UPPS 03.01.09 - Fiscal Responsibilities of Account Managers at Texas State

POLICY STATEMENT

Texas State University is committed to promoting proper budgetary control and ensuring proper training for account managers.

1. DEFINITION

   1. Account Manager – an employee at Texas State University who is directly responsible for fiscal management of one or more university accounts, regardless of the source of funds.

2. RESPONSIBILITIES

   1. The purpose of this document is to define the account manager role as it applies to Texas State budgeting and financial systems, to identify the responsibilities of an account manager, and to outline procedures for account managers’ access privileges.

   2. Deans, directors, assistant and associate directors, assistant and associate vice presidents, or the appropriate President’s Cabinet officer may designate account managers in their areas. President’s Cabinet officers include the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs, vice presidents, the director of Athletics, the presidential fellow, and the assistant vice president for University Communication and Public Relations, Chief Communications Officer.

   3. Generally, account managers serve in the following capacities:

      1. department chairs;

      2. directors, managers, and supervisors;

      3. associate vice presidents, assistant vice presidents, and deans;

      4. vice presidents;

      5. university president; or

      6. principal investigator (PI) on a sponsored program.

   4. The account manager is responsible for maintaining budgetary control and is personally accountable for all expenditures in their business unit. Expenditures approved by the account manager must have a valid business purpose supporting the mission of the university. The account manager is also responsible for ensuring the timely deposits of incoming funds, acknowledging goods and services received, and safeguarding university equipment and capital assets.

   5. The account manager is authorized to spend funds allocated to their business unit up to the approved budget limit. Account managers may be personally liable for expenditures in excess of budget.

   6. PIs must operate within the budget defined in the notification letter from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. PIs may revise their budgets in accordance with guidelines established by the university and the respective sponsor or funding source.

   7. The account manager is expected to plan all expenditures necessary to carry out the department’s operations for the fiscal year, September 1 to August 31. Funds allocated for the current year’s budget may not be used for any other period. Extenuating circumstances may necessitate exceptions. Such exceptions must have written approval from the vice president for Finance and Support Services (VPFSS) prior to the expenditure of funds.

3. PROCEDURES REGARDING ACCESS PRIVILEGES

   1. The account manager is responsible for approving all financial transactions. For each transaction, the account manager must indicate the account number to be charged. PIs may contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs for assistance in coding expenditures on sponsored program accounts.

   2. The account manager’s signature (whether electronic or manual) denotes approval for the expenditure of funds. An account manager may not sign their expenditure of funds as both the purchaser and the approver.

   3. The account manager may delegate privileges to perform financial transactions but may not delegate approval authority for the creation or modification of security roles.

   4. In the planned absence of the account manager, an individual should be assigned to approve non-security-related transactions. Delegation of privileges does not change the account manager’s accountability as outlined in Section 03. Designees signing for an account manager should sign as "(designee’s name) for (account manager’s name)."

   5. If the account manager is unavailable and has not designated another individual to act on their behalf, the account manager’s supervisor, or a higher level of management within the account manager’s organizational structure, may act for them.

4. PROCEDURES FOR MAINTAINING BUDGET CONTROL BY ACCOUNT MANAGER

   1. Adequate records are mandatory for good fiscal management. Account managers, and designees, should maintain complete documentation of all financial transactions and personnel actions in accordance with the University Records Retention Schedule.

   2. The account manager, or designee, must regularly reconcile budget and financial transactions in university financial systems with corresponding source documents. Corrections should be made as soon as identified, preferably within a given fiscal year.

   3. Accounts must be monitored to ensure funds justifiably support the mission and goals of the departmental unit or program for which they were created. This includes an annual review of all assigned accounts and a spending plan for restricted gift funds. Any non-earmarked funds with balances must be reported to the Treasurer by the end of October of each fiscal year.

   4. Budgets may be increased by recognizing revenue earned in excess of budget, budget transfers, or supplements (where budget is increased by drawing on available reserves or increasing estimated income). Contact the Office of Budgeting, Financial Planning, and Analysis for assistance with budget transactions.

   5. The account manager will submit a Personnel Change Request (PCR) to secure changes in the status of departmental employees (e.g., terminating and hiring).

5. PROCEDURES FOR REVOCATION OF AN ACCOUNT MANAGER’S ACCESS PRIVILEGES

   1. Misuse or over-expenditure of an account’s funds may result in an account manager’s access privileges being revoked. This revocation may be applied to all accounts controlled by the account manager, if deemed appropriate and in the university’s best interest. The director of Procurement and Strategic Sourcing, with the concurrence of the associate vice president for Financial Services (AVPFS) and the VPFSS, may revoke an account manager’s privileges. The AVPFS, with the VPFSS’s concurrence, in consultation with the appropriate President’s Cabinet officer may suspend or revoke all other access privileges of an account manager.

   2. An account manager may appeal the suspension or revocation of access privileges through administrative channels to the account manager’s President’s Cabinet officer.

   3. The AVPFS, VPFSS, or a member of the President’s Cabinet may reinstate an account manager’s access privileges.

6. REVIEWERS OF THIS UPPS

   1. Reviewers of this UPPS include the following:

      Position	Date
      Associate Vice President for Financial Services	October 1 E4Y
      Associate Vice President, Budget and Planning	October 1 E4Y
      Director, Accounting	October 1 E4Y
      Director, Procurement and Strategic Sourcing	October 1 E4Y

7. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

   This UPPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents Texas State policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

   Associate Vice President for Financial Services; senior reviewer of this UPPS

   Vice President for Finance and Support Services

   President