SMU Chart of Accounts Copy

SMU's financial system accumulates and reports financial information to those responsible for administration of University funds. The University's financial accounting system, PeopleSoft Financials for Public Sector, is specifically designed to support the financial management of colleges and universities. In addition to the standard accounting functions of accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger, it also performs the specialized functions of fund accounting, encumbrance reporting, and grants management. The system maintains a financial database from which standard reports are produced.

Accumulators known as ChartFields are used to track and report on transactions. The chart fields are Fund, Account, Organization, Project/Grant, Program, and Sub-Class. ChartFields are maintained by Financial Systems Support. Email psfinsupport@list.smu.edu for assistance.

Fund

Funds segregate financial information for the purpose of carrying on specific activities and attaining certain objectives in accordance with regulations, restrictions, and limitations. They maintain a self-balancing set of accounts to record cash and other financial resources, together with related liabilities and residual equities or balances.

Length
2 characters
Type
Numeric
Use Distinguish transactions for traditional fund accounting. Used by Grants and Contracts to distinguish funding source group.
Examples
10 - Unrestricted Fund
12 - Designated Fund
20 - Current Restricted Fund
25 - Plant Fund
30 - Endowment

Required
Yes

Click here to download the complete list of Funds.

Account

Accounts classify transactions as expenditure, revenue, asset, liability, or equity (fund balance) transactions.

Length 4 characters
Type
Numeric
Use
Accumulate transactions by natural classification
Examples
Cash
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
Tuition Revenue
Supplies Expense
Required
Yes

Click here to download a complete list of Accounts (SMU Community only).

Organization

Organization codes (Orgs) represent a department or discrete operating unit within the University. Budgeting and reporting occur at the Organization level.

Length
6 characters
Type
Numeric
Use
Accumulate transactions for each individual reporting budgetary unit
Examples
Office of the President
College Anthropology
Dean of Students
Controllers Office
Required
Yes

To view a list of Orgs for your area, contact your Financial Business Manager.

Project / Grant

Project / Grant IDs segregate and track grant and project encumbrances, revenues, and expenditures.

Length
7 characters
Type
Alpha-numeric (alpha character(s) denote(s) type of grant or responsible area for non-grants)
Use
Accumulate transactions for particular grants, projects, or events (used instead of subclass when there is a specific start and end date or when payroll costs will be charged.)  Also used to track costs of phases or segments within a larger project.
Examples
Electrical Magnets
Dorm Renovation
President's Visit
Required
Only for Grants and Contracts

To view a list of Projects / Grants for your area, contact your Financial Business Manager.

Sub-Class

Sub-class is a flexible accumulator. Sub-class codes are utilized for a variety of purposes, depending on the situation. For example, sub-classes are used to track individual travel receivables.  Individual schools or departments can tailor sub-class for specific reporting needs. However, there are university-wide sub-classes to capture revenues and expenses for specific transaction-types such as University Donations and Training Costs.

Length
5 characters
Type
Numeric or Alpha-numeric
Use
Sub-account to track individual receivables. Sub-account to further break down revenues and expenses. Accumulator for a particular event or type of expense that repeats from year to year. Accumulator for specific University-wide transaction types not covered by an Account. 
Examples
Travel Receivables
Mock Court Trial Competition
University Donations
Required
Only for Travel Receivables

View a list of University-wide sub-classes. To view sub-classes for your area, contact your Financial Business Manager.

Program

Programs are groups of related activities directed toward the accomplishment of sets of identifiable objectives. Program codes are not assigned by a user when inputting a transaction into the system. A system process runs monthly that assigns program codes to transactions based upon a set of criteria. Program categories are used for financial and statutory reporting.

Length
5 characters
Type
Alpha
Use
System-populated on revenue and expense lines in the Ledger based on transaction criteria to provide reporting by functional category
Examples
INST - Instructional Support
ACAD - Academic Support
STUD - Student Services
Required
Yes (but not at the time of input)

Click here to download a list of Programs.