While most of us are familiar with the overall concept of the University of Illinois System’s C-FOAPAL accounting string, did you realize that each segment code within the C-FOAPAL tells a specific piece of the story behind the financial transactions posting to it? See below for further details:
- The chart (C) designates whether the transaction belongs to UIUC (chart 1), UIC (chart 2), UIS (chart 4), or the System Office (chart 9).
- The fund (F) designates the type of financial resources used to account for the transaction (e.g., state, ICR, gift, etc.). This helps the system properly segregate and classify its various funding sources to ensure compliance with: (1) financial reporting requirements, and (2) any restrictions which may be assigned to the applicable funding source (e.g., restrictions placed upon gift funds by an external donor).
- The organization (O) designates which system department is fiscally responsible for the activity taking place within the C-FOAPAL (such as the college of engineering or an athletics department).
- The account (A) designates the natural classification of the financial transaction (such as an expense, revenue, asset, or liability). For example, the account code can designate what type of expense was incurred (such as the purchase of office supplies) or what type of revenue was earned (such as tuition revenue) on the operating ledger. It can also designate the type of asset owned (such as accounts receivable) or liability owed (such as accounts payable) on a fund’s general ledger.
- The program (P) designates the functional classification of the financial transaction (such as instruction, research, public service, etc.) This is required as a part of our financial reporting requirements in compliance with standards outlined by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). It helps explain why an expense was incurred (for example, for our research mission) as opposed to what was being purchased (such as supplies), as an account code would do.
- The activity (A) is an optional field that can be used to track a unique project or initiative. While not a required part of the accounting string, it can be useful in certain circumstances (e.g., if a professor wants to track how much they spent on a very specific and unique project).
- The location (L) designates the physical place or site (such as a building and room number) that a piece of equipment is located in. While this code is not used on all financial transactions, it is an important code to utilize on equipment purchases to help ensure the item can be properly located.
For additional details on any of these C-FOAPAL segments, visit UAFR’s Banner C-FOAPAL Accounting String webpage.
Contact
If you have additional questions related to this topic, feel free to reach out to UAFR via phone (217-333-4568) or email (uas@uillinois.edu).
