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FFN Information for Departments
Financial FormsNirvana is a way to electronically route, edit, and approve (and eventually enter into central systems) requests or transactions in lieu of using an official University paper form or process. It is each department's responsibility to ensure that the "electronic" forms are being used in accordance with University policies and procedures, that preparers and approvers are appropriate, and that routing and approval chain information is kept up-to-date. In general, access to Financial
FormsNirvana will be granted only to University personnel to perform their
job functions with the authorization of their division administrator.
Collusion and vandalism will be prosecuted by the University
to the full extent that state and federal law will allow. Unauthorized access
and fraudulent application for access will be prosecuted by the University
to the full extent that state and federal law will allow.
Adequate accountability and internal controls must exist in
units that perform their own document entry. It is the responsibility of the
RRC manager to ensure that these controls exist.
SET UP
Initial setup for a unit
RRC sends written notice to Financial Systems
Support (FSS security, 295 WBOB, Mpls campus) of who the division administor(s)
will be for their unit (anytime a division admin is added, a letter, email,
or fax needs to be sent):
Identify division administrator(s) and CUFS
Areas involved (RRC may be the division administrator, in which case, the
RRC's supervisor needs to send the written permission). Things for the RRC
manager to consider:
- Does the division administrator know University,
college, and department policies and procedures?
- Is the division administrator familiar
with the World Wide Web and their unit's technical setup (at least at
a basic level), or does the unit have technical support staff to assist
when needed?
- How will this affect the workload of the
division administrator(s)?
Division setup
Division administrator needs to attend required
Financial FormsNirvana training. Access request for the new division administrator
will be completed during the training session. See Training Services' schedule
for more information:
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/trainingservices/index.html
Division administrator(s) and RRC determine divisions
needed (remember to start small).
- How can internal controls be maintained?
- Establish Roles - identify users (prepares,
approvers, viewers).
- Are collegiate or departmental policies and
procedures already documented and communicated to the staff? Do any departmental
policies and procedures need to be modified to encompass Financial FormsNirvana?
- Control Environment: Is separation of duties
being adhered to?
- Control Activities: Are the established policies
and procedures being executed to help ensure activities are controlled?
- Information and Communication: Is the information
communicated freely and timely?
- Monitoring: Do users know what role they play
in monitoring Financial FormsNirvana?
- Do users know the financial documents and
the policies and procedures related to them?
- Do the approvers add a value when reviewing
the document, and do they know why they are reviewing documents?
- Have procedures been established for use of
alternate approvers, or additional preparers if regular document preparer
staff is absent?
Communicating - between RRC, division administrator,
users, and Financial Systems Support.
- Have revisions to policies and procedures
been documented and communicated to everyone?
- Does the division administrator have the knowledge,
skills, and ability to function as first point of contact? If not, what
additional training is needed, or which staff resources need to work closely
with the division administrator to ensure success?
- Does everyone in the unit know who to contact
for assistance (on departmental polcies/procedures, University policies/procedures,
problems with the system, problems with their own workstations)?
User setup
Identify users (preparers, approvers, and viewers)
and communicate their role and responsibilities.
- Do all users have the knowledge required to
fulfill their role and responsibilities?
- Were the roles and responsibilities clearly
communicated and understood by the users?
- Users attend required Financial FormsNirvana
document training.
- Is there other training that is needed?
- Users should be set up initially in Financial
FormsNirvana by the division administrator.
Authorized signature list and document approvals
Approvals are an important part of internal financial controls
within a business unit.
Online approvers should be those who know enough about
the transaction to ensure its accuracy and consistency with policy.
Each business unit is required by University policy to have a current authorized signer list granting individuals approval authority for specific financial documents. Authorized signers should know enough about each transaction to ensure its accuracy and consistency with policy. Employees having online approvals may be limited to only a few of the individuals included on the business unit's authorized signer list. If the unit requires approvals prior to entry of the document, those internal approvals must be on documentation supporting the online transaction. That documentation should be retained in the business unit. There are no standard forms for an authorized signer list. Each business unit's listing may be unique--the format that works best for them.
Multiple approval levels are not recommended unless higher
levels "add value" to the transaction. If the subject of the transaction is
the approver, an additional level of approval is required. (Ref: U of M Financial
Policies Approvals and Routing 10/93).
Financial FormsNirvana allows three approval levels
for departments to use. Business units are advised to keep approval chains
as simple as possible while allowing for adequate review and approval as required
by the department, collegiate unit, dean, provost, vice chancellor/president,
or University policy. (Financial FormsNirvana provides automatic routing
of documents as required by University policy, for example: if there is a
requirement that a certified approver review every POT over $1,000 on sponsored
funds, the system will route the document to certified approver for you if
you have not specifically named a certified approver as one of the departmental
approvers (in Approver 1, 2, or 3 boxes on the form), after all departmental
approvals are affixed, without taking up one of the three spaces for departmental
approvals).
When an approval level is set, online approval is required
before the document is processed and sent to CUFS. Before selecting approvers,
departments must consider the following:
- Separation of duties.
- Value of the review provided by each approver selected.
(Why is each person checking the document? Is the approver actually reviewing
the transaction, or simply signing without review because "we have always
done it this way?")
- Risk associated with the dollar amount chosen.
- Value added to the transaction by requiring additional
approvals.
- Time added to the whole process by waiting for multiple
approvers to review the document.
- University, collegiate, department, granting agency, or
other applicable policies.
Once department procedures have been established, it is the
responsibility of the department to communicate expectations, responsibilities,
and procedures to those within the department who use Financial FormsNirvana
and perform any related functions like account monitoring/reconciling, etc.
Financial FormsNirvana "rules" for approvers on documents:
- The system will not allow the preparer of the document
to be the first or only approver, nor will it allow the preparer to be the
certified approver (if one is required).
- The system requires that the first approver be from the
submitting division on the document.
- Other approvers' Internet IDs may be entered in the remaining approval boxes on each form provided they are already approvers somewhere in FormsNirvana.
- The approvals are sequential, approver 1 first, approver
2 second, etc.
- If an approver is certified, and they are the "first"
certified approver to appear in the approver 1, approver 2, or approver
3 fields, they are "the" certified approver for the transaction
(if the transaction requires a certified approver).
- When an approver is "the" certified approver
for a transaction, only their certified alternate approvers will appear
as allowable alternate approvers on the transaction (the system has edits
for this).
- Confused? The system will assist in making proper selections--if
the approver(s) chosen do not meet the system's criteria, the preparer will
receive an error message.
Use and Monitoring
Entry
- Are appropriate codes being entered correctly
by the preparers?
- Are policies and procedures being adhered
to?
- Are there recurring problems?
Division administrator(s) monitor for compliance
- Are users entering and approving documents
in a timely manner?
- Are there adequate departmental policies and
procedures?
- Are additional divisions needed?
- Are users doing their own monitoring?
- RRC monitors Financial FormsNirvana use.
- How is the overall use of Financial FormsNirvana
activity in the unit?
- Is the unit adhering to department, University,
and external policy and procedures?
- Is the unit monitoring Financial FormsNirvana
activities properly?
Reporting
- Are encumbrances being closed out?
- Are transactions posted to the correct account
in CUFS?
- Are transactions appropriate for the account?
Which password and ID do I use in Financial
FormsNirvana?
To fill out online access request (FNA) form in FFN, use Internet ID and
Internet password.
To work in FFN once access is obtained, use Internet ID and Enterprise Systems
password.
Where can I find helpful information about FFN?
Contact the Financial Systems Helpline (612) 624-1617 or email fsshelp@umn.edu.
Where is ADCS' web site, the TechMart web site,
Purchasing's web site, and FSS' web site?
http://www.umn.edu/adcs (612) 626-4276
http://www.techmart.umn.edu (612) 626-4276
http://purchasing.umn.edu (612) 624-2828
http://www.fss.umn.edu (612) 624-1617
Financial FormsNirvana - have you completed:
- Hardware and legal copies of software purchased or available
(web browser, Adobe Acrobat Reader, email)
- Internet connection established for each machine to be used
- All users appear in the University directory, all users know and have verified their Internet ID and Internet/Enterprise Systems password, and directory information is up-to-date, as well as validating that each user of FFN has an Enterprise Systems password set for thier Internet ID.
- Computer support available in a timely manner (internal to
unit or University-wide assistance provider)
- Printer available that can print PDFs/Postscript
- Business processes examined to include a review of unit policies
and procedures
- Authorized signer list exists and is up-to-date
- User access requested or set up
- Approval and routing matrix completed and reviewed with all
involved so expectations are understood
- Communication structure identified within business unit and
communication responsibility assigned
- Printing connections tested (for POTs, ECARs)
- Necessary training scheduled, arranged, or completed
- Division administrator(s) for the department defined, and
authorized by the RRC manager, trained
- If RRC manager will have preparer or approver access in the
system, RRC must be authorized by his/her supervisor
Some related policies - Financial FormsNirvana
Guiding Principles
http://policy.umn.edu
"...All University faculty and staff under the leadership
of its officers are obligated to ensure that University funds are used only
for mission-related purposes.
Leadership responsibilities for fiscal control include assurances
that the following exist:
- Documented policies and procedures;
- Staff are properly trained for their assigned duties;
- Mechanisms to ensure compliance with policies.
All University personnel are responsible for ensuring that
fiscal controls exist and are used to prevent abuse or misuse of University
funds and other resources..."
Conflict of Interest
http://policy.umn.edu
"STATE LAW No employee at the University of Minnesota who
either directly or indirectly influences a purchasing decision or contract
by establishing specifications, evaluating products or services, or otherwise
being involved in the purchasing or contract process may:
Have any financial interest or personal beneficial interest
in contract or purchases of goods or services used by the University; or
Accept either directly or indirectly from a University of
Minnesota vendor a rebate, gift, money, or anything of value other than
items of nominal value.
According to State law (M.S. 15.43), violation is a misdemeanor."
(Nominal value, as defined by the University Policy Development
Office and standard University practice, is less than $50.)
Purchasing
http://policy.umn.edu
"...Use of multiple requisitions is expressly forbidden
where there is not a good business reason or where the result would be a
possible avoidance of review, formal bidding, or other abridgment of these
policies."
There are University-wide monetary approval and bid thresholds,
to which departments must adhere. Whenever possible, these limits have been
built into the system or into approval and routing chains within Financial
FormsNirvana, for example, grant accounts making purchases for $1000
or greater must have SPA or a certified approver review the document.
Hospitality and Special Expenses
http://policy.umn.edu
Alcoholic beverages, flowers, tickets to non-University
sponsored events or functions, memorial gifts approved by the Executive
Director of the Board of Trustees, and personal memberships in social or
non-professional organizations may not be purchased except
with private funds (Fund codes 1818-21, 1830-34, 1843-46, 1855-59, 1866-70).
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