Skip to main content
Office of the University Controller Indiana University

Standard on Standards

Prerequisites

Prior to reading the standard on Standard on IU Accounting Standards, it is beneficial to review the below sections to gain foundational information:

  1. FIN-ACC-1 Role of Fiscal Officer, Account Manager and Account Supervisor
  2. FIN-ACC-470 Internal Controls
  3. FIN-ACC-650 Financial Compliance: Authority and Accountability
  4. IU Accounting Standards

Preface

This standard defines the roles, responsibilities, and processes used to create and maintain the IU Accounting Standards.

Introduction

As part of the delegation of authority for the university external financial audit, in Policy FIN-ACC-650: Financial Compliance: Authority and Accountability, the Office of the University Controller (UCO) has created the IU Accounting Standards to serve as the authoritative and comprehensive guide for accounting and financial reporting at Indiana University.

The IU Accounting Standards section of the University Controller's website is organized into individual standards and incorporates standard operating procedures. The intent is to expand on policies and procedures that should be followed in order to produce accurate and reliable financial information. Each standard provides an educational overview on a specific topic, summarizes the requirements, importance, and best practices, including information on how to complete certain fiscal procedures.

Importance and Impact of the IU Accounting Standards

Per policy FIN-ACC-650, IU Accounting Standards are the authoritative and comprehensive guidance on accounting and financial reporting at Indiana University. Fiscal Officers should follow these standards to:

  1. Ensure compliance with fiscal regulatory requirements.
  2. Mitigate accounting and financial risks.
  3. Provide transparent and accurate information for internal and external financial reporting and management decision making.
  4. Define expectations.
  5. Create and maintain accountability and consistency.
  6. Provide guidance.
  7. Maintain procedural requirements.
  8. Identify anomalies, errors and variances in financial activity.

IU Accounting Standards

Process Overview

In order to ensure that Indiana University’s accounting and financial reporting is accurate and complete, we have created a multi-level review and communication process for the development and on-going maintenance of each standard. The following information defines these roles and provides an overview. This process may be subject to variation depending on the complexity of the standard and other conditions.

Roles & Responsibilities

ROLE OF UNIVERSITY ACCOUNTING & REPORTING SERVICES - UCO (UARS)

UARS is responsible for:

  • Working with the author of the standard prior to the first draft in order to review the overall process, the document outline and to identify any necessary resources.
  • Answering any questions the author has throughout the draft process.
  • Reviewing the standard for consistency and format.
  • Ensuring the standard is written for the general reader in easily consumable language.
  • Presenting/reviewing the outline to/with the UCO Review Committee.
  • Developing and maintaining resources that aid the Fiscal Officer in the implementation and use of the standards (i.e., templates, instructions, and other resources).
  • Ensuring that appropriate stakeholders have been notified of the new or revised standard, including communication to all Fiscal Officers upon completion through the UCO monthly newsletter.


ROLE OF THE AUTHOR OF THE IU ACCOUNTING STANDARD

The author of a given standard will likely be a subject matter expert (SME) within the Office of the University Controller. For standards related to a specific functional area (e.g., Non-Student Accounts Receivable, University Collections & Loan Services, Capital Assets, Internal Controls, Payroll, Tax, etc.) the author will be a SME within that function.

The author is responsible for:

  • Providing subject matter expertise and regulatory compliance, as it applies to the standard.
  • Preparing an outline for any new standard.
  • Drafting the standard.
  • Serving as the primary contact throughout the process and for subsequent revisions.
  • Reviewing the standard with their Manager, Associate Director, or Director prior to submission to UARS.
  • Reviewing the document at least annually and updating the document, as needed.


ROLE OF THE FUNCTIONAL OWNER

The functional owner can be an individual or group. An example of a functional owner may be Non-Student Accounts Receivable within the Office of the University Controller.

The functional owner is responsible for:

  • Answering any complex compliance or regulatory questions related to the standard.
  • Updating standards on a timely basis as required by regulatory and external requirements or with significant changes in internal business processes or systems.
  • Reviewing and updating each standard they are responsible for at least every other year.


ROLE OF COMPLIANCE REVIEWER

A compliance reviewer is the individual or group that is responsible for interpreting the regulatory requirement at the University. For example, Financial Reporting, within the Office of the University Controller, is responsible for interpreting various GASB pronouncements.

The compliance reviewer is responsible for:

  • Providing compliance feedback on the standard.
  • Communicating any compliance updates related to the standard, to the author and/or to UARS.
  • Confirming annually, with functional owners, that there are no required compliance updates.


ROLE OF THE UCO REVIEW COMMITEE

The review committee includes the University Controller, Associate Controller and various Assistant Controllers within The Office of the University Controller.

The review committee is responsible for:

  • Reviewing the outline for any new standard, prior to drafting the initial version of the standard.
  • Completing the final review of any new standard or an existing standard that has significant contextual changes.


ROLE OF CONTROLLERS WORKING GROUP (CWG):

Representatives from the CWG include the Campus Controllers and other campus and UA fiscal representatives.

The CWG is responsible for:

  • Reviewing the outline for any new standard, prior to the initial draft version.
  • Completing the final review of any new standard or an existing standard that has significant contextual changes.
  • Collecting campus and unit-level feedback prior to the final draft.
  • Communicating changes to campus stakeholders.
  • Recommending changes and revisions to new and existing standards.
  • Serving as the Campus/Unit-level expert on IU Accounting Standards (Campus Controller).

Requirements and Best Practices

Requirements

  1. A member or members of each group identified in the Roles & Responsibilities section of this standard must fulfill the specified responsibilities for each standard.
  2. Functional owners are responsible for updating standards timely, as required by regulatory and external requirements or with significant changes in internal business processes or systems.
  3. Functional owners must complete a review of each standard they are responsible for at least every other year.


Best Practices

  1. The functional owner should complete a review of each standard they are responsible for maintaining on an annual basis to ensure there are no regulatory changes, significant business or system changes and that procedural controls are still adequate.