Are you or someone in your area responsible for maintaining keys or combinations to storage cabinets or areas containing valuable equipment or materials? Security over such keys or combinations is very important. Keys/combinations such as these should be maintained in secure areas at all times and records should be maintained tracking access. Poor record keeping can be another major area of concern. The ability to track who took a key, for what purpose, when they took the key, for how long they kept the key and when it was returned is critical. The implementation of strong key controls can help ensure the safeguarding of assets.

MAS will be presenting an Internal Control Education Session on Tuesday, May 18th, 2004 from 10:00 A.M to 12:00 PM in the University Center room 312. The session is appropriate for anyone who feels they could benefit from understanding internal controls, particularly the changes in internal control procedures as a result of the implementation of PeopleSoft. If you would like to attend, please contact Sylvia Wickham at wickham@umbc.edu.

Force Access (FAC) Codes were instituted on campus to provide a mechanism to control long-distance telephone calls. They are to be used similarly to personal identification numbers (PIN) to identify the employee making a long-distance call and the department phone from which the call was made. FAC codes should be adequately controlled to ensure unauthorized long-distance telephone calls are not charged to the University. Communication Services issues monthly reports of FAC code activity to each department that has been assigned a FAC code. Departments should ensure adequate review procedures have been implemented to verify the propriety of the calls reported. Additionally, a good business practice would be to document and disseminate the procedures for controlling the FAC codes in your department, including the consequences for misuse. If you have any questions regarding FAC codes, please contact George Vitak, Director of Communication Services, at x 53262. If you would like MAS to review your department FAC code policy please feel free to contact us.

Communications Services is now administering a Departmental Campus Card program (D-Card). The card is already being used by several departments and is providing a simplified method for small food purchases, copier use, pay-for-print services and/or COMM_STORE postal goods and services. The card is to be used for authorized departmental activities only and minimizes the need for petty cash funds. The card also helps eliminate cumbersome paper work. Start taking advantage of this convenient card now! For more information call extension 22273 (C-Card) or e-mail Communications services staff at campuscard@umbc.edu

Now that we have started using PeopleSoft for approval of payroll, it is a good time to remind everyone to safeguard your PeopleSoft password. Great care was taken to establish security properly so as not to impair internal control over our critical processes. Don’t bypass the internal controls by allowing others to use your password. Remember that actions taken within the system are tied to the user who executed them. If you allow others to use your password to access functions you have been authorized to perform, and those others perform unauthorized or improper functions, you will be held accountable. For questions regarding PeopleSoft security concerning Finance you should prepare a remedy ticket by e-mailing your question to ps-support@umbc.edu and for security questions concerning Human Resources you should e-mail your question to Sherrell McNamara mcnamara@umbc.edu.

MAS is concerned about the incidence of inadequate and/or lack of supervisory review we are finding in our unannounced purchasing card reviews. More than 70 percent of our reviews disclose insufficient supervisory review. A recent memo to the UMBC Faculty and Staff from Dr. Hrabowski conveyed his concern with this issue as it impacts audit results and our image to the public as a fiscally responsible university. As a result, MAS and the Department of Procurement are designing a form for quarterly certification by supervisors to their Dean/Vice President, indicating that they have complied with purchasing card program policies. The form will be sent to supervisors and Deans/Vice Presidents along with the new policy guidelines. If you have any questions, please contact MAS or Ina Caplan, Purchasing Card Program Administrator (x53915).

During recent p-card reviews we have found several departments that have not allocated any purchasing card charges to departmental chart strings for the entire period beginning with the implementation of PeopleSoft, July 2003. Charges that have not been allocated and approved will not be charged to any departmental chart string and continue in the staged status. Cardholders are reminded to allocate their charges monthly and reconcile their charges to the recently available PeopleSoft allocation queries. If you have not attended p-card allocation training, contact Ina Caplan at 53915. You can find the description and navigation for the queries on Procurement’s web site at http://www.umbc.edu/adminaffairs/procurement/peoplesoftinfo.shtml.

Purchasing card program policy prohibits personal purchases (e.g., gifts), for the cardholder or any other individual. A personal purchase is defined as:
* a purchase that does not “further the business of the State”, and
* a purchase that does benefit an employee or other person individually rather than facilitate the discharge of the official functions or duties of the agency.
The State reserves the right to collect from the employee the cost of any purchases that do not further the business of the State. The collection may be accomplished through payroll deduction or any other collection process.

When submitting the support documentation for sensitive equipment purchases with the Inventory Addition form to Inventory Control, please do not submit a copy of your VISA statement. The statement is not required to be submitted, as noted on the inventory addition form, and your VISA account number is printed on the statement which presents a security concern. Any documentation that contains your VISA card account number should be maintained in a secure location to prevent inappropriate use of your purchasing card.

…to Enrollment Management. A recently completed purchasing card review by MAS has shown that the department is managing its program well. Thanks for your efforts and keep up the good work!

MANAGEMENT ADVISORY SERVICES

Michele L. Evans, CPA

Director

Email: mevans@umbc.edu

Extension: 51354

Frances Toth, CPA

Management Analyst

Email: ftoth@umbc.edu

Extension: 56257

Sharon D. Doherty-Ritter, CPA

Management Analyst

Email: doherty@umbc.edu

Extension: 51620

Shared Fax: 51009