Narrative Contents
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Historical Context
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From 1984 to 1994, the University of Wisconsin System had its own
business / financial general schedule. Many institutions developed
retention policies based upon that document. In 1994, UW Madison
began updating various segments of that 1984 document. Many of the
revisions were done on a UW System-wide basis because then Peterson
Processing Center (now University of Wisconsin Processing Center
UWPC), located on the Madison campus, had become the processing
center for many major accounting functions.
In 1992, the Department of Administration developed
the first Statewide Accounting schedule. The University was exempt
from that schedule because its structure and accounting system were
vastly different from the rest of State government. As part of the
revision of the Statewide Accounting schedule completed and approved
in 1999, the University System was brought under its provisions.
The Statewide Accounting Records Schedule
approved by the Public Records Board applies to the University of
Wisconsin System and supercedes existing UW records schedules.
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Overview of UW Accouting System
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Overview of the Current UW Accounting System In 1998 UW System
purchased several of the PeopleSoft Financial modules (GL, AP, PO,
AM, AR/BI) in order to convert the financial operations of the entire
system to a new double-entry accrual basis accounting system. The
name that has been given to the new system is Shared Financial System
(SFS).
The conversion to SFS was designed to be handled in three phases.
In phase 1 two pilot institutions (Platteville and Whitewater) went
'live' on General Ledger (GL), Accounts Payable (AP), and Purchasing
(PO) on July 1, 1999. Eight more institutions will go 'live' on
those modules on July 1, 2000 in phase 2. Phase 3 will involve the
final seven institutions converting to SFS at July 1, 2001. Four
of those institutions will fully convert to using SFS. The other
three will continue to use their local accounting systems and interface
data directly to SFS.
The UWPC staff in Accounting Services at Madison will perform several
integral roles during the SFS phased implementation. They will continue
to maintain the Legacy accounting system operations for the institutions
that are still using that system. They will participate in development/testing
of interface systems built to move data between the Legacy and SFS
systems. They will participate in development/testing of changes
needed for systems that interface UW data to the State Department
of Administration. They will participate in SFS Core Team meetings
and the decision making functions of that group.
In SFS (as in the Legacy system operations) the business office
of each institution will continue to have responsibilities as the
official record holder of the supporting detail for the GL, AP,
PO data. Detail includes record items such as vouchers, purchase
orders, and supporting attachments.
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Records Relating to Cost Recovery Centers
(CRC), a.k.a. Institution Service Centers
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These are University units/departments that generate revenue. They
would include for example, copy centers, publication sales, food
service, media development, bookstores, gift shops, information
technology services and others. Many CRCs maintain separate accounting
systems to assist them in the day to day management of their operations
and transmit only summary information to the main accounting ledger
in the UW Processing Center. CRCs have responsibility for the maintenance
of original audit source documentation for their operations. In
terms of using this retention schedule, they would be considered
the holder of the official record.
*Guiding principle– If only summary documentation from a CRC
is forwarded to the central accounting office either in hard copy
or electronically, then the CRC is responsible for maintaining
the source detail for audit purposes.
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Electronic Record Keeping Issues
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Electronic records have created some confusion as to what constitutes
an audit trail electronically; i.e. what should be retained to satisfy
source documentation needs within a totally automated system. If
a unit is responsible for the official record in any instance and
that record is generated and maintained in electronic format only,
the retention period specified would then apply to the electronic
format. Audit trails may be defined as the information required
to trace or re-create a sequence of events. The audit trail is a
set of processing references, data, reports, or logic documentation
that enables the tracking of transaction processing from its source
to inclusion in the organization's records or tracing of any result
of processing back to its origin.
Maintaining records in electronic format requires that the records
be accessible and retrievable throughout the stated retention period.
This may mean the creation of a file periodically that is separately
maintained. If there is a system upgrade or a new version of software
that is implemented during the retention life of the record, the
various components of the record will need to be moved forward to
the next technology in order to retain access and retrievability.
This is a particularly important issue for units that may have purchased
an off-the-shelf accounting software package to support their accounting
processes and manage their financial transactions.
E-mail: If the content of an e-mail message has record value and
relates to an established record series, it should be retained for
the same time period as that of the related hard copy record series.
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Impact on Shared Financial System
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The State Accounting Records Schedule contains a section relating
to WISMART. While the University financial system feeds summary
data to WISMART, the UW System does not use WISMART to meet internal
accounting needs. The UW System is migrating its accounting system
to PeopleSoft. The PeopleSoft application is called the Shared Financial
System. It will be necessary to identify records and records keeping
requirements within that system. As these are identified, they will
be added to this document
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Records Relating to Federal Gifts, Grants
and Contracts
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The State Accounting schedule was developed to meet federal retention
requirements, as contained in the "Administrative Requirements
for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments
(Common Rules)." The common rule requires grant recipients to
maintain grant records for three years from the date of the final
grant expenditure report, which should occur within 90 days after
the grant ending date. The governing requirements for the University
of Wisconsin System are Office of Management and Budget Circular
A110. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a110/a110.html
The retention periods in this document should meet those requirements.
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Confidentiality Of Fiscal And Accounting
Related Records
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Some fiscal and accounting related records may contain confidential
or restricted access records such as social security numbers. However
in general, most fiscal and accounting records identified in this
document do not contain confidential or restricted access information
and are open. If in doubt as to whether or not a specific record
is confidential, check with your institution legal counsel.
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Personally Identifiable Information
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Some fiscal and accounting related records in this schedule contain
personally identifiable information within the meaning of this term,
as defined in s. 19.62(5), Wis.Stats. The types of records that
contain personally identifiable information include records with
names and social security numbers, SSN. UW institutions should be
aware of the requirements in Subchapter IV, Personal Information
Practices, of Chapter 19 of the State Statutes and any applicable
program specific laws or regulations that restrict use or release
of SSN.
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Destruction Of Fiscal And Accounting Related
Records
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It is recommended that all records in this document be destroyed
in a confidential manner upon the completion of their retention
period, particularly those records which may contain social security
numbers, credit card numbers, or other personally identifiable data.
The Department of Administration-General Services-State Records
Center can provide guidance on confidential disposal. UW institutions
may use local services that meet State criteria for confidential
disposal. The institution records officer should be able to provide
assistance in this area.
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Records this Retention Document Does Not
Cover
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There are many types of records peripheral to the fiscal and
accounting area such as purchasing and procurement, as well as
common records such as calendars, mailing address lists, etc.
which are not covered by this retention document. Refer to the
State of Wisconsin's document http://www.doa.state.wi.us/dsas/recordsmgt/
for guidance in retention of those documents. Retention of payroll
records is governed by a separate UW System-wide Payroll Schedule
http://archives.library.wisc.edu/rm/gensked/pay/payrda.htm.
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Using This CrossWalk Document
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1. Ascertain whether your office or department is the official
record holder for the particular record item or items. The UW Processing
Center or the Institution Business Office is the holder of the official
record. There are some units in UW institutions to which authority
for purchasing or other financial functions has been delegated.
Any unit which has been delegated that authority is the holder of
the official record.
UW offices using the Procurement Card are the holders of the official
source documentation for audit purposes and, as such, should follow
the retention specified for the official copy.
2. If you are the holder of the official record, implement the
retention time indicated in 'offical record' column of the schedule.
3. If you are the holder of a working copy, implement the retention
time indicated in the 'working copy' column of the schedule.
If there is no retention time listed, the retention period is at
the discretion of the record holder. However, retention should not
exceed the period designated for the official record.
4. If you are uncertain whether your office or department is the
holder of the official copy, the working copy, or are not sure which
RDA category the record falls, consult your institution records
officer. See DOA link below for list of State agency Records Officers.
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Additional Information and Assistance
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UW personnel should also consult with the following resource staff
for additional information and assistance with records management
concerns.
Records Officer: Each institution has a designated records
officer who is responsible for the institution's records management
program, institution-wide records planning, and assistance. This
position also serves as liaison to the Public Records Board, the
statutory body with ultimate authority for the retention and disposition
of public records. Within the UW System, this position is frequently
held by the campus archivist. Check this listing for Records Retention
Officers at UW Institutions. http://www.uwsa.edu/fadmin/direct/officers.htm
Controllers/Internal Audit staffs: These offices have
been involved in the review of this document and should be aware
of its content.
UW System Administration: The office of Financial Administration
also can also respond to questions as to how a particular group
of records may relate to others being maintained at UWPC or other
UW System offices.
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