Glossary of Financial Terms

Learn the definitions of commonly used financial terms at the University at Buffalo.

Term	Acronym	Definition
Across the Board	ATB	Affecting everyone or everything in a group.
Allocation		Amount allocated/available for spending.
Also Receives		An approved annualized dollar amount (or portion thereof) that can be paid to the position incumbent in addition to their base annual salary, for services performed, on a temporary basis, in addition to the duties normally associated with their assignment.
Annual Allocation		Permanent on-going allocation amount for the next fiscal year.
Annual Resource Planning Process	ARPP	This process provides a framework for the university to review our financial capacity, align our current resources to support our priorities, and assess potential areas for new investment.
Available Balance		Amount of the uncommitted costs that are available for expenditure.
Award		Component of a Research Foundation (RF) account number which also includes project and task.
Budget or Allocation Revision		The primary tool for managing account funding.
Carry Forward		An account's unspent total cash or allocation from the previous year carried forward to the current year.
Cash Balance		Beginning cash balance of account plus gross revenues less expenditures less General University Service Fee(GUSF) less fringe. Please note that cash balance does not take encumbrances into account.
Commitments		This amount is equal to the sum of encumbrances and expenditures.
Credit Hour	CH	The unit that the institution uses to measure its course work.

Term	Acronym	Definition
Department Audit Number		Internal number assigned by the department to track their state allocation revisions.
Direct Costs	DC	Direct Costs are all expenditure categories EXCLUDING indirect costs (facilities & administrative costs).
Dormitory Income Fund Reimbursable	DIFR	Dormitory Income Fund Reimbursable is a group of accounts that are self-supporting and used to administer room rental fees and charges. DIFR accounts operate similar to State Operating accounts.
Educational Advisory Board	EAB	Education Advisory Board provides best practice research and practical advice to leaders of academic affairs, business affairs, student affairs, advancement, continuing, online, and professional education, and community colleges across North America.
Empire Innovation Program	EIP	SUNY initiative to hire faculty that would be research based.
Encumbrance		The obligation incurred in the form of salary commitments, orders, contracts and similar items that will become payable when goods are delivered or services rendered. This can be a negative amount when the PO is being liquidated, paid or cancelled.
Entity		A name (corresponding with a four digit number) which identifies an administrative or academic element within the university's organizational structure.
Expenditure		Disbursement made for goods received, services rendered, personal service payments or employee reimbursements.
Facilities and Administrative	F&A	Facilities and Administrative costs are real costs related to sponsored projects that are not easily attributable to individual projects, such as maintenance, security, heating, cooling, lighting, space, disposal of hazardous waste, secretarial support, the library, and cost of compliance with government regulations. May be referred to as indirect or overhead costs.
Fiscal Allocation		Available for spending in the defined fiscal period.
Free Balance		Fiscal allocation amount that has not been encumbered nor expended at a point in time.
Fringe Benefit		Any part of a regular employee's remuneration package that is not pay. This includes payroll taxes, health insurance, and retirement and other benefits. For State Operating accounts fringe is paid by SUNY and therefore not recorded in these accounts.
Fringe Benefit Rate		Combined total rate of an employee's remuneration package that is not pay (expressed as a percentage).
Full Time Equivalent	FTE	Full time equivalent is a means of quantifying employment. Full time equals 1.0 FTE.
FTE Type		Indicates if the FTE is instructional or non-instructional.
Function		The grouping of accounts/sub-accounts based on the activity that is supported by those resources; it is a 2-digit code that is the third and fourth position of the account number (examples and definitions of these functions can be found on the NACUBO/Functional Classifications page.

Term	Acronym	Definition
General University Service Fee	GUSF	The General University Service Fee is a flat rate service fee charged to accounts on all eligible revenue.
Gross Receipts		Total deposits into an account prior to any GUSF, fringe or other fee reductions.
Headcount	HC	The number of students (full-time or part-time) enrolled during the semester. Cross-registered students are excluded.
IFR Expenditures		Includes Fringe Benefit, Salary Recovery Fees and General University Service Fees (GUSF) that are charged directly to revenue.
Income Fund Reimbursable	IFR	Income Fund Reimbursable accounts are self-supporting accounts which track cash collections and the matching expenditures associated with the educational and related activities provided to students and other customers. An IFR account differs from a State Operating account in that it is supported by cash receipts.
Indirect Cost Recovery	ICR	Administrative / overhead charges associated with sponsored projects.
Indirect Costs	IDC	Facilities and Administrative costs also known as Indirect costs or overhead costs are real costs related to sponsored projects that are not easily attributable to individual projects, such as maintenance, security, heating, cooling, lighting, space, disposal of hazardous waste, secretarial support, the library, and cost of compliance with government regulations.
Interdepartmental Invoice	IDI	The vehicle used to transfer expenditures between accounts as deemed necessary.
Internal Financial Plan	IFP	University at Buffalo’s internal plan which aligns the funding available that year, particularly from the State Operating Budget, with institutional priorities and needs.
Inventory		Any item of equipment or furniture with an original cost of $5,000 or greater is recorded and tagged as a state asset.

Term	Acronym	Definition
Lapsed		Period defined when transactions that occur after July 1st of fiscal year can be charged/credited to prior year accounts.

Term	Acronym	Definition
Major Object		A term that identifies allocation or expenditure components at the highest level and defines the particular purpose for which funds are allocated, expended, or encumbered. (See examples of major objects).
Major Purpose Description		A grouping of functions whose expenditures are similar in scope.
Minor Object		A term that identifies allocation or expenditure components at a lower level and defines the particular purpose for which funds are allocated, expended, or encumbered. (See examples of minor objects).
NACUBO Code		The functional classification of the account set by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. See also definition of function.
Non-Sponsored Accounts		Research Foundation accounts funded by organizational entities internal to the University.
Object of Expenditure Code	OEC	Object of Expenditure Code is a five digit code for classifying specific types of expenditures based on goods and services purchased.
Other Than Personal Service	OTPS	Other Than Personal Services are expenditures that are not for salary, wages, and fringe benefits. Examples include travel, contractual services, equipment, etc.

Term	Acronym	Definition
Personal Service Regular	PSR	Personal Service Regular is salary, wage and fringe benefit expenditures for continuing appointments.
Principal Investigator	PI	Name of the person responsible for the technical and financial administration of a project and/or award.
Procurement Card	P-Card	Procurement Card is the preferred method of purchasing work related expenses, supplies, and equipment up to $2,500.
Project		A record to define a unit of work within an award that can be broken down into one or more tasks. Each project is assigned a system generated number. An award can be made up of multiple projects.
Reimbursement/Advance Payment Form	RAP	Reimbursement/Advance Payment form is the form used for personal reimbursement of business related expenditures.
Research Foundation	RF	Research Foundation accounts record research, instruction and training activities conducted under the direction of University faculty and staff and funded by organizations both external and internal to the University. They are made up of both Sponsored and Non-Sponsored funding.
Revenue Source Code		Identifier indicating the source of revenue from which the deposit came (See examples of Revenue Source Codes).
Revenue Transfer		Proper tool to make adjustments to cash balances for Income Fund Reimbursable and SUNY Tuition reimbursable accounts.

Term	Acronym	Definition
Salary Recovery		Salary Recovery is a means by which departments and equivalent units charge sponsored program accounts for the salary and fringe benefits of University at Buffalo personnel who are devoting compensated effort to sponsored programs and are paid from either the State Operating or Income Fund Reimbursable accounts.
Service & Facility	S&F	A Service & Facilities account is a self-supporting type of account within the Research Foundation that provides a specific technical or administrative service that supports the internal operating activities of the university.
Service Centers		An organization that provides a specific technical or administrative service that supports the internal operating activities of the university.
State Operating		State Operating accounts are a combination of allocation from State tax dollars and campus revenues from tuition and certain other sources.
State University Tuition Reimbursable Account	SUTRA	State University Tuition Reimbursable Accounts utilize income from self-supporting programs funded from tuition revenue related to overseas programs, contract courses, summer session & enrollment overflow. SUTRA accounts operate similar to Income Fund Reimbursable accounts.
Strategic Information Reporting Initiative	SIRI	Strategic Information Reporting Initiative is a strategic initiative to provide a single authoritative source for information, an enterprise analysis and reporting solution, and improve the strategic, managerial, and operational analysis, reporting, decision making capabilities of the university community.
Task		The most specific portion of a Research Foundation account where expenditures are assigned/allocated. Projects can be assigned multiple tasks.
Temp Service	TS	Temporary Service is salary, wage and fringe benefit expenditures for temporary appointments.
Three Year Plan Summary	TYPS	Unit's current and future projections for the annual budget process.
Total Sources		Equal to the summation of revenue amount and revenue transfer credit amount.
Total Uses		Equal to the summation of expenditure, revenue transfer debit amount, salary recovery fee, fringe amount and General University Service Fee amount.
Trial Balance		A term used to indicate what type of funds will be spent or allocated.
TRN-AC	TRN-AC	A transaction Across Cost centers is a specific type of expenditure transfer code between accounts in different State Trial Balances (i.e. State Operating, IFR, SUTRA, etc.).
TRN-FM	TRN-FM	Is a specific type of expenditure transfer code which redistributes funds between accounts in the same State Trial Balance.
Uncommitted Balance		Represents what the balance would be if all current fiscal year encumbrances were expended.
Unit Business Officer	UBO	Individual(s) primarily responsible for managing the financial risks, planning and record-keeping as well as financial reporting to higher management within a unit.
University at Buffalo Foundation	UBF	Supports and promotes the activities and programs of the State University of New York at Buffalo by providing support, advice and counsel regarding philanthropy, fund raising, and development, and also the management of gifts and grants on behalf of the university.
Unreserved Carry Forward		An account's unspent cash, excluding cash in reserve, from the previous year carried forward to the current year.

Term	Acronym	Definition
Voice Over Internet Protocol	VOIP	The Internet based telephone service used at the University at Buffalo.