Using the General Ledger (GL) Verification Tool for Approvers

General Ledger Verification (GLV) is a UCSF key internal control required by Campus Administrative Policy 300-46. It is the responsibility of each department to verify the financial transactions recorded in the general ledger are reasonable and accurately represent Dept ID activity.

The General Ledger (GL) Verification Tool automatically selects items for review and verification based on established business rules. The selected items include high-risk transactions, large dollar value transactions, transactions approved outside the reconciling Dept ID, unusual items, and selected sample transactions.

The system is comprised of 3 roles – Verifier, Viewer, and Approver. This step-by-step guide discusses the Approver role.

Logging into the GL Verification Tool

  1. Log into MyAccess, UCSF’s single sign-on platform, using your MyAccess credentials.
  2. The first time you access the GL Verification Tool you will need to locate it by clicking the Manage Favorites button and then searching for “GL Verification”.
  3. Click the star icon next to the GL Verification link then click Save Favorites. The GL Verification tool will now be available on your default MyAccess applications list each time you log in.
  4. Click the GL Verification link to open the GL Verification tool.

Navigating the GL Verification Tool Home Page

The GLV Home page will display. To navigate to the sections of the GL Verification tool:

  1. Click the GLV Home page link to return to the home page at any time to change the Dept ID, Award, Project or PI you are verifying .
  2. Click the GL Verification link to return to the GL Verification dashboard for the selected Dept ID .
  3. Click the Compliance Dashboard link to view current GL Verification completion status by Control Point or Level 2 Dept ID .
  4. Click User Management to review a roster of GLV users, their roles, and Approvers’ assigned Dept IDs .
  5. Click Reports to view GLV reports. See the General Ledger (GL) Reports Job Aid for detailed information .
  6. Click the collapse icon to collapse the main menu. Click the expand icon to expand .

How to Select Transactions for GL Verification

You can specify the transactions that you wish to view or verify using the following parameters from two tabs on the GLV Home page:

  1. Department tab :
    • Department (Dept ID)
  2. Award, Project, Manager/PI tab :
    • Project Award/Parent (Award)
    • Project
    • Project Manager/PI
  3. Click the Default Tab box to set one of the two tabs as the default to display each time you log into GLV .

Selecting Transactions for GL Verification Using the Department Tab

Use the Department tab on the GLV Home page to select an individual Dept ID for verification:

  1. Select the Business Unit (BU) if necessary .
  2. Select a Department from the drop-down menu on the GLV Home page. You can use type-ahead search by entering a Dept ID number or name to narrow the list of choices. Click on the Dept ID you want to select .
  3. Click Submit to make your selection and open the GL Verification page .
If you work in the selected Dept ID frequently, you can click Save as My Default to save this Dept ID for future verification activities . If you change your Dept ID for another search, just click the Reload My Default button to return to your default Dept ID .

Selecting Transactions for GL Verification Using the Award, Project, Project Manager/PI Tab

Use the Award, Project, Project Manager/PI tab on the GLV Home page to select transactions related to a specific Project, Award, or Project Manager/PI. You can also combine filters to produce very specific results, but keep in mind the filters are “and” filters, and only transactions matching all entries will be returned in your results.

  1. Type the name or number of an Award, Project, or Project Manager/PI in the appropriate field. Items that match will display in a drop-down list. Select the one you want or continue to type the full name or number .
  2. Click Add to add it to the appropriate filter box. You can add multiple values for each to further refine the data .
  3. Click the trash can icon next to a selected item to remove it from the filter box .
  4. Click Submit to make your selection and open the GL Verification page .
If you work in the selected Dept ID frequently, you can click Save as My Default to save this Dept ID for future verification activities . If you change your Dept ID for another search, just click the Reload My Default button to return to your default Dept ID .

Using My Filters

Use the optional My Filters feature to further refine the Dept ID and to select additional filters for BU, Fund, Dept ID, Project, Activity Pd, Function, Dept Id Site, Project Award/Parent, Project Manager/PI, or Project Use:

  1. Click Edit from the GL Verification Dashboard; the Build Filter window displays. Select any combination of filters you require .
  2. Select from the filters by typing in the value you wish to find. As you type a list of matching values will display and will be further refined as you type .
    • Click on the desired value .
    • Click Add .
    • To remove a filter that has been added, select the filter and then click the trash can icon displayed next to the selected filter .
    • To set an added filter to exclude results, click the icon next to the selected filter. The word (Not) will then display next to the selected filter. For example, Function “72 (Not)” would only display transactions that are not related to institutional support & admin .
    • To review details for any existing filter, hover your mouse over it .
  3. To save filter settings for future use, click Save As and enter a name in the Please name this filter field .
  4. Click OK ; A confirmation message displays when the filter is saved.
  5. Click Close (not shown) to dismiss the confirmation message. The GL Verification Dashboard displays.
  6. Click Submit on the GL Verification Dashboard (not shown) to apply the new filter.
  7. To switch between saved filters, click the My Filters drop-down menu from the GL Verification Dashboard and select the desired filter .
  8. Click Submit again on the GL Verification Dashboard (not shown) to apply the filter.

Performing Monthly Trend Analysis

When GLV review and verification is complete, monthly trend analysis should be performed by reviewing the Monthly Trend Report. Monthly trend analysis may be performed by either the Verifier or the Approver depending on departmental practice. See the How to Perform Monthly Trend Analysis for General Ledger (GL) Verification step-by-step guide for details.

Approving and Submitting General Ledger Verification

The final step of the GLV process is the acknowledgment that all required review and verification procedures have been completed. Only managers who have been assigned the Approver role in the GL Verification tool are authorized to complete this process.

The Approve and Submit button is located at the bottom of the GL Verification Dashboard.

  1. The Approver should click the Approve and Submit button to acknowledge that all GL Verification procedures have been completed and to confirm the overall reasonableness of the department’s financials .



     
  2. Click OK to confirm on the pop-up that displays .



     

The button changes to a blue Approved button indicating the GLV process is complete . You cannot reset an Approved Dept ID back to “un-approved” status.

Reviewing GL Verification Roles & Dept ID Assignments

  1. Select User Management from the main menu on the left side of the screen . The User Management window displays.









     
  2. Users are displayed in alphabetical order by last name. Sort on any column using the up/down arrows .
  3. You can search for any text string in the Search box. For example, you can find all Approvers assigned to a particular Dept ID by searching for that Dept ID. Click the X in the Search box to clear your search parameters .
  4. By default, only active users are displayed. Click the Show Inactive checkbox to include inactive users .
  5. You can export the list of users to a CSV file (which you can open in Excel) using the Export to CSV buttons at the top of the screen. The Export to CSV with Allow Dept option includes assigned Dept IDs for users with the Approver role .
  6. Click on a user’s UCSF ID to view user details in a pop-up window .




     
  7. Click History to view information about when user roles and Approver Dept IDs were assigned and revoked . Note, history data is not available for changes made prior to  January 22, 2019.

Tips and Tricks

  • Approvers may act as Verifier for some Dept IDs and as Approver for other Dept IDs depending on departmental procedures.
    • Although you can perform review and verification of transactions as the Approver, you should contact your GLV Verifier to complete unfinished actions rather than completing them yourself.
  • Clicking the Approved button will approve all Dept IDs for lower levels of the Dept ID tree. Use caution if you approve at Level 2; approving at Level 2 will approve all Dept IDs in the tree at Level 2 and below. You cannot “un-approve”.
  • Filters are personal and cannot be shared among system users.
  • Monthly trend analysis may be performed by either the Verifier or the Approver depending on departmental practice.

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