Gather Supporting Documentation for a Journal Entry

Providing appropriate support for a financial transaction is an essential element of internal control.  There are two methods for supporting a journal entry, the journal header and line descriptions along with supporting documentation.

Journal entries affecting a Sponsored Project/Grant (with an initial Fund Code of 20000 or 25000) require supporting documentation be added to the University’s Imaging system by attaching them to the journal before it is posted.

Journal entries not affecting a Sponsored Project/Grant will not require supporting documentation unless your department’s internal controls require such support. However, it is highly recommended that supporting documents are added to the University’s Imaging system by attaching them to the journal before it is posted.

Sensitive Information

When gathering support for a journal entry, do not submit confidential information, such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, health information or other types of protected information. Sensitive information should be obscured or removed from the support prior to submission; departments should retain secured departmental records of sensitive information based on departmental procedures. For more information on sensitive information see the following SPGs, available online at http://spg.umich.edu/: SPG 601.12 - Institutional Data Resource Management Policy SPG 601.14 - Social Security Number Privacy Policy

Journal Description

All journal entries are required to be supported by a complete description. The descriptions should be sufficient for the JE review and approval process. There are two types of descriptions, the header or long description and the line description.

Journal Header Description (254 characters maximum)

The journal header description (or long description) should completely describe the transaction being processed and should indicate why the journal entry is necessary. The text of the description should contain:

• What is being transferred/corrected
• Where it is being transferred
• Why the original transaction(s) was incorrect (if applicable)
• A reference to applicable supporting documentation

Syntax: When creating a journal entry, it is recommended to use one of the following keywords to identify the type of journal entry:

• Transfer (TSF) - used when moving revenues or expenses to a different Chartfield combination.
• Correct (COR) - used when correcting erroneous Chartfield values.
• Re-account (R/A) - used when correcting erroneous Account values.
• Reverse (REV) - used when reversing a previous journal entry that was created in error.
• Partial (PRT) - used when moving only part of an original SOA line item.

An example of an appropriate journal header description is illustrated below:

Journal Line Descriptions (30 character maximum)

Line descriptions provide additional information related specifically to individual journal lines. In addition, each line description must relate to the journal header description. The length of a journal line description cannot exceed 30 characters (including spaces). The following guide is provided to assist with preparing journal line descriptions:

Action code + original transaction reference + date original charge appeared on Statement of Activity (SOA) + miscellaneous

An example of an appropriate journal line description is illustrated below:

Miscellaneous Section of Journal Line Description

The miscellaneous section of the journal line description is optional but is very useful for your department’s SOA reconcilers. It provides another level of detail for tracking transactions. Common examples of miscellaneous information include:

• Voucher ID
• Department reference codes
• Shortcodes
• Travel Identifiers

Restrictions

The following restrictions are systematically enforced by the M-Pathways financial system and will prevent the journal from being processed:

Journal Date

The journal date must be within the current month. For example, if today is October 1, any journal entry processed must be dated between October 1 and October 31.

Balanced Journal

The total debits must balance against the total credits to create a balanced journal entry.

Source Code

A Source Code is a 2-3 character reference required in every journal entry header that provides a reference to the origin of the journal. Journal Source Codes will be automatically set according to the journal processor's primary departmental appointment. The Source Code assigned to Financial Operations is FO and will appear as the default source code for all Financial Operations initiated journal entries. If you need assistance with a source code, please reach out to the Financial Reporting team at [email protected]

Supporting Documentation

Supporting documentation could consist of copies of a Statement of Activity (SOA) or SOA Voucher Detail Expense Report, and/or a memo requesting or explaining the transaction.

The methods of submitting supporting documentation are outlined below. 

JE Attachment within M-Pathways

To attach support to a journal entry in M-Pathways prior to it being posted, go to the Header panel and click the Add Support link. Support documents may not exceed 10MB, can only be a PDF (.pdf) or TIF (.tif) format. Once support has been uploaded, the journal can now be posted. After the journal entry posts, supporting documentation can no longer be added or deleted through the PeopleSoft panel.

Browse to where the support documentation is located, select the document you wish to add to the journal entry, click open and then click upload.

E-Mailed Support

Although it is recommended to attach support to the journal entry before posting, if support is not able to be included through that method, it can be sent via email to [email protected].

• Include the Journal ID and Journal Date to which the support applies in the body of the message and make sure the format is set to print on 8 ½ x11 sheet of paper.

  For Sponsored journal entries transferring a charge that originally appeared on an SOA more than 120 days prior to the journal entry date, Sponsored Programs requires an additional explanation for the delay in correcting the error. It is also recommended to include an explanation for transfers of charges outside of the current fiscal year for non-Sponsored journals.