UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Controller's Office

Rowena Bramlette ’88 Endowed Scholarship Announced

We are pleased to announce an endowed scholarship has been established in memory of Rowena Bramlette ’88.  Rowena served the University for 14 years and retired from her position of associate vice president for budgeting in 2019. She passed away after a courageous battle with cancer in January 2020. Prior to his retirement as vice president of financial affairs, Alan Timmins ’80 had nurtured the idea to create a scholarship in Rowena’s memory. Initial funding was provided by Alan and members of the Controller’s Office. Rowena’s husband, Rod Bramlette has added his support to the scholarship along with the President’s Leadership Cabinet. The scholarship will be called the Rowena B. Bramlette ’88 Financial Affairs International Accounting Scholarship, and will be given each year to an outstanding senior, non-US born, accounting student.

In remembrance of Rowena, University employees and members of the faculty may contribute to her scholarship by using this link.  To  inquire on how you can make your donation through payroll deduction, please contact Kati Duffy, development, at duffyk@up.edu.

Fiscal Year-End Reminders

The University’s fiscal year ends on Thursday, June 30, and there are some important dates and reminders to note:

  • Expenses submitted prior to June 30 which are for travel or events occurring in fiscal year 2021 will be accrued, and paid against the fiscal year 2021 budget.
  • Reimbursement and Payment Request forms to be paid against the fiscal year 2020 budget need to be submitted to the Controller’s Office no later than Friday, July 17th.
  • All goods and services purchased must be received by June 30. Any deliveries received after June 30 will be charged to the fiscal year 2021 budget.

For more information on all fiscal year-end procedures see the Fiscal Year-End Policy on the Controller’s Office webpage, or contact Lori Watson at x7393 or duax@up.edu.

Controller’s Office: Electronic Submission of Payment Requests

The Controller’s Office will temporarily accept electronic submission of payment requests while the University is closed due to COVID-19, according to Lori Watson. Please combine all documents into one PDF file and submit to accounts_payable@up.edu.  Payments will continue to be processed but please note there may be some delays.  Thank you for your cooperation during this difficult time.

Barger Selected for 2020-21 NACUBO Fellows Program

Eric Barger, associate vice president for finance and controller, has been selected for the 2020-21 National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) Fellows Program, a one-year professional development opportunity for a small group of promising higher education leaders in business and finance.

Barger earned a bachelor’s degree in health care management with a minor in communication studies as well as a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 1990, and a master’s degree in business administration in 1994, all here on The Bluff. He has served as controller since October 2008.

Sixteen promising higher education professionals from colleges and universities across the country have been selected for this year’s program. Over the next year, NACUBO Fellows will work with higher education presidents, provosts, chief business officers (CBOs), and other experts as they expand their management, communications, and leadership skills and learn from the experiences of others.

NACUBO, founded in 1962, is a nonprofit professional organization representing chief administrative and financial officers at more than 1,900 colleges and universities across the country. NACUBO works to advance the economic vitality, business practices, and support of higher education institutions in pursuit of their missions.

For more information contact Barger at barger@up.edu or NACUBO at KMcCreary@nacubo.org.

Money Matters:  60-Day Rule for Expense Reimbursements

There have been a number of questions recently about expense reimbursements, so it appears to be a good time for some policy/tax law reminders, according to Lori Watson, controller’s office.

  • As a general rule, all purchases should be made with a University purchasing card (or “p-card”).  Expense reimbursements are for non-p-card transactions such as mileage and cash tips.
  • Expense reimbursements requests must be submitted within 60 days of expenditure (this is a tax law requirement).  Requests received after 60 days may not be paid.
  • The 60-day rule applies to mileage payments.  Best practice is to report mileage on a monthly basis especially for those who do a lot of driving.

Please contact the controller’s office at x7393 or up_controller@up.edu if you have questions.

Please Note: PCard Reconciliation Due March 9

As we head into and early spring break, the controller’s office wants to remind faculty and staff that may be traveling and not on campus next week, that they still need to do PCard reconciliation of February charges before Monday, March 9.  If you have charges for the month of February on your card, and you know you will not have any more charges, you can log onto the Wells Fargo website prior to the end of the month, enter descriptions and save your changes. Turn over your receipts in a PCard envelope to your approver before you leave campus and from any computer, wherever you are, you can log onto the Wells Fargo website and hit the Statement Reviewed button.  This will ensure that you are following your agreement with the University to reconcile your cards.

If you have any questions, please call or e-mail Theresa Knott in the Controller’s office at ext. 8712 or pcard@up.edu.

Reconcile PCards by Jan. 7, Please

The controller’s office wants to remind faculty and staff that may be traveling and not on campus the first week in January, that they still need to do PCard reconciliations of December charges before Thursday, January 7, 2020. Wherever you are, the first week in January you can log onto the Wells Fargo website and hit the Statement Reviewed button. This will ensure that you are following your agreement with the University to reconcile your cards. If you have any questions please call or e-mail Theresa Knott in the controller’s office at x8712 or pcard@up.edu.

Fiscal Year Ends June 30: Important Dates, Reminders

The University’s fiscal year ends on Thursday, June 30, and there are some important dates and reminders to note:

  • Expenses submitted prior to June 30 which are for travel or events occurring in fiscal year 2020 will be accrued, and paid against the fiscal year 2020 budget.
  • Reimbursement and Payment Request forms to be paid against the fiscal year 2019 budget need to be submitted to the controller’s office no later than Friday, July 12.
  • All goods and services purchased must be received by June 30. Any deliveries received after June 30 will be charged to the fiscal year 2020 budget.

For more information on all fiscal year-end procedures see “Fiscal Year-End Procedures” on the Controller’s Office webpage, or contact Lori Watson at x7393 or duax@up.edu.

Paperless P-Card Statements Are Here!

The controller’s office is pleased to introduce paperless P-card statement submissions to Wells Fargo beginning this month.  Starting Monday, March 18, the feature will be available to all cardholders. Submission can be done from any computer, phone (Android or Apple) or mobile device (Android or Apple).

Using the new receipt-imaging feature means no more lost receipts. Cardholders will be able to easily keep track of receipts by attaching them to their statements from either a desktop or a mobile device. The process of reviewing receipts will be streamlined, which means that cardholders and approvers will not have to deal with submitting paper receipts, documentation or envelopes. Receipt imaging goes far beyond just making life easier. Going paperless will reduce business expenses and it advances the University’s efforts toward sustainability.

In the next week the controller’s office will be sending out more information on training materials to upload documentation from a computer or mobile device via the Wells Fargo CEO app, what users should attach as proper documentation, and a receipt imaging implementation timeline.

If you have any questions please contact Theresa Knott, Lori Watson, or Eric Barger at pcard@up.edu.

New Departmental Barnes & Noble Purchase Policy

To facilitate easier transaction coding and to improve financial controls, the controller’s office has asked Barnes & Noble to discontinue having open departmental accounts at the University bookstore, according to Eric Barger, controller. Department purchases should instead be made with a University-issued P-card. The business purpose of purchases should be documented in the P-card reconciliation.  Barnes & Noble will still provide the usual faculty/staff discounts on qualifying purchases.