Process Group/Policy Details
Subject: Cost Allocation
Process Group: Accumulate Costs
Title of Policy: CAlloc Accumulate Costs
Effective Date: 07/01/2014
Approved/Revision Date: 07/01/2014
Approved by: State Controller
Process Group Description
Accumulate Costs
This process group includes the accumulation of costs from hard copy bills and invoices submitted by vendors and paid from CORE into cost pools.
Rationale or background to policy:
This policy is required to standardize how departments accumulate costs into cost pools. The cost allocation process uses the accumulated pool totals to allocate rather than summing up all of the transactions that make up each pool to be allocated every time the cost allocation process runs.
Policy Statement:
CAlloc.PO.01 CAlloc Accumulate Costs
Departments shall accumulate costs from hard copy bills and invoices submitted by vendors and paid from CORE into cost pools. The Office of the State Controller shall define and maintain data sources used in the Cost Allocation. Data sources are a way to accumulate costs for a pool to be allocated or for use as a basis of allocation. If there is a need to define a new data source, departments shall follow the procedure below.
Procedures:
CAlloc.PR.01.01
The Cost Allocation process includes two steps:
1. Select a ledger record
2. Specify parameters in the Cost Allocation Process Parameters (CAPA)
Select a Ledger Record
The Cost Allocation Process selects ledger records from the Data Source specified on the Cost Allocation
Process Parameters (CAPA) page.
There are different Generic and Specific ledgers available, each having its own summarization logic. This summarization logic is controlled through the Journal / Ledger Control Detail (JLCTRL) page. Departments must use the ledger that summarizes ledger records most appropriately for that particular instance of the Cost Allocation Process.
When choosing a ledger, the most important part is choosing one that contains (is summarized upon) all of the data necessary to compute the allocation. If the department is allocating quarterly, then the ledger must contain Fiscal Year and Accounting Period. If the department wants the allocation to retain the Budget Fiscal Year from the ledger record to the allocation transactions, then Budget Fiscal Year must be retained. If the department has pools defined at Department, Program, and Activity then those chart of accounts must be summarized. A ledger should not contain an excessive level of detail (date or chart of accounts) below what is necessary to collect amounts for the various pools defined. If a department allocates annually, then retaining Transaction Record Date or Accounting Period would result in the allocation process having to spend considerable time consolidating ledger records.
In case none of the active ledgers meet the requirements, for example, none of the existing ledgers summarize records using BFY, and then a department should setup and activate one of the Generic Ledgers to summarize records to meet the department’s Cost Allocation needs. It is not uncommon for a site to have a ledger for Cost Allocation where that is the sole purpose of the ledger. The incremental time spent each night ledgering journal records to this ledger is small compared to the performance improvements gained with a succinct Source Ledger.
Specify parameters in the Cost Allocation Process Parameters (CAPA) Table
Jump to the CAPA table
Click Insert
Enter Parameter Id = use the first letter of the Cabinet when setting up a Parameter Id
Select Run Mode
Select Run Cycle
Select Allocation Id = the Allocation Id should contain the first letter of the Cabinet that was created on the ALOC table
Select Selection APD
Enter Fiscal Year
Enter Period
Select Data Source = 17 (Cost Allocation Ledger). This is where you can select a different Data Source for the accumulation of the pool.
Enter Offline Validation Date = Today’s date using the format of XX/XX/XXXX
Click Save
Click OK