13.3 Journal Vouchers

Policy Statement

Units must ensure that journal vouchers (JVs) are processed accurately and timely within Banner.

Reason for the Policy

To ensure accurate reporting for the University of Illinois System’s audited financial statements.

Applicability of the Policy

All units that process and/or review journal vouchers.

Procedure

To ensure journal vouchers are properly processed and/or reviewed, follow the guidelines and procedural steps below:

1. Understand the purpose of JVs.
   1. JVs are accounting transactions used to process journal entries within Banner. These transactions are typically processed and/or generated by departmental users, Banner modules, or feeder systems (which are used to complete high-volume JVs).
2. All new users must complete the Journal Voucher Processing Certificate Track (which is a self-paced, online training program) before they are granted access to process JVs by their Unit Security Contact (USC).
3. To ensure accurate, timely JVs, refer to the good business practices below.
   1. Ensure JVs are Only Used to Record Allowable Transactions. Unit-generated JVs should not be used to complete certain types of transactions. See below for common examples:
      1. Unit-generated JVs should not be used to process budget adjustments for state or institutional funds (such as indirect cost recovery or administrative allowance), unless granted approval by the applicable university budget office. Refer to 3.1 Adjust a Budget for further details.
      2. Unit-generated JVs should not be used to process labor redistributions that transfer payroll expenses from one C-FOAPAL to another. Refer to Labor Redistribution Job Aids for further guidance.
      3. Unit-generated JVs typically should not be used to issue any type of payments to custodial funds. These payments should be issued via the appropriate payment method instead (e.g., Chrome River).
   2. Process a Separate Journal Voucher for each Unique Accounting Transaction. Record a separate JV for each unique accounting transaction to distinguish it from other entries and to ensure a clean audit trail.
   3. Record Journal Vouchers in the Correct Fiscal Year and Accounting Period. It is important to ensure all JVs are recorded in the fiscal year (and if possible, the accounting period) that properly represents when the transaction occurred. This will help ensure accurate and timely financial reporting.
   4. Provide Clear Documentation for Journal Vouchers. Journal vouchers should contain proper documentation to clearly explain the purpose of the accounting transaction they record.
      1. The General Text Entry page (FOATEXT) for each JV should be fully completed with information including, but not limited to:
         1. A detailed description of the accounting transaction being recorded, to ensure that a third party (such as an auditor) would be able to understand the purpose of the entry.
         2. Applicable contact information (i.e., name, e-mail address, unit, and 10-digit phone number).
         3. Any other relevant information that may be helpful in creating a proper audit trail, such as the Banner document number of any applicable transaction the journal voucher may be adjusting or reclassifying.
      2. The Description Line on each sequence of the JV should provide a clear explanation of the transaction.
         1. For example, when processing a JV to reclassify an expense from one C-FOAPAL to another, the Description on the credit sequence of the JV should include the Banner document number of the expense being reclassified, while the Description on the debit sequence should clearly explain the nature of the goods or services that were purchased.
         2. When reversing an erroneous JV that was previously completed, it is helpful to include explanatory text (e.g., “To reverse J1234567”) in the Description so that the reader can easily determine the purpose of the JV.
   5. Correct Journal Voucher Errors. To correct erroneous JVs:
      1. Complete a new JV to reverse the erroneous entry, and
      2. Process a new JV to record the entry correctly. This will help ensure a clean audit trail in case the erroneous transaction is ever selected for further review.