Submitting a Request for Agency Funds

Submitting a Request for Agency Funds

In certain instances, the University may act as a fiscal agent for outside agencies such as student, faculty, staff, governmental, or private organizations or activities. An agency fund is used to record the administration of monies for the outside agency where the intended use is for a mutually beneficial and agreed-upon purpose that supports or enhances the mission of the University. Agency funds are not considered University monies or charitable contributions to the University.

Examples of appropriate agency funds include establishing funds for:

  • a professional journal when a UCSF faculty member is an editor of the journal;
  • professional training, continuing education, or conferences offered by an outside professional organization and administered by UCSF;
  • employee, student, or alumni organizations or clubs sanctioned by the University.

One advantage of this arrangement for the third party is access to the procurement and payment services of the University. Specific types of services are described in UCSF Campus Administrative Policy 300-12.

The UCSF Request for Agency Fund form is used to initiate a new agency fund request by documenting the purpose of the arrangement and the responsible parties. The completed form is processed by the General Accounting & Reporting unit.

For the purposes of recording financial activity, agency funds are established in PeopleSoft using the Fund chartfield; agency funds are assigned a unique Fund value beginning with the number two (using the format 2xxx). DeptID is not an indication of agency funds, and agency funds can theoretically be used with any chartstring combination.

When creating journal entries using agency funds, Journal Preparers should adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Use only expense accounts to record financial activity. Do not use revenue*, asset, liability or transfer accounts with agency funds.
  • Select the expense account which best describes the type of activity being recorded.
  • Record deposits as credits to Account 57700 - Agency account fees and reimbursements.

*The only exception is STIP Income which is recorded to revenue.

If you have questions about agency funds, contact General Accounting & Reporting.