The HCOM Accounting staff receives an ORACLE Report for all org numbers beginning with "30." This includes operating, restricted, research, and OU Foundation accounts.

In addition to the standard processing of any expense document, charges to a restricted account must be verified to insure that date(s) of transaction falls within grant period and also that adequate funds exist for the expenditure by checking the ORACLE on-line balance. If there are insufficient funds in a particular expense category or that category is not listed for the current expenditure, the COM Accounting staff first contacts the VP for Finance Grants and Contracts office to see if it is allowable to charge that category. Depending on what is allowable in the grant/contract, the HCOM Grant office may contact the principle investigator (PI), Research and Sponsored Programs office and possibly the Granting/Sponsor agency about completing a budget revision to accommodate the expenditure and/or future expenditures in that expense category.

The HCOM Accounting staff along with HCOM Grant staff are available to assist PI’s and/or their designee on how to track their budget and with spending down the grant. HCOM Accounting is responsible for review and audit of the expense transfers received from the PI. Also, copies of budget revisions are maintained in HCOM Accounting to reconcile to ORACLE.

OU Foundation requisitions are prepared on the on-line form (Direct Payment or Requisition). HCOM Accounting must insure that the correct Foundation ORACLE account number is used. The Foundation Requisition is approved and signed by the Financial Affairs Director; original forwarded to OU Foundation and copies kept in HCOM Accounting.

The Foundation Requisitions must be reconciled against either ORACLE on-line or ORACLE reports.

The HCOM Accounting staff also receives donation checks and transmittal deposit forms from the HCOM Development office. The forms are reviewed to verify correct ORACLE Foundation account numbers, account names and make sure dollar amounts on form match dollar amounts on the attached checks. All documents are copied and filed in HCOM Accounting. Transmittal forms and checks are forwarded to OU Foundation Office.

HCOM Accounting produces quarterly an Endowment Funds spreadsheet detailing total dollars for each endowment account using information found on the ORACLE reports.

The HCOM Accounting office receives income and/or reimbursement from a variety of sources. The amount of the deposit is verified, deposit slip created, and then forwarded to appropriate office. All non-OU Foundation and non-grant/contract deposits are submitted to the Cashier’s office. The Cashier’s Office processes the deposit slip through the cash register and a copy is pulled and returned to the HCOM Accounting office. The HCOM Accounting staff must match the deposit slip with the copy retained and verify that the printed information on the returned slip is for the exact dollar amount that was submitted to the Cashier’s office. Income/reimbursement sources are listed below:

1. Grants and Contracts




The HCOM Accounting office receives checks that must be deposited for grants and contracts. These checks must be mailed to the OU Grants office with an attached memo (initiated in HCOM Accounting office) including instructions for deposit into appropriate ORACLE account. The memo and check are copied and filed.



2. Other Funds




Other funds are received from various areas. A deposit slip must be completed for each transaction. A copy of the deposit slip plus a copy of the check is kept on file in the HCOM Accounting office. The check plus deposit slip is hand delivered to the Cashier’s Office, Chubb Hall. These other funds include:



Enrollment fees (Admissions office)
Application fees (Admissions office)
Arthritis program (workshops/programs)
Gerontology program (workshops/programs)
CHEAO (workshops/programs)
Community services (clinics/physicals/programs)
Lost keys
OU-HCOM Patches
EKG book sales
Yearbook sales
Learning Resources Center copy charges
Research support rotary
Western Reserve Geriatric Education Center (WRGEC) rotary
Interdisciplinary workshop rotary
Miscellaneous personal copy charges
Reimbursement of personal phone charges made in error on OU bobcat cards
COREnet rotary
HCOM out-of-state-buyout agreements

1. HCOM Out-of-State Buyout Agreements




HCOM Accounting maintains copies of contracts for the negotiated payments to be received from the alumni practicing out-of-state and maintains all payment files on these accounts. The HCOM Accounting office receives and records all payments, deposit slips are prepared. An amortization schedule is maintained that shows the principle and interest due on each contract. The spreadsheet is also used to project future revenue that is dependent upon the number of contracts outstanding, terms of the contracts, and scheduled payments. The HCOM Accounting staff handles inquiries from physicians regarding payments, contracts, past-due amounts, etc.

The HCOM Accounting staff is a liaison between the College and Legal Affairs. The HCOM Accounting staff are responsible for past due invoicing and must audit, review and inform Legal Affairs after two past due notices have been mailed. Legal Affairs is responsible for starting the collection proceedings from that point.



2. Special Billings




The HCOM Accounting office is responsible for invoicing of contracts negotiated with outside institutions (i.e., The Ohio Osteopathic Association, and all CORE hospitals and colleges). The invoices are typed dependent upon the contract conditions, then copied and forwarded to the institution. The HCOM Accounting office receives the payment, deposits the payment in the appropriate account, tracks all payments, and maintains a file for each contract. If payments are overdue, the HCOM Accounting staff informs the Chief Financial Officer.

1. Xerox / Equitrac




HCOM Accounting assigns and maintains PIN numbers tied to billing codes for copying throughout the college. HCOM Accounting also authorizes and maintains billing codes for printing to the centralized college copier system. HCOM Accounting invoices for Xerox usage quarterly utilizing a compilation of data from numerous tracking sources. Invoices are generated by ORACLE account number and copies are forwarded to appropriate departments at HCOM. These individual invoices must be compiled to be able to complete the university's Internal Billing Authorization/ Accounting Correction form so that the charges can be expensed against the proper ORACLE accounts. Copies of all documents are kept on file in HCOM Accounting.

Before the start of a new fiscal year (varies between May – July), HCOM Accounting receives the budget packet information (includes payroll information and instructions) for each operating department within HCOM. The actual Budget Form (Excel format) is located on the VP for Finance web site. The HCOM Accounting staff reviews the information, sorts it and prepares packets including Budget Office instructions and a cover letter listing deadlines, then distributes the packets to departments. The individual department/unit is responsible for accurate and timely completion of the Budget Form (B-Form) and submission to the HCOM Accounting office.

As the unit responsible for submission of the College’s total budget package, the HCOM Accounting staff must spend time reviewing the entire packet and all the specific details of preparing the budget packets. The HCOM Accounting staff must be prepared to advise personnel on how to complete the Budget Form, compile figures for new employees as requested, and review each budget packet submitted for correctness and accuracy. Each time the packet is reviewed all the errors will be highlighted and brought to the attention of the budget manager/delegated responsible party. It is the budget manager’s responsibility to correct all errors and return a clean, correct original plus two copies back to the HCOM Accounting office. The budget manager must also submit an electronic copy via e-mail to the HCOM Accounting office. The HCOM Accounting staff must review the returned budget packet again to check that the original mistakes were corrected and that no new errors were created.

All of the HCOM Accounting staff are involved in all areas of training such as answering questions regarding the completion and assignment of document numbers of on-line forms, how to download forms and direct staff on how to find information on the OU Web pages.

ORACLE training is being conducted by the V.P. for Finance Office in formal group sessions. While still very new to HCOM Accounting staff, they are able to assist with ORACLE problems, or at least direct questions to the appropriate person at the V.P. for Finance Office. Questions regarding use of ORACLE occur regularly. The HCOM Accounting staff assist the end-users by walking them through screens while they are also on-line.