of books by MIT Press. CAO and ODSUE will support the implementation of credit card activities with the DLCs.
13. As part of rollout, evaluate whether SAP will meet DLCs’ accounts receivable needs.
During rollout, CAO will work with DLCs to determine the best procedures for processing their A/R in SAP.