Changes in Mileage

1
1st Quarter 2006 January/February/March
In This Issue
Changes in Mileage and Per Diem Rates
Changes in Mileage And Per Diem Meal Rates Page
1 Online Auctions for Surplus Items Page
1 Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Calendar Page 2 The
Case for Account Reconciliations Pages 3
4 Increase in Postage Expenses Page 5 Excel
Spreadsheet Tip Page 6
Beginning January 1, 2006, the standard mileage
rate for the use of a personal car was changed to
44.5 cents per mile for business miles driven.
The electronic expense reimbursement application
and the BAS website have been updated to reflect
the new rate. Per diem rates for meals have
also been revised effective January 1, 2006. For
detailed information showing the new per diem
rates by city, please refer to this page on the
BAS website http//www.kent.edu/bas/guidelines/
mealperdiemsdomestic.cfm Questions about mileage
reimbursement and per diem rates can be sent by
email to Katie Brown Assistant Manager
Procurement (kcarl_at_kent.edu) or Rosa York -
Accounts Payable Specialist (ryork1_at_kent.edu), or
by calling Accounts Payable on extension 2-2607.
Going OnceGoing TwiceSOLD!

• In addition to offering surplus items to the
  University community, departments with surplus
  items and equipment now have two online auction
  options to consider when disposing of items. The
  two options are
• Govdeals The Govdeals website is used to sell
  large items (such as freezers, mowers or lathes)
  that will involve substantial shipping costs.
• eBay - eBay is used for selling smaller items
  that are easily shipped.  Examples of these items
  include china, parts for equipment and computer
  equipment.
• Procurement has completed a number of sales with
  good success in the last few months. Departments
  interested in learning more about the online
  auction process should read the policy and
  procedure for online auctions on the Procurement
  website at
• http//www.kent.edu/procurement/surplusoptions.cfm

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Page 2 Business Administrator Quarterly
Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Calendar
Its that time of year again! The budget process
for Fiscal Year 2007 has begun. The calendar of
budget activities is as follows
Please be aware that some division budget
officers use the calendar above to set deadlines
within their divisions. Your department may have
an earlier set of deadlines to meet than what is
shown on the calendar above. If you are unclear
about what information you need to provide and
when it is due, contact your division budget
officer (see list below) to discuss division
specific deliverables and deadlines for Fiscal
Year 2007 budgeting.
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Page 3 Business Administrator Quarterly
The Case for Account Reconciliations

• With numerous assignments and projects demanding
  the attention of the business support staff, the
  need to devote
• resources to reconciliation activities may be
  questioned. It is important to remember that
  regular account
• reconciliations are a critical component of Kent
  States internal control strategy and provide the
  following benefits
• Ensures resource use is consistent with laws,
  regulations and policies
• Safeguards resources against waste, loss, misuse
  and fraud
• Identifies errors or inaccuracies in information
  so corrections can be made in a timely manner
• Promotes operational efficiency
• Confirms that reliable financial data is
  obtained, maintained, and fairly disclosed in
  internal accounting reports and
• Ensures the quality of our external financial
  reporting.
• What is an account reconciliation?
• The term account reconciliation refers to the
  process of comparing departmental records of
  anticipated financial
• transactions for the period to the transaction
  detail that has actually been recorded in the
  financial applications.
• Departmental records of transactions may include
  check requests, travel expense reimbursements,
  petty cash forms,
• invoices for items purchased, salary changes
  processed, budget revisions, PRA forms,
  departmental
• deposits and invoices sent to customers billing
  them for services.

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Page 4 Business Administrator Quarterly
The Case for Account Reconciliations (continued)

• Review the revised budget column, and compare the
  revised budget information to the current months
  FRS monthly report of transactions. Identify
  budget revisions that have been made and
  determine if budget revisions that were expected
  were in fact recorded. Follow up with your
  business manager or budget officer on any
  questions, unexplained budget revisions or budget
  revisions expected but not recorded.
• Note Select benefits such as retirement, group
  insurance, medicare, workers compensation,
• tuition fee waivers (excluding GA tuition),
  accrued vacation, parking and certain telecomm
• expenses (subcodes 5161, 5162) are budgeted
  centrally for most EG accounts. Each month
• end, a program is executed to record a budget
  revision to match the amount of actual expense
• for these expense categories.
• Verify that any errors identified in prior month
  budgets and / or expenses have been corrected as
  requested. Follow up on any corrections that
  were requested but have not been recorded.
• Review fee waiver transactions to verify
  employees / dependents are associated with the
  correct account and that the employees /
  dependents are still eligible for the benefit.
• Compare supporting documentation of activity to
  the transactions recorded on the report of
  transactions statement and document discrepancies
  and resolutions. Ask the following questions
• Is there documentation for the transactions that
  were recorded in FRS?
• For each payment charged to the account, does the
  amount and vendor agree with the detail?
• Were the transactions recorded approved? If
  appropriate approval was not obtained, take the
  following steps
• Bring the transactions to the attention of your
  supervisor or department head to determine the
  appropriate course of action or correction.
• Review the Internal Control Self-Assessment
  Questionnaire on the Internal Audit website
  (http//www.kent.edu/internalaudit/Assessment-Chec
  k.cfm). Assess the departments internal control
  processes and consider revisions that will
  mitigate the risk of such an occurrence in the
  future.

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Page 5 Business Administrator Quarterly
Increase in Postage Expenses
The U.S. Postal Service increased most rates and
fees by approximately 5.4 percent, effective
January 8, 2006. The following table shows some
selected rate and fee changes.

• Due to the impact on expenses, all departments
  should use the new rates in planning fiscal year
  2007 budgets. All employees are encouraged to
  consider the following suggestions that may help
  offset postage expenses
• Converting a large document to an electronic
  format can greatly reduce, or even eliminate,
  postal expenses. Moving documents from a hardcopy
  mailing to a document that can be accessed online
  can eliminate the postage expenses entirely, as
  well as all the costs associated with the mailing
  (paper, envelopes, handling, etc).
• Updating mailing lists to remove inactive names
  and bad addresses will reduce expenses for
  discarded mailings.
• Departments sending out 200 or more identical
  pieces of mail may qualify for bulk rate
  discounts. The bulk rate can reduce your
  departments postage expense for the mailings by
  as much as 50. Be aware that bulk mailing does
  require proper planning - the envelopes must be
  in zip code order when submitted, and it may take
  5-10 business days for delivery.
• Using standard sized envelopes and postcards will
  reduce postal expense. Undersized, oversized and
  odd sized mailings require more postage than a
  standard letter, due to the additional handling
  costs required.
• Anyone interested in learning more about these
  suggestions should contact Anna Pascarella at
  extension 2-8703. Additional cost savings tips
  and services provided can be found on the Mail
  Services website at http//www.kent.edu/mailservic
  es.

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Page 6 Business Administrator Quarterly
Excel Spreadsheet Tip Splitting Cell Contents
When working with a spreadsheet that contains
first and last names together in one column, it
may be necessary to split the first and last
names into separate columns. The Convert Text to
Columns feature in Excel can be used to quickly
divide the name information into two columns. To
use this feature, first insert a blank column to
the right of the column containing the names.
Next, highlight the range of cells that contains
the names. (Note The range can be any number of
rows tall, but no more than one column wide.)
Then follow these steps .
If you have a favorite Excel tip that would
benefit other spreadsheet users, please tell us
about it by sending an email to bas_at_kent.edu.

• On the Data menu, click Text to Columns.
• The Convert Text to Column Wizard box will
  appear. Select the Delimited option on the
  Original Data Type menu and hit the Next button.
• Check the Space box in the Delimiters section of
  the next window that appears. This will split
  the name information at each space in the name.
  A preview window showing how the text in your
  spreadsheet will be affected is displayed in the
  bottom of the wizard box. Hit the Next button.
• The Wizard screen provides an input screen to set
  the format of the data. For most applications,
  the General option can be used. Select the
  General option in the Column Data Format section
  of the wizard box and hit the Finish button.
• The name information that was previously combined
  in one column will now
• be split into two separate columns.

All previously published newsletters can be
viewed on-line at http//www.kent.edu/bas/Newslett
er. Please let us know if you would like us to
cover a specific topic regarding business
operations or fiscal management in a future
issue. Contact Maureen Kennedy at extension
2-8615, Vicki Ladd at extension 2-1956, or send
an email to bas_at_kent.edu.