COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS

Budget Monitoring & Control

Budgets are prepared and inputted into Banner Finance by the Budget Unit. The Commercial Operations unit:

·  Monitors expenditure against budget to prevent budget overruns

· Analyzes expenditure patterns and alert departments approaching maximum budget

·  Arranges the virement of budget between budget lines

·  Addresses queries on related matters in a timely manner.        

Income Verification & Analysis

HODs/Budget Holders are required to lodge all income generated from the different commercial activities at the Bursary Cashier or at the National Commercial Bank, University Branch.  Lodgment made at the bank should be made directly to the UWI Commercial Operations Bank Account.  The lodgment slip should be sent to the Commercial Operations Unit to facilitate the accurate posting of the income to the respective Fund.  Lodgments made at the Bursary’s cashier should correctly quote the accounting distribution (Fund, Organization, Account, Programme) to ensure accurate receipting of income to the appropriate Fund.

Establishing Banner Fund Codes

The University uses the Banner Finance System for all accounting matters.  Matters relating to Human Resource and Payroll are captured in PeopleSoft.  All commercial activities are assigned a unique Banner Fund Code. 

Supporting documentation indicating the purpose of the Fund, the title and the source of income is required for a Fund Code to be established.  The assigned code is sent to the Head of Department/Budget Holder via email.

Budget(Expenditure) Approval

The Unit does manual and on-line approval of expenditure against budget.  All requests for payment should be properly authorized by HOD or his/her designate.  The correct accounting distribution (Fund, Organization, Account, Programme) should be entered into Banner Finance or affixed to the documentation being sent to the Bursary.  The nature of the expenditure should be in keeping with the activities of the commercial entity and all rules relating to the procurement process and the Financial Code observed.

At NO time should Budget Holders and/or his/her designate make contractual arrangements with suppliers for goods or services without first obtaining a Purchas Order.

Site visits

Ad-hoc site visits are done by the Commercial Operations Unit.  The entities are visited to review the operations, to offer guidance, experience firsthand the challenges being faced by the units as it relates to their relationship with the Bursary and implementation of controls where necessary.  The site visits provide the Unit with information which helps in the analysis of the financial reports, approving expenditure for payments, identifying control weaknesses/breeches as well as assisting us with giving advice and guidance. 

Reporting

Financial Reports are prepared monthly, quarterly or semiannually.  The frequency is predetermined based on the nature of the commercial activity.  The Financial Report consists of

(a) Statement of Expenditure which shows the budget, expenditure against budget and the available budget balance.

(b) Income Statement which shows income received and the available income balance once the expenditure is applied.

• Addressing various queries on budgetary and other financial related matters
• Providing timely and accurate financial statements for use by the various Budget Holders/Head of Department (HOD) and UWI Senior Managers