Responsible Office: Budget Office

The complete Budget Oversight Policy can be found on the Budget Office Resources page here along with the Operating Fund Roll Forward Guidelines.

Purpose of the Policy

Effective October 12, 2017, the Integrated CSU Administrative Manual (ICSUAM Section 2002.00) formalized and established a systemwide policy on budget oversight and specified that each campus must establish policies and procedures to monitor campus budget performance. As required by the system policy, this policy provides an overview of the financial reviews that will occur, frequency, action to be taken to address financial concerns, documentation, and reporting requirements. 

Definitions

Division: An organizational unit comprised of various Major Budget Units (MBUs). The University has six divisions: President, Academic Affairs, Administrative Affairs, Student Affairs, University Advancement, and University Wide.

Major Budget Unit (MBU): A reporting mechanism that signifies a major unit, such as a college, within a divisional structure and includes one or more departments. It allows for tracking and reporting at a more summarized level than the department level. (e.g. Facilities Management, College of Professional Studies, Information Technology Services) 

Department: Represents a meaningful activity or function within the campus organizational structures. Identifies the “Who”: Who is being charged or responsible for the transaction? (e.g. Biology, Learning Center, Registrar’s Office). Departments roll up to Major Budget Units (MBUs), which roll up to Divisions. 

Policy Details

Overview of Financial Reviews

Financial reviews will compare budgeted and actual revenues and expenditures, including year-to-date activity and projected activity through the end of the fiscal year, if applicable. All University departments are required to perform financial reviews in accordance with Humboldt State University’s Quarterly Budget Oversight Procedures. Financial reviews will be consolidated at the Major Budget Unit (MBU) level for evaluation, reporting, and to address any financial concerns that may arise during the review process. All financial reviews must be signed off on by the MBU lead administrator (e.g. Dean, AVP, Director).

Frequency of Reviews

Reviews will occur quarterly.

Action Taken to Address Financial Concerns

If there is a financial concern (e.g. budget shortfall/anticipated year-end deficit) that the MBU cannot resolve internally within the MBU, a formalized one-time funding request submitted by the MBU lead administrator must be made to the division Vice President and include written details regarding research to be conducted, a resolution plan, and expected and final completion dates. If the financial concern cannot be addressed within the division, a formalized request must be submitted by the division Vice President to the University Resources & Planning Committee (URPC) for one-time funding consideration. The URPC will make a recommendation to the President, who will then approve the funding request or determine an alternate course of action.

Documentation

Detailed documentation, including the approved financial reviews and the activities outlined in the Action Taken to Address Financial Concerns section, will be retained electronically within HSU’s enterprise budgeting system (currently Questica) and summarized documentation will be posted on the Budget Office website.

Reporting

The University Budget Office will provide summarized reports at the Major Budget Unit (MBU) level to the President, Cabinet, and the URPC on a quarterly basis. In addition, the reports will be posted on the Budget Office website.

References

ICSUAM Section 2002.00 - CSU Budget Oversight Policy 

History

Issued: 02/27/2019
Revised: MM/DD/YYYY
Edited: MM/DD/YYYY
Reviewed: MM/DD/YYYY