To: All members of staff 

The University’s financial year ends on 31 December. The following arrangements will apply to ensure that all income and expenditure relating to the 2019 financial year are correctly recorded and that the year-end accounting procedures are concluded as soon as possible:

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT DATES	Due Date	Contact person
Expenses
Final submission of remuneration claims	07-Jan-20	J Blackmore x2050
Final submission of settlement of advances/reimbursement of expenses	06-Dec-19	R Ramdin x3014
Requisitions/purchase orders must be finalised and approved	19-Dec-19	Faculty Accountant
Final submission of invoices	15-Jan-20	F Bingle X4653
Final submission of foreign invoices	10-Jan-20	D Hansjee x2228
Submission of petty cash reconciliations	03-Dec-19	Faculty Accountant
Income
Final request for the issuing of invoices for services rendered	18-Dec-19	J Awuah  x5234
Allocation of cash income	06-Jan-20	L Britz  x3077
Receipt books  - finalising 2019	03-Dec-19	T Masiangoako x4646

Reconciliation of petty cash

The policy on petty cash advances requires that all advances should be reconciled at the end of the University's financial year. This means that all expenditure that has been incurred must be recorded by that time.  Any cash on hand should be deposited with the cashiers no later than 3 December 2019. Where applicable, expenditure vouchers and receipts for cash deposited should be submitted to the faculty accountant. 

Contact person: Adele Truscott (extension 4929) or the faculty accountant concerned.

Receipt books

All receipt books should be submitted to the Student Accounts Division in room 2-22, Administration Building, no later than 3 December 2019. Should a receipt book be required for the remainder of the current financial year, another receipt book will be issued immediately. Should a receipt book not be required, the submitted receipt book should be collected from the same office during the first week of the New Year.

Contact person: Tshepo Masiangoako (extension 4646) or the faculty accountant concerned.

Refund/pay-out to students

Please ensure that all requests to pay funds into students’ bank accounts are received by 13 December 2019.

Contact person: Portia Rasivhaga (extension 4535).

Settlement of advances/reimbursement of expenses (excluding remuneration claims)

Advances provided to cover envisaged expenses should be finalised by means of submitting an expense report on PeopleSoft. All supporting expenditure vouchers should be attached to the expense report and forwarded to the faculty accountant. Expense reports regarding advances/reimbursement of expenses that are to be finalised in terms of the relevant policy should be submitted no later than 6 December 2019.

Expense reports received after this date will only be paid and recorded in the next financial year.

Contact person: Rajni Ramdin (extension 3014).

Transfer of encumburances from 2019 financial year to 2020 financial year

All pre-encumburances/requisitions must be finalised and approved by 19 December 2019 to be carried forward to the next financial year. All open requisitions will be cancelled on 20 December 2019.

Payment of invoices

Expenditure incurred in respect of the 2019 financial year can only be finalised if authorised invoices reach the creditors division by the 15^th of January 2020. All December 2019 vouchers must be approved by the respective cost centre manager by the 27 January 2020.

Contact person: Fransa Bingle (extension 4653).

Payment of invoices of foreign origin

All requests received by the creditors division until 3 December 2019 for the payment of invoices that originated in foreign countries, will be settled and recorded as expenditure for the 2019 financial year. With regard to invoices that relate to the 2019 financial year that have been submitted to the creditors division by 10 January 2020, provision will be made for the recording of the relevant expenditure in the 2019 financial year. Invoices submitted after 10 January 2020 will be recorded in the next financial year.

Contact person: Damyanti Hansjee (extension 2228).

Income from services rendered

Issuing of invoices for services rendered

Invoice requests to external parties for the rendering of services in the 2019 financial year should be completed online no later than 18 December 2019. These invoices will be recorded as income in the 2019 financial year. The provisions of policy docment A17/03 remain applicable.

Contact person: Joyce Awuah (extension 5234).

Cash income

Income for services rendered during 2019 should be recorded in the 2019 financial year. Information on all income relating to 2019, which has not been recorded by 31 December 2019, should be submitted to the Finance Department before 6 January 2020. Income that has already been received in respect of services to be rendered should also be recorded correctly. The Finance Department should be advised of such cases before 6 January 2020. All cash received by departments should be deposited before the commencement of the forthcoming recess.

 

Contact person: Liana Britz (extension 3077) or the faculty accountant concerned.

Remuneration

To ensure that all remuneration in respect of 2019 is paid from the personnel budget for 2019, an additional salary run will take place early in January 2020. Remuneration claims for 2019 should be submitted to the Human Resources Department before 28 November 2019. Claims for services rendered from 28 November 2019 to 2 January 2020, should be submitted on 4 January 2020. Claims received after 7 January 2020 will be paid from the 2020 budget allocations.

Contact person: Jayne Blackmore (extension 2050).

Cost centres for research and grants

Audited financial reports

Audited financial reports are required for grants received from the NRF and the Medical Research Council (MRC). Financial reporting in respect of the NRF and MRC may only include actual expenses that have been paid. Please submit reports on advances, general claims and requests for the payment of invoices to the Finance Department before the due dates (as mentioned above) to ensure that the expenditure incurred in 2019 is recorded against grants for 2019. Unrecorded expenses cannot be included in the financial reports, with the result that a grant for the particular purpose could be forfeited.

Contact persons: Tinyiko Mashaba (extension 2869)/Verna Mulder (extension 4739)/Yvonne Schlebusch (extension 4422)

Deficit on cost centres

No grant/research cost centre may conclude the year on 31 December 2019 reflecting a deficit. Should there be a deficit, please indicate the source of the funds to cover such deficit.

Contact persons: Ansuya Govender (extension 6410)/Enoch Molekoa (extension 2149) or the faculty accountant concerned.

Opening balances – financial system

Preliminary opening balances for capital funds, research funds and certain external funds will be transferred to the financial system on 6 January 2020. These transfers are made to enable members of staff to place orders and incur expenditure during the year-end closing period. Please note that the transactions are backdated to the 2019 financial year and that this measure causes the transferred preliminary balances to lag behind the actual balances. The Finance Department will update these balances on a regular basis.

External audit

The external audit will commence on 24 February 2020.
 

Your co-operation to ensure that the 2019 financial year is concluded successfully, is greatly appreciated.

Mr Naeem Moolla

Director: Finance