Terms Flashcards
Academic Support
State program classification (104) that includes all funds expended for activities carried out primarily to provide support services that are an integral part of the operations of one of the institution’s three primary programs: instruction, research, and public service.
Account
A six-digit numeric reference that identifies revenues and expenses and indicates how these funds are being spent or earned.
Administrative Unit
A group of organizations which function as an administrative unit (for example, Facilities Management, Finance, Resource Management, Dining Services, College of Arts and Letters).
Allotment
Distribution of a biennial appropriation to a specific month and fiscal year. The allotment provides agencies with the authority to spend within an appropriation.
Amendment
Any change to a previously enacted Appropriation Act. Amendments can be initiated by the Governor or the General Assembly, and must be approved by the General Assembly.
Appropriation
An authorization by the legislature to make expenditures or enter into an obligation for specific purposes. A general fund appropriation is backed with tax payer dollars. A non-general fund appropriation is dependent on institutional funds to support the expense.
Appropriation Act
A statute, under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, that generally provides authority for agencies to incur obligations for the acquisition of goods, services, or facilities and to make payments out of the Treasury for purposes specified in the act. The authorization usually expires at the end of a specified term, most often one year.
Auxiliary Enterprise
An entity (program 809) that exists to furnish goods or services to students, faculty, or staff in support of the traditional missions of instruction, research, and public service. These enterprises are financially self-supporting and do not receive tuition revenue or a General Fund appropriation. Auxiliary enterprises are supported by charging for the services provided. Revenue is generated through cash sales and student fees.
Base Budget
In an incremental budget environment, there is usually a consistent funding level from year to year for various programs. The base budget is the portion of the budget that is identified to fund ongoing operating costs, rather than short-term projects. While base budgets are dependent on resource availability, as are all budgets, the intent of the base budget is an ongoing allocation.
Biennium
A two-year period used by the state for financial and budget purposes. It includes two fiscal years, running from July 1 in an even-numbered year to June 30 of the next even-numbered year. For example, the 2004-2006 biennium runs from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2006.
Budget
A spending plan that balances revenues and expenditures over a fixed time period-usually one year.
Budget Line Item
A specific category of funds in the budget that has been established to provide funds for an activity being performed, i.e., personnel, telephone, printing, etc.
Budget Revision
A process by which a change in the established budget is made - a Budget Revision Form may be completed to transfer funds from one org to another org in the same division/department with appropriate approval. Budget Revisions may also be used to create a budget entry for deposited/recovered funds. Budget revisions are classified as either Temporary, which revise the budget for just the current fiscal year, or Permanent, which revise the budget for the current fiscal year and will be incorporated into the budget process going forward.
Capital Project Budget
The Commonwealth has two types of budgets, an operating budget and a capital budget. The capital project budget describes large, non-recurring expenditures of funds to purchase, construct, or renovate fixed assets such as land, buildings, and other physical plants, or equipment- costing more than $250,000 to construct or $500,000 to improve.
Capital Outlays
Expenditures to acquire, significantly expand, repair, maintain, or renovate fixed assets.
Capital Projects Fund
A fund created to account for the budget and actual expenses and revenues associated with a particular capital project.
Chart of Accounts
A chart of accounts facilitates recording transactions appropriately.
Control Account
(also known as SumCtrl or SumCtrl Account). The expenditure levels within each organization used by the Financial Information System to verify the availability of funding before transactions are processed into the system. For example, NPS is the Control Account for all non personal services detail accounts under it (e.g., 12XXXX, 13XXXX). The other Control Accounts in JMU’s finance system are: ALLREV (all revenue), PS (personal services expenses), PSREC (personal services recoveries), and NPSREC (non personal services recoveries). Budget errors occur when the total expenditures for the Detail Accounts exceed the amount that is in the budget for the related Control Account.
Cost-to-Continue
Funding requests to cover cost increases to current program expenditures.
Debt
All long-term or short-term credit obligations.
Debt Service
The amount of the periodic principal and interest payment owed on borrowed money.
Dept Id / Unit
A 6-digit code that is used to identify a specific operating department/unit within the University’s structure:
1xxxxx = Education & General (E&G) 3xxxxx = Auxiliary 5xxxxx = Grants & Contracts 7xxxxx = Capital Projects 8xxxxx = Local, Self-Supported