Policies of Departmental Budgets
Please consult the following policies with regard
to managing your college funds.
Budget Distribution
Unrestricted budgets are distributed to
the Budget Managers, appropriate Vice Presidents
and the Business Office in May preceding the
new fiscal year.
Restricted budgets are established upon issuance
of the award letter and or contract from external
grantors. All budgets should be reviewed upon
receipt, and any changes necessary should
be brought to the attention of the Office
of Budgets and Contracts as soon as possible.
Maintenance of Budgets
All budgets are prepared as a means of identifying
and tracking costs associated with programs
and departments. To maintain the integrity
of this data, only expenditures associated
with the operations of an approved budget
can be charged to the budget, no exceptions.
Each budget manager has the responsibility
of the following:
- Monitoring the availability of expenditures
in accordance with Spelman’s policies
and Grants/Contracts policies where applicable.
- Maintaining internal records to track
expenditures and account balances.
- Monthly reconciliation of departmental
records to Budget Status Form (FGIBDST)
accessed online via Banner, the College’s
administrative software system.
- Adherence to time constraints placed
on budgets due to Spelman’s year end
of June 30th or end dates from outside donors.
Adequate time should be allowed to both
process expenditures and receive goods or
services prior to budget end dates.
Budget Transfers
Budget transfers may be requested in cases
where budget line items have been or will
be over expended, and/or departmental priorities
have changed. All requests should be made
as an exception and not as a management tool
to balance line items on budgets or increase
budgets of some units while decreasing budgets
of other units. Requests should be submitted
to the appropriate Vice President/Provost
for approval, who must insure that the unit
goals can be accomplished in light of the
transfer. After approval by the Vice President/Provost,
the transfer is forwarded to the office of
Budgets and Contracts for review. The Office
of Budgets and Contracts will approve and
process the transfer based on the availability
of funds and the substantiation of the request.
Restricted budget transfer requests will be
made in accordance with the grant terms and
conditions.
Transfers cannot be made
from the following budget line items: salaries,
fringe benefits and communications. Generally,
transfers from equipment are not approved;
however, a memorandum requesting changes to
equipment funded may be authorized by the
appropriate Vice President/Provost.
Inter-departmental transfers will
not be made, no exceptions.
Federally Funded Projects
Federally funded projects are subject to
general policies issued by the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB).
For your convenience, we have provided links
to the policies of common grantors of Spelman
College and links to three circulars published
by OMB which establish principles and policies
governing the use of federal funds in institutions
of higher education.
Funds obtained through private foundations
and corporations are subject to the terms
and conditions set forth by the grantor and
tend to vary accordingly. Please contact the
Office of Budgets and Contracts to determine
the terms and conditions associated with your
particular sponsored project
View fiscal policies governing:
View OMB circulars:
