Fiscal Affairs

Welcome to FAS Fiscal

FAS Fiscal provides service and expertise to support the activities of the Departments and Programs within Arts & Science. We review departmental budgets, post-award accounting, and provide expert knowledge on governing cost-principles. We also review transactions to ensure compliance with applicable federal, sponsor and university requirements.

Online Resources

Financial overview

Fund Definitions

Unrestricted Funds

Fund 10      Department's operating budget for current fiscal year
Fund 21      Expendable endowment income

Restricted Funds

Fund 22      University managed
Fund 24      Non-governmental agency or organizational grants and/or contracts
Fund 25      Government grants and/or contracts
Fund 70      Cost-sharing for government grant/contract

FAS Fiscal Transaction Approvals

Procedures

It is the responsibility of everyone involved in the use of university resources, from the individual initiating a transaction to the individual approving or processing requests for reimbursement, to know and understand all applicable policies. The Business Expenses Policy of the university, in particular, should be consulted for guidance on which expenses are legitimate or valid and thus may be incurred using university funds. The Expense Reimbursement Policy provides guidelines to ensure that valid business expenses are reimbursed in a fair and equitable manner; that business expenses are reported, recorded, and reimbursed in a consistent manner; and that individuals comply with all applicable federal, state, and local rules and regulations. Individuals who initiate, approve or process requests for payments or reimbursement are required to know and understand these policies, to ensure that university funds are used appropriately and to assist compliance to applicable university and government requirements.

In order to improve school-wide financial review and controls, Arts & Science is revising procedures for approval of financial transactions and reinforcing procedures established by the University as part of the Business Expense and Expense Reimbursement Policies.  Those relevant responsibilities, policies and procedures are provided below:

1. Authorized approvers and approval levels.

The approver to any payment/ reimbursement request should be the individual with a supervisory relationship to the employee being paid or reimbursed. When the approver is not available, an alternate approver (who has signature authority over the funds) may authorize the request.  This means:

  • All requests from deans must be approved by the Dean of Administration or the Associate Dean for Fiscal Affairs.
  • All requests from chairs and program directors must be approved by FAS Fiscal Affairs.  Department administrators may not approve the requests of their chair or director.
  • All requests from department or program administrators must be approved by their chair or director (up to $2,500) or FAS Fiscal Affairs.
  • All requests from department faculty or subordinate administrators must be approved by their chair or program director or senior administrator (up to $2,500); or alternatively, FAS Fiscal Affairs.
  • In no case should the approver/alternate approver and the payee be the same individual.

2. Responsibilities of initiators.

All individuals reporting expenses for reimbursement or making payment requests are responsible for verifying that:

  • Expenses are valid (i.e., expenses comply with the university's policy on Business Expenses);
  • Chartfields are correct (i.e., that the expenses are charged to the correct funds, and that correct account codes are used for the type of expenses incurred);
  • Federal “unallowable costs” are segregated and charged to an appropriate NYU account; and,
  • Appropriate documentation is attached to support the validity of expenses (i.e., original receipts, final hotel folio, Missing or Inadequate Documentation Report wherever required, etc.).
  • Expenses incurred in the conduct of University business generally should be accounted for within 30 days after the date of expenditure, completion of event, or upon return from a trip.
  • All cash advances should be cleared within 30 days from the “end date” indicated on the Request for Advance Form.

3. Responsibilities of approvers.

The approver is responsible for verifying the following:

  • That the expense is permitted under the Business Expense Policy of the university, and that no non-reimbursable expenses are included;
  • That funds to which the expense is charged are sufficient;
  • That documentation is adequate and correct (In case of inadequate or missing documentation, the approver's signature signifies that he/she is aware of the fact, has verified the explanation, and deems the expense valid for reimbursement);
  • In no case should any individual request a subordinate to approve his/her request for reimbursement.
  • In no case should the approver and the payee be the same individual.

4. Signatures

 

  • All requests must bear the original signature of the initiator and the approver, who by doing so acknowledge their fiduciary responsibility and compliance with the policies and procedures of the university.
  • Rubber stamp signatures and proxy signatures are not acceptable. Proxy signatures are usually executed by “unofficial” designees, who write an Approver's name then affix their own initials to indicate that the signature is executed on behalf or in the absence of the Approver.

 

These procedures apply to all expenditures of university funds, including the following forms of payment:

  • Petty Cash Voucher
  • Request for Advance Form
  • Payment to Individuals Form
  • Business Payment Form
  • iBuy Orders
  • Purchase Orders
  • Small Dollar Orders
  • Copy Central (used for duplicating and other copying needs)
  • Book Store/Computer Store Requisition Form
    Note that all computer orders, no matter the dollar amount, must be approved the Office of FAS Computer and Information Technology

School-Wide Authorizers

The Fiscal Affairs Analyst assigned to your unit is the primary contact for approvals of transactions initiated by chairs or directors, as well as expenses that exceed the $2,500 departmental limit.  They are also authorized to approve transactions initiated by department administrators should a chair or director not be available.

The Director of Fiscal Affairs is authorized to approve larger (over $25,000) transactions.

The Associate Dean for Fiscal and Administrative Affairs is authorized to approve larger dollar transactions as well as requests by the deans.

Please refer to our directory for contact information.