Fiscal Year OU Changes

Each year we ask for your assistance with updating the Finance Department Tree which represents the Campus Organizational Structure.  The accuracy of the department tree is essential to control finance row-level security, budget checking and the summarization of transactions. In addition, this tree is used to synchronize the finance structure with other systems such as those maintained by Human Resources, ACSO (Spire), Affirmative Action and Space Management.

  • Please provide information for any organizational changes you may have by using the online OU Change Request Form. Chartfield creations and deletions should be coordinated through the Controller's Office and can be done at any time of the year, however, if no deptid range exists on the tree to house planned chartfield creations, those should be requested as new ranges here.
  • OU changes are subject to any prior approval requirements that may be in place in your MBU and executive area. All changes must be approved by your primary approver (usually your Executive Financial Officer) before filling out the form.  EFO's will be contacted and asked to approve all changes we receive.
  • Since these changes need to be in place prior to entering budgets and purchase orders into the new fiscal year, the deadline for submitting changes is April 26th, 2024.
  • You can download and view the current department tree and a planning worksheet below.

If you have any questions regarding requests for OU changes, please contact Joseph Hession (jhession@umass.edu). Thank you for your assistance.

Related Resources

OU Resource Documents

FAQs

OU Department Change Questions

What is a node and how do they relate to department ids?

Nodes are like folders which hold department ids. Nodes can contain other nodes in a hierarchical structure. The hierarchical structure of the finance department tree is as follows: The highest level (or node) is the Amherst Campus. The next level contains the executive area nodes followed by division nodes, mbu nodes, department nodes, and finally the segment nodes. It is the segment nodes that actually contain the department ids. In order to determine what department ids belong to a particular department node, you must look at all the department id ranges in each segment.

When discussing a department, it is important to be clear whether you mean department node (which can contain many department ids) or a detail department id (deptid).

 

Should and when do deptid level changes need be enumerated in this yearly ou change process?

Deptid chartfield creations or deletions are coordinated through the Controller's Office and may be done at any time.  However, if new deptid's will be created in which no deptid range yet exists on the tree, this should be enumerated through the ou change process.  Additionally, if a deptid range needs to move from one segment to another this should also be enumerated.

What do I need to consider when moving a node or detail deptid under a different node?

  • Do you need to adjust Financial report security? (anyone that has access to the new parent nodes will inherit access to the new deptid)
  • Do you need to adjust PO Approval workflow? (anyone that has access to the new parent nodes will inherit access to the new deptid)
  • Do you need to adjust Time & Labor security?
  • Are there any funds that budget at a level higher than the new node? (Ex. If you are moving a Department Node under a new MBU Node, you should check for funds that budget at the MBU or Exective Node so that these budgets are moved too.)

What do I need to consider when creating a new detail deptid in finance?

  • Speedtypes need to be created for any funds that will be used in the deptid.
  • If there will be payroll in the deptid then an HR Account code must be created and a PA form submitted with an effective date of the Monday after the first pay-period.
  • Budgets must be loaded where appropriate.
  • Ensure that finance security is configured so that the right people will be able to view the financial reports. (anyone that has access to a parent node will inherit access to the new deptid)
  • Ensure that PO Approval is configured appropriately. (anyone that has access to a parent node will inherit access to the new deptid)
  • If any existing purchase orders should be paid out of the new deptid, then the POs should either be closed out and re-entered with the new distribution, or the charfield distribution should be changed.

What do I need to consider when inactivating a detail deptid in finance?

  • If there is currently payroll in the deptid, then a PA form needs to be processed to replace the old HR Account code with a valid one. The effective date should be the day after the first pay period of the new fiscal year*. (July 10th, 2007) If necessary, HR can retroactively move the first nine days of payroll off the old department and onto the new one. *-The effective date needs to be after the first pay period because PeopleSoft splits the first pay period between fiscal years. If the PA effective date were 7/1, then when PeopleSoft split the payroll, charges would be posted to the new deptid in the old fiscal year. And since the new deptid doesn't exist in the old fiscal year, it will fail.
  • Any automatic recharges should be stopped. (Telcom, Mail Services)
  • If there are any existing purchase orders on any deptids being inactivated, then the POs should either be closed out and re-entered with the new distribution, or the charfield distribution should be changed.
  • Budgets should be frozen. (after the above 2 steps are completed)
  • Speedtypes and HR Account codes should be inactivated.

Do HR and Finance use the same department tree?

No. HR and Finance have their own distinct department trees, but they are syncronized as much as possible at the department node level. HR uses a tree named dept_security and Finance uses the bdxlate_deptid tree. The primary function of the dept_security tree, as the name implies, is to control HR security. Timekeepers are assigned a group id which translates to a node on the dept_security tree. Timekeepers have access to record time for all employees associated to the deptids which are in their assigned group id’s nodes.

The bdxlate_deptid tree is used for budget translation (budgets can be at a higher level, such as the MBU node, while actual expenses are incurred at the detail deptids) as well as security. This tree is also used to summarize financial reports by “rolling-up” to higher nodes.