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Project and Operations Ledger Account Procedure

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Section 1 - Purpose

(1) The purpose of this Procedure is to support the implementation of the Project and Operations Ledger Account Policy. This document provides guidance on the process of creation and maintenance of an account in the Project and Operations Ledgers.

Scope

(2) This Procedure applies to all officers and directors, members, employees, consultants and contractors of Macquarie University and its Controlled Entities (collectively referred to as the University Group). Specific application of these principles within the financial ledger systems of the Controlled Entities may vary, due to the array of financial systems used across the University Group.

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Section 2 - Policy

(3) Refer to the Project and Operations Ledger Account Policy.

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Section 3 - Procedures

Part A - Responsibilities and Required Actions

Account Structure in the Finance Chart    

Project Ledger – Account Structure

(4) Accounts are created with a parent-child structure, with income and expenses recorded in the ‘child’ layer, known as the sub-group. Separate ‘child’ codes are established to separate out different sources of funding to ensure appropriate revenue recognition and reporting of the funding. See the example below:

Account:
12345 – parent layer (reporting layer only), comprising several ‘children’ or sub-groups: 12345/01 – sub-group, e.g., external income from the ARC Discovery Program
12345/19 – sub-group, e.g., external income from the ARC Fellowships 12345/20 – sub-group, e.g., internal income from the DVC-Research

(5) Each funding source should be recorded against one sub-group except for Research fellowship grants as these are for specific salary costs, per the example above. The creation of multiple sub-groups for a single funding source is not permitted as there are various accounting processes and external reporting requirements that are dependent on the current design of the chart. Instances of these will be assessed on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the Finance Manager, Research Reporting.

(6) The University will not recycle or reuse existing Project Ledger Accounts, in order to maintain the integrity of life- to-date reporting of financial information. The Finance One chart is live and all changes including remapping of Accounts are applied retrospectively.

(7) The table below defines the use of sub-groups according to their funding source. Changes to this defined usage, introduction of additional or retirement of existing sub-groups, requires approval by Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury or their authorised officer.

Sub-group Range
Type of fund / Fund source
00-17
External Research Funding
18
External Research Fellowship reserve
19
External Research Fellowship
20,23-29
Internal Funding
21
Internal Fellowship
22
Internal Scholarship
30-39,41-47
Non-Research
40
Individual Academic Account
49
Script Costs
50-59
Project Activity
99
Not used

Project Ledger – Types of Accounts

(8) There are several types of Accounts, differentiated by their funding source, their purpose, the procedures required for account set-up, the permitted use of Residual Funds at the Account End Date, and the determination of the Carry Forward End Date.

(9) The Account types apply to the Account sub-group or ‘child’ level, rather than the Account ‘parent’ level.

(10) Note that where funding is received for a mixture of research and non-research purposes, the funds assigned for each purpose will be recorded in different sub-groups within the Account, to enable different HERDC codes to be assigned to each sub-group and apply appropriate revenue recognition.

(11) Each Account type is summarised in the table below, with additional detail included in the Appendix.

Account Type
Purpose of Account
Externally Funded Research Accounts
Externally funded research activities with a Written Document that specifies the income source, required use and available duration for use of the funds.
Account set-up approval: Research Services or Office of Advancement.
Common sources of income are listed in Part B Summary by account.
Externally Funded Non- Research Accounts
Externally funded non-research activities with a Written Document that specifies the income source, required use and available duration for use of the funds.
Account set-up approval:
Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer; and Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury or their authorised officer.
Common sources of income are listed in Part B Summary by account .
Internally Funded Research/Non-Research Accounts
Internally funded activities with a Written Document that specifies the income source, required use and available duration for use of the funds.
Account set-up approval:
Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer; and Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury or their authorised officer.
Common sources of income are listed in Part B Summary by account.
Individual Academic Accounts (IAA)
An account opened for use by an individual academic to record income earned that does not have specific usage restrictions attached to the income source.
The purpose, current and likely future income sources, expenditure plan, and anticipated account duration must be agreed and documented in a Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form.
Originating funds must not be allocated to this Account type if such funds meet the definition of another Account type, e.g., an Externally Funded Research Account. For this reason, it will be assumed that all funds allocated to this Account type will not be considered for HERDC (and therefore will not be considered for HERDC reporting), as all funds for Research Activities must be assigned to either an Externally Funded Research Accounts or an Internally Funded Research Account.
The name of an IAA when it is set-up in the finance system will typically include the name of the account custodian, e.g., ‘IAA - John Smith’. The assignment of custodian to an IAA gives the custodian budgetary control over the funds in the account, subject to adherence to University policies. Funds in IAA remain the legal property of the University.
Account set-up and review:
Creation of an account will be via approval by a Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer and Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury or their authorised officer, using the Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form. Any academic with a genuine need for this Account type may apply for an Account. Account requests will not normally be accepted where the anticipated future income to be allocated to the Account is less than $1000.
Funds in this Account type are subject to periodic review by Department, Faculty or Office of Group Finance staff.
Permitted income:
Detailed examples of the types of income allowed within this Account type are listed in Part B Summary by account.
Permitted and prohibited expenditure:
Detailed examples of the types of expenditure allowed from this Account type are listed in the Appendix. All expenditure must adhere to University policies covering Procurement, Purchasing, Travel etc. Purchase of equipment for personal use is prohibited. Payment to the account custodian as personal income is prohibited.
Account End Dates:
Accounts will typically be assigned an Account End Date ten (10) years from the Account Start Date, unless a shorter End Date is stated in the Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form. A Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer may periodically request a review of plans for expenditure of funds in the Account.
For the purposes of this Account type, the Account End Date acts as a review date, rather than an unmovable account closure deadline. Extensions to the Account End Date will be subject to approval by a Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer. A Faculty Executive Director will only refuse an extension of an Account End Date if there have been clear breaches of the use of these funds contrary to:
  1. the purpose for which the Individual Academic Account was established and documented at inception of the Account; or
  2. purchasing and travel policies; or
  3. other key terms of the Account type as detailed in this Procedure.
If the Faculty Executive Director refuses to extend the Account End Date, then Residual Funds will transfer to the Faculty Residual Non-Research Funds Account for use, as noted in this Procedure.
Sunset Clause:
Funds in this Account type are also subject to the Sunset Clause, which is a period of five (5) years in which funds received into an Individual Academic Account can be used, or they will be transferred to the Faculty Residual Non- Research Funds Account. At the end of each Financial Year, the carry-forward amount on an Individual Academic Account will be equal to or lower than the sum of the last five (5) years of income into that Account.
The inclusion of this Sunset Clause is to set a balance between giving individual researchers considerable flexibility in how funds within this Account type can be used, whilst also ensuring that such funds do not ‘stockpile’ over long periods of time, when they could be spent on strategically important University activities. Exceptions to the Sunset Clause must be approved by the Vice-President, Finance and Resources or their authorised officer.
Cessation of employment of account ‘custodian’:
IAA funds remain the property of the University at all times, and the account custodian has no claim to these funds when they cease employment with the University. Similarly, any equipment purchased from IAA funds remains the legal property of the University.
By default, any unspent funds in this Account type when the Account owner leaves the employment of Macquarie University will be transferred to the Faculty Residual Non-Research Funds Account for use, as noted in this Procedure.
In cases where the Account holder leaves the employment of Macquarie University and is conferred with an Honorary academic title (as defined and granted in accordance with the Honorary Academic Titles Policy and Honorary Academic Titles Procedure) then, at the discretion of the University and upon approval from the relevant Executive Dean (or other Executive Group member), the Honorary member may retain access to their IAA during the term of their Honorary title, for use in accordance with University policies. Since Honorary title holders are not employees (and therefore do not have delegated authority to incur expenditure on behalf of the University), a relevant authorised member of staff will be identified to act as budgetary administrator of the IAA, in accordance with the Delegations of Authority Policy.
Capital
An account, typically used by Property and IT, to capture capital expenses in delivery of an approved capital project.
Account set-up approval: Project Manager
Other
Occasionally an account may be required in the Project Ledger that does not fit into any of the above Account types. Request for such accounts must be made via a Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form.
Account set-up approval:
Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer; and Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury or their authorised officer.

Project Ledger – Project Life

Account Start Date

(12) This is the date when the Account commences. For externally funded Accounts, this date will typically be stated in the Written Document. For internally funded Accounts, or other Accounts without a start date specified in the Written Document, the Account Start Date is deemed to be the earlier of either the date on which a Written Document is signed, or the date on which an Account is opened in Finance One.

Account End Date

(13) This is the last date by which funds are available for spending to deliver against the objectives of the requirements of a Written Document. This date is commonly stated in the Written Document (for external Funding Providers) or will be stated in the Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form. Funds will typically all be spent by this date. Accounts where donations are the revenue source will have a default end date of ten (10) years from Account Start Date unless otherwise stipulated in the Written Document. For externally funded projects, the final Chief Investigator Report and the final Financial Acquittal report are typically completed after this date. Procedure on extensions to the Account End Date varies by Account type. Refer to Part B Summary by account for details.

Account Active Period

(14) The time between the Account Start Date and Account End Date is the Account Active Period. It is the period during which all key activities stipulated in the Written Document are delivered.

Carry Forward End Date

(15) This is the last date on which funds in the Account can be accessed for any purpose.

(16) For Externally Funded (Research or Non-Research) Accounts, the Carry Forward End Date will be 31 December of the year following the Account End Date, unless residual funds are required to be returned to the Funding Provider, in which case the Carry Forward End Date will be the same as at Account End Date.

(17) For Internally Funded (Research or Non-Research) Accounts, Individual Academic Accounts and Capital Accounts, the Carry Forward End Date will be same as the Account End Date.

Account Residual Period

(18) The period between the Account End Date and the Carry Forward End Date is known as the Account Residual Period.

(19) This concept only applies for Externally Funded (Research and Non-Research) Accounts. During this time, final Chief Investigator Reports are commonly written, and residual funds are returned to the Funding Provider, if stipulated in the Written Document (e.g., ARC, NHMRC) or are used by the Account owner.

Project Ledger – Residual Funds

(20) This concept only applies for Externally Funded (Research and Non-Research) Accounts.

 
Externally Funded Research Accounts
Externally Funded Non-Research Accounts
Account Active Period
Funds are available for use by the Account owner for spending on Research/Non-Research Activities as specified in the Written Document.
Residual Period
Funds are available for use by the Account owner for spending on Research/Non-Research Activities. Usage of funds may be subject to periodic review by Department, Faculty or Finance staff.
Access to funds after Carry Forward End Date
The Account owner will not be able to access funds after this date.
Surplus Balance at Carry Forward End Date
Surplus Balance is transferred to Faculty Residual Account - Research/Non-Research in the Project Ledger. A new Account is created for each financial year.
Approval to Re-Purpose Funds from Faculty Residual Pool Account
At the direction of the relevant Faculty Executive Dean, in consultation with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), to meet the strategic research aims of their Faculty, for twelve (12) months from the Carry Forward End Date of the transferred funds.
At the direction of the relevant Faculty Executive Dean, in consultation with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), to meet the strategic non-research aims of their Faculty, for twelve (12) months from the Carry Forward End Date of the transferred funds.
Use of Funds from Faculty Residual Pool Account
Allocation of funds to a new Internally Funded Research Activities Account (e.g., where the Faculty runs an internal competitive process to award research funds). New Accounts of this type would be subject to the set-up requirements specified in this Procedure.
Use of funds directly from the Residual Research Funds Account (e.g., to fund a Faculty-wide research conference).
*Note that funds from this Account type must not be allocated to an Individual Academic Account.
Allocation of funds to a new Internally Funded Non-Research Activities Account (e.g., where the Faculty runs an internal competitive process to award non-research funds). New Accounts of this type would be subject to the set-up requirements specified in this Procedure.
Use of funds directly from the Unused Residual Non-Research Funds Account (e.g., development of Faculty-wide learning and teaching initiatives).
*Note that funds from this Account type must not be allocated to an Individual Academic Account.
Notification of Funds Available in Faculty Residual Pool Account
Relevant Faculty Executive Dean will be notified by end of January each year.
Carry Forward Ability of Faculty Residual Pool Account
Any unspent balance will no longer be carried over to the next financial year.

Project Ledger – HUB Projects

(21) HUB Projects are a grouping of both designated Research and designated Non Research projects which are grouped under one Discipline Code in order to allow all awarded amounts and expenditure to be recorded and reported under one grouping. In order to be classified as HUB Projects, they must meet a number of criteria.

Research HUB Projects

(22) Any Research related projects will be set up via the standard PURE application process and will be set up as a ‘5’ series account.

(23) All funds to be fully transferred to subgroup ‘48’ as soon as the Infrastructure Levy has been charged and the Project Account will be closed.

(24) In order to qualify as a Research HUB project:

  1. the Agreement does not specify contractual obligations or milestones;
  2. income can be recognised upfront and no Unspent Funds to be returned;
  3. no Acquittal Financial External or Internal Reporting is required;
  4. awarded funds must not have any specified use and the awarded amount must be fully reflected in the PURE Budget under the ‘Other Expenses’ category; and
  5. all funds to be transferred (post Infrastructure Levy) directly to a designated Non Research Account with subgroup ‘48’ using Natural Account 4808 DR/1752 CR.

Non Research HUB Projects

(25) Any Non Research related projects will be set up via the standard Non Research Project Account set up request form and procedures.

(26) In order to qualify as a Non Research HUB project:

  1. the Agreement does not specify contractual obligations or milestones;
  2. income can be recognised upfront and no Unspent Funds to be returned;
  3. no Acquittal Financial External or Internal Reporting is required;
  4. awarded funds must not have any specified use and the awarded amount must be fully reflected in the Budget (if required) under the ‘Other Expenses’ category; and
  5. all funds are to be deposited directly to subgroup ‘47’.

HUB Combined Project Pool

(27) This pool represents all of the Research and Non Research HUB Projects and will be grouped under one unique Discipline Code:

  1. End Dates to be initially set up for a maximum of three years;
  2. any reviews or extensions to End Dates must be Approved by the Faculty Executive Dean; and
  3. after the End Date, all funds will then be swept to Faculty Residual Pool.

Operations Ledger

Operations Ledger – Account Structure

(28) Accounts in the Operations Ledger are a string of eight (8) digit characters. Unlike the Project Ledger, the structure of the Account is non-hierarchical. The first four (4) digits represent the Discipline. The next four (4) digits represent an activity which is unique to each Discipline, see below example.

Account 2011/0002, where 2011 is a Discipline for Ancient History within the Faculty of Arts and 0002 is the Activity for General Operating costs.

(29) Similar to the Project Ledger, external revenue streams with multiple revenue recognition requirements should be disaggregated into separate accounts to facilitate appropriate revenue recognition.

(30) The University will not recycle or reuse existing Operations Ledger Accounts, in order to maintain the integrity of life-to-date reporting of financial information. The Finance One chart is a live system and all changes including remapping of Accounts are applied retrospectively.

Selection Types and Codes

(31) There are various Selection Types in Finance One that are unique to each of the ledgers. Any changes to the Selection Types or Selection Codes must be approved by the Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury or their authorised officer. These Selection Types and Codes are listed in the Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form.

Accountability for adherence to Procedure

(32) The Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury has overall accountability for ensuring adherence to this Procedure for all for all entities in the University Group.

Part B - Summary by account

(33) The following section summarises the key components of this Procedure by Account Type.

Externally Funded Research Accounts

Account type
Externally Funded Research Accounts
Definition
Externally Funded research activities with a Written Document that specifies the income source, required use and available duration for use of the funds.
Common sources of income
Externally Funded Research Projects performed under a Written Document (e.g., ARC or NHMRC funded research)
Externally Funded Research Conferences
Externally Funded Research Consultancies performed under a Written Document
Externally Funded Research Donations, Bequests and payments from Foundations
Externally Funded Research Scholarships
Expenditure
Permitted expenditure to achieve the deliverables of the Written Document.
Process for opening account
All Externally Funded Research Accounts must follow the Pre-Award and Post-Award Account set-up processes stipulated by the Research Services. This ensures that all research activities are approved in an efficient manner and are tracked with a Pure number and HERDC code from inception of the Account.
Changes to Account End Date
Any changes to the Account End Date must be approved by the Research Services Post Award team, to ensure that all contractual implications are addressed.
Use of Residual Funds after Account End Date
Residual Funds at the Account End Date will be returned to the External Research Funding Provider if this is stipulated in the Written Document. This is the case for all ARC and NHMRC funding.
If the Written Document does not stipulate that unspent funds must be returned, these funds can be used by the Account owner for Research Activities, once the final Financial Acquittal has been accepted by the Funding Provider, until the Carry Forward End Date. Usage of these funds may be subject to periodic review by department, Faculty or Finance staff.
Carry Forward End Date
31 December of the Financial Year after the Account End Date e.g., if the Account End Date is 30 June 2021, then the Carry Forward End Date is 31 December 2022.
Use of Unspent Funds at Carry Forward End Date
Any unspent funds at the Carry Forward End Date will usually be transferred to a Faculty Residual Research Funds Account, for use as noted in this Procedure.
For accounts containing income that is classified as ‘University consultancy’, at the discretion of the relevant Executive Dean (or other Executive Group member) unspent funds at the Carry Forward End Date may instead be transferred to an Individual Academic Account, for use as noted in this Procedure.

Externally Funded Non-Research Accounts

Account type
Externally Funded Non-Research Accounts
Definition
Externally Funded non-research activities with a Written Document that specifies the income source, required use and available duration for use of the funds.
Common sources of income
Externally Funded Non-Research Projects performed under a Written Document Non-research Consultancies performed under a Written Document
Externally Funded Non-Research Prizes
Externally Funded Non-Research Donations, Bequests and payments from Foundations
Expenditure
Permitted expenditure to achieve the deliverables of the Written Document.
Process for opening account
Completion of Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form, with attached Written Document.
Changes to Account End Date
Any changes to the Account End Date must be agreed with the External Funding Provider, which should be attached to the Finance Project Ledger Account Amendment Form. In cases where it is inappropriate to consult the Funding Provider on changes to the Account End Date, then changes to this date must be approved by the Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer and Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury or their authorised officer.
Use of Residual Funds after Account End Date
Residual Funds at the Account End Date will be returned to the External Funding Provider if this is stipulated in the Written Document.
If the Written Document does not stipulate that unspent funds must be returned, these funds can be used by the Account owner for Non-Research Activities until the Carry Forward End Date. Usage of these funds may be subject to periodic review by department, Faculty or Finance staff.
Carry Forward End Date
31 December of the Financial Year after the Project End Date
e.g., if the Project End Date is 30 June 2021, then Carry Forward End Date is 31 December 2022.
Use of Unspent Funds at Carry Forward End Date
Any unspent funds at the Carry Forward End Date will usually be transferred to a Faculty Residual Non-Research Funds Account, for use as noted in this Procedure.
For accounts containing income that is classified as ‘University consultancy’, at the discretion of the relevant Executive Dean (or other Executive Group member) unspent funds at the Carry Forward End Date may instead be transferred to an Individual Academic Account, for use as noted in this Procedure.

Internally Funded Research/Non-Research Accounts

Account type
Internally Funded Research/Non-Research Accounts
Definition
Internally Funded activities with a Written Document that specifies the income source, required use and available duration for use of the funds.
Common sources of income
Allocation from the DVC (Research) non-discretionary account for research purposes. Subject to approval by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).
Allocation from the DVC (Academic) non-discretionary account for non-research purposes. Subject to approval by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic).
Allocation from Faculty Residual Research/Non-Research Funds Account. Subject to approval by the relevant Executive Dean. Allocation from Macquarie Departments or Offices that issue funding or Prizes for use over more than one year.
Deposits from students for fieldwork or other excursion trips where the activity spans more than a year.
Expenditure
Permitted expenditure to achieve the deliverables of the Written Document.
Process for opening account
Accounts that are co-funding part of a larger externally funded research activity will be set-up via the Research Services Application Process.
Stand-alone Accounts (i.e., accounts that are not linked to external funding) that receive funding from the DVC (Research) will be set up via the Research Services Application Process.
Stand-alone Accounts that receive funding from an internal source other than the DVC (Research) will be set-up by completion of the Finance Project Ledger Account Set-Up Form, with an attached Written Document from the Funding Provider.
Changes to Account End Date
Any changes to this date must be approved by the internal funding provider. Changes to the Account End Date that extend the project into the next financial year will not normally be approved. Any Extension to externally funded research grant should be applied to any linked internally funded grant.
Use of Residual Funds after Account End Date
Residual Funds at the Account End Date will be returned to the internal funding provider.
Carry Forward End Date
Same as Project End Date.

Individual Academic Accounts

Account type
Individual Academic Accounts
Definition
An account opened for use by an individual academic to record income earned that does not have specific usage restrictions attached to the income source.
Common sources of income
Assessment Fees
Examiner’s Fees
Royalty income streams
Roles in relation to editing or reviewing journals
Committee membership e.g., ARC College of Experts
Honorarium fees received from other institutions
External prizes or awards
Consulting Fees without a Written Document stipulating how the funds must be spent.
Fees received for community engagement activities
Unspent funds remaining at the Carry Forward End Date from University consultancy (if authorised by Executive Dean)
Expenditure
Permitted expenditure in furtherance of the core research or teaching aims of the University, including:
Running a conference or workshop
HDR student support
Staff development/training
Pilot research projects
Development projects
Laboratory maintenance
Open Access journal fees
Purchasing or maintaining equipment Research Assistance
Research services (e.g., lab or statistical analyses)
Attending, or supporting a department member (including an HDR or MRes student) to attend outreach or engagement events or conferences (including travel and accommodation)
Travel to partner organisations/laboratories.
Prohibited expenditure includes:
Payments to the account custodian as personal income
Payment for services or products used by the account custodian in their personal capacity.
Process for opening account
Approval by a Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer, using the Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form.
The purpose, current and likely future income sources, expenditure plan, and anticipated account duration must be agreed and documented in a Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form at account set-up.
Changes to Account End Date The Account owner must apply for extension of the Account via an updated Finance Project Ledger Account Amendment Form, which must be re-approved by a Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer.
Use of Residual Funds after Account End Date The Account owner will normally apply for an extension to the Account End Date if Residual Funds are remaining at this time. If the Executive refuses to extend the Account End Date, then Residual Funds will transfer to the Faculty Residual Non-Research Funds Account, for use as noted in this Procedure. A Faculty Executive Director will only refuse an extension of an Account End Date if there have been clear breaches of the use of these funds’ contrary to the purpose for which the Individual Academic Account was established and documented at inception of the Project Account.
Carry Forward End Date Same date as Account End Date.
Time to spend funds received into the Account – Sunset Clause
Funds received must be spent within five years, or they will be transferred to the Faculty Residual Non-Research Funds Account, for use as noted in this Procedure.
At the end of each Financial Year, the carry-forward amount on an Individual Academic Account will be equal to or lower than the sum of the last five years of income into that Account
Use of unspent funds if the Project Account owner leaves Macquarie
IAA funds remain the property of the University at all times, and the account custodian has no claim to these funds when they cease employment with the University.
By default, any unspent funds in an Individual Academic Account when the Account owner leaves the employment of Macquarie University will be transferred to the Faculty Residual Non-Research Funds Account, for use as noted in this Procedure.
Honorary title holders
In cases where an Individual Academic Account holder leaves the employment of Macquarie University and is conferred with an Honorary academic title (as defined and granted in accordance with the Honorary Academic Titles Policy and Honorary Academic Titles Procedure) then, at the discretion of the University and upon approval from the relevant Executive Dean (or other Executive Group member), the Honorary member may retain access to their IAA account during the term of their Honorary title, for use in accordance with University policies.
Since Honorary title holders are not employees and therefore do not have delegated authority to incur expenditure on behalf of the University, a relevant authorised member of staff will be identified to act as budgetary administrator of the IAA, in accordance with the Delegations of Authority Policy.

Capital

Account type
Capital
Definition
Account, used by typically Property and IT, to capture capital expenses in delivery of an approved capital project.
Common sources of income
None.
Expenditure
Permitted capital expenditure to achieve the deliverables of the project scope.
Process for opening account
Account End Date
The date by which all activities to deliver the asset to its location and condition for use should be completed, and all final invoices paid.
Changes to this expected date must be communicated in writing by Property and IT to Finance.

(34) The following table summarises approvals and responsibilities on common processes for Accounts in the Project and Operations Ledger.

Project Ledger – Research Accounts (Internal and External)

Activity
Approvals
Documentation
Responsibility to Action in Finance One
Account Set Up
Research Services
Workflow approvals in PURE and generation of efeed file
Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Changes to Account End Date
Research Services – Post Award
Confirmation from funding provider
Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Maintenance of selection codes on Accounts
Collaboration of Research Services – Post Award and Research Reporting Team
N/A
Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Return of Residual Funds after Account End Date
Dictated by the funding agreement
Funding Agreement
Externally funded – Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Internal funded – Office or Faculty Finance that provided funding
Transfer of residual funds that are retained
General Manager of Faculty
Evidence of approval by General Manager
Revenue Team, Financial Operations transfer funds
Closure of Account
Completion of activities
Acquittal process complete and account balances cleared
Revenue Team, Financial Operations

Project Ledger – Non-Research Accounts (Internal and External) incl Individual Academic Account and Capital

Activity
Approvals
Documentation
Responsibility to Action in Finance One
Account Set Up
Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer and Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury or their authorised officer.
Finance Project Ledger Account Set-Up Form with supporting documentation
Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Changes to Account End Date
Confirmation from the funding provider.
In cases where it is inappropriate to consult the Funding Provider on changes to the Account End Date, Faculty Executive Director or their authorised officer and Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury of their authorised officer.
Finance Project Ledger Account Amendment Form
Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Maintenance of selection codes on Accounts
Research Reporting Team
N/A
Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Return of Residual Funds after Account End Date
Dictated by the funding agreement
Funding Agreement
Externally funded – Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Internal funded – Office or Faculty Finance that provided funding
Transfer of residual funds that are retained
General Manager of Faculty
Evidence of approval by General Manager
Revenue Team, Financial Operations transfer funds
Closure of Account
Completion of activities
Acquittal process complete and account balances cleared
Revenue Team, Financial Operations

Operations Ledger

Activity
Approvals
Documentation
Responsibility to Action in Finance One
Account Set Up/Amendment
Changes to the Organisation Chart is managed by Director, Financial Operations, Tax and Treasury their authorised officer.
Relevant Discipline must exist before an Account can be mapped to it.
Finance Operating Ledger Account Set-Up Form with supporting documentation
Revenue Team, Financial Operations
Maintenance of selection codes on Accounts
Collaboration of Faculty/Office and Research Reporting Team
N/A
Revenue Team, Financial Operations
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Section 4 - Guidelines

(35) Nil.

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Section 5 - Definitions

(36) The following definitions apply for the purpose of this Procedure:

  1. Chief Investigator Report means the predominantly non-financial progress report written by the Chief Investigator for the Funding Provider.
  2. Controlled Entity (CE) is as defined in the Controlled Entities Policy.
  3. Discipline Code means the lowest level of hierarchical organisational structure within Finance One, denoted by a 4-digit code, e.g., Ancient History belongs to Faculty 2000 (Faculty of Arts), Department 2030 (Department of Ancient History) and Discipline Code 2031. All areas of the University have a discipline code. A discipline code is the parent of a Major Account.
  4. Faculty Residual Non-Research Funds Account means an Account in the Project Ledger of Finance One to which residual non-research funds from Externally Funded Non-Research Accounts and Individual Academic Accounts are transferred after the Carry Forward End Date of these Account types. Funds in this account are for use on strategic non-research activities, at the discretion of the relevant Faculty Executive Dean in consultation with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic).
  5. Faculty Residual Research Funds Account means an Account in the Project Ledger of Finance One to which residual research funds from Externally Funded Research Accounts are transferred after the Carry Forward End Date of that Account type. Funds in this Account are for use on strategic research activities, at the discretion of the relevant Faculty Executive Dean in consultation with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).
  6. Finance Project Ledger Account Set-up Form means the form issued by Group Finance for gathering all pertinent information and approvals required for the set-up of those Accounts that are not set-up via the Research Services Application Process.
  7. Finance Project Ledger Account Amendment Form means the form used to request an amendment to the key terms of an Account, e.g., Account End Date (except for changes to Account End Dates for Research Accounts, as these changes are processed by Research Services).
  8. Finance One means the University financial system.
  9. Financial Acquittal means a financial report prepared for the purpose of communicating summarised financial transactions for an Account, to the Funding Provider, over an agreed period.
  10. Financial Year means 1 January to 31 December.
  11. Funding Provider means an external institution (e.g. Australian Research Council (ARC)) or internal department (e.g. Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)) that provides funds to be spent for a specific purpose, and over a specific timeframe, as specified in a Written Document.
  12. HERDC code means a code assigned to all Accounts to denote which category of research income the Account should be reported under in the annual Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) submission to the Department of Education. Note that non-HERDC reportable Accounts are allocated a “non-HERDC reportable” HERDC code.
  13. Major Account means the component of the Finance One Operations and Project Ledgers, within which transactions are grouped. Major Accounts within the Project Ledger, for the purpose of this Procedure, are known as Accounts.
  14. Non-Research Activities means the activities that do not meet the Research Activities definition in this Procedure, but which form part of the core mission of the University, e.g., teaching and learning.
  15. Operations Ledger means the component of the Finance One financial system, within which Accounts are located.
  16. Project Ledger means the component of the Finance One financial system, within which Accounts are located.
  17. Research Activities means creative and systematic work undertaken in order to increase the stock of knowledge – including knowledge of humankind, culture and society – and to devise new applications of available knowledge. The definition encompasses pure and oriented basic research, applied research and experimental development. This definition of Research Activities is consistent with the definition provided by the Department of Education in the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC) guidelines.
  18. Research Grant means funding for a research project resulting from an application process which is open to more than one organisation, and which is to some degree investigator driven.
  19. Research Services means the Office of Macquarie University that supports researchers with external research grant applications and ongoing research lifecycle management activities.
  20. Residual Funds means surplus funds remaining in an Account at the Account End Date.
  21. Selection Type means user defined attributes created in Finance One to enhance account structure by tagging additional information. They are used to dissect reports and enquiries in Finance One. Selection Types are the parent attribute of Selection Codes.
  22. Selection Code means user defined attributes created in Finance One to enhance Account structure by tagging additional information related to a Selection Code. Selection Codes are children of Selection Types.
  23. Sunset Clause means a period of five (5) years in which funds received into an Individual Academic Account can be used, or they will be transferred to the Faculty Residual Non-Research Funds Account, for use as noted in the Policy. At the end of each Financial Year, the carry-forward amount on an Individual Academic Account will be equal to or lower than the sum of the last five (5) years of income into that Account.
  24. Written Document means a document, including an agreement, contract or other written format, that specifies the income source, required use and duration for the funds that will be allocated to the Account. This document will usually be written, or at least approved, by the Funding Provider.