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Reporting

Fiscal Year-end

University Reporting – Internal

University Reporting – External

 

Fiscal Year-end

The University’s fiscal year is the annual period the University has selected to report on its financial affairs. This period is May 1 through April 30.

The administration annually issues the University of Toronto Financial Report, which includes audited financial statements, to report to University governance on the financial results for the year and to meet statutory obligations.

In order to meet its stewardship responsibilities, the administration must ensure that the financial statements are prepared in accordance with the guidelines stipulated by various external reporting agencies, the most notable of which is the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA).

Fiscal Year Closing Procedures, Submission Deadlines and Contacts

Refer to Fiscal Year-end Closing Procedures for processing requirements and submission deadlines for the most recent fiscal year. Requirements for the next fiscal year-end are normally issued during the last week of February or the first week of March each year.

Role of the Financial Services Department

The Financial Services Department discharges its responsibilities for accurate financial reporting primarily by developing, implementing and monitoring effective financial systems. Some of the important elements of this system and related procedures include:

  • account coding which is directed toward proper classification of income and expenses. Information regarding proper account coding can be found in the section Financial Information System, in the relevant sections of the GTFM, or in the reference guide for processing a specific transaction in FIS;
  • providing training for various reports which detail all transactions in a month;
  • to the extent practical, monitoring of departmental transaction processing;
  • application of generally accepted accounting principles including accrual accounting:
  • distributing the Purchase Order GR/IR Variance Clean-up memo, and coordinating the review of purchase orders at least annually;
  • University wide distribution of a schedule of transaction submission deadlines for April, the last month of the fiscal year, together with instructions and guidelines on the processing of accruals where necessary. Refer to the page Fiscal Year-end Closing Procedures, Sumbission Deadlines and Contacts.

Role of University Departments

It is the departments, that originate and process financial transactions, which primarily determine the accuracy of the University’s financial records.

To ensure a high level of success, all staff responsible for processing transactions should:

  • Have knowledge of funds centers, cost centers and general ledger accounts. See the section Financial Information System for more information. The FAST team offers training courses for new staff;
  • Have a departmental listing of all restricted fund accounts with fund numbers, names and the name of the principal investigator, if applicable,
  • have a system in place to ensure the accuracy and validity of account numbers to be entered in the local billing system or the internal revenues / recovery transaction in FIS if a department bills other departments for services or expense recoveries.
  • transfer budget to a funds center where there is no budget, or insufficient budget, in an operating fund Funds Center for a particular expense.
  • check the monthly statement of account report and other reports to ensure that transactions are recorded in the correct accounts with prompt action to correct errors (see Statement of Accounts – Funds Center and Non-Research or the various reporting reference guides),
  • ongoing review of purchase orders, including informing the Financial Services Department of purchase orders which should not be reversed, as detailed in the Purchase Order GR/IR Variance Clean-up memo. Also refer to the Financial Management of Purchase Orders page.
  • ensure that the year-end closing memo (see below) issued by the Financial Services Department in respect to the year-end closing are appropriately distributed and followed.

Refer to the section Objectives and Responsibilities for detailed listings of financial responsibilities of divisional employees.

University Reporting – Internal

Forecasting the Operating Fund Reserves

Forecasting financial results at the department, faculty/division and university levels is an important financial management tool and is mandated by the Business Board at the University level. The section on Forecasting the Operating Fund Reserves covers the relevant guidelines and procedures in the area, including the divisional forecast as input to the overall University forecast.

Divisional Operating Reserve Report

The Divisional Operating Reserve Report is a detailed report of year end operating reserves listed by division/faculty within financial statement classes and allocated across five predefined reserve categories. This report is included as part of the University’s audited financial statements and is an integral part of the annual budget planning process. The section on Divisional Operating Reserves highlights the relevant policies and procedures involved in preparing this report.

Overhead Distribution Report

The Overhead Distribution Report is a detailed report on all research fund awards (primarily research contracts and some grants) which provided indirect cost recoveries to the Operating Fund in a calendar year. Its name is derived from the fact that it is the basis of the distribution of indirect cost recoveries to those departments which incurred the indirect costs.

The report is produced and distributed to faculty financial officers in late February or early March. The distribution process is described in the sub-section Indirect Cost Recoveries: Accounting, Distribution and Reporting on the Indirect Costs (Overhead) page.

Annual Expendable Investment Fund Pool (EFIP) Interest Report

The Annual Expendable Fund Investment Pool (EFIP) Interest Report is an annual report on the distribution of investment income from the Expendable Funds Investment Pool to those restricted funds which have committed funds for this purpose throughout the year.

The report lists each fund, the account number in which the commitment is recorded and the commitment and interest earned per quarter with summaries by department and faculty.

The report is produced at the end of April (the University’s fiscal year end), and distributed in May to each applicable faculty.

University Reporting – External

University of Toronto Financial Report

The University of Toronto Financial Report includes the University’s annual audited financial statements for the year and a supplementary report by fund for the year, and is one of many University public accountability reports.

The financial statements include:

  • a balance sheet
  • a statement of operations
  • a statement of changes in net assets
  • statement of cash flows
  • notes to the financial statements which describe the University’s accounting practices and provide additional information on the financial statements

The supplementary report by fund (an appendix to the U of T Financial Report) includes:

  • financial highlights
  • balance sheet by fund
  • statement of operations by fund

Following its acceptance and approval by the Governing Council in June, the report is made available on the Financial Services Department website for public viewing.

U of T Endowments – Annual Financial Report

The audited endowment financial reports present the financial position of investments held for endowments and changes in these investments for the year. It also provides additional information on endowments including investment strategy and performance, allocation for spending and preservation of purchasing power.

The report is presented to Governing Council for information purposes, and made available on the Financial Services Department website for public viewing in August or September (see U of T Endowments – Annual Financial Reports).

U of T Pension Plans – Annual Financial Report

The pension financial report, including the audited financial statements of the University’s pension plans, presents the financial position of the net assets available for future benefits net of pension obligations, and changes in these net assets and obligations for the year. It also provides an assessment of the current financial health of the plans and an assessment whether the requirements for provision of pensions can be achieved without exposing the University to undue risk.

The report is presented for approval to the Pension Committee in the late fall of each year, and made available on the Financial Services Department website for public viewing, by the end of December (see U of T Pension Plans – Annual Financial Reports).

Last revision February 2014