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395 - Payroll

Section: 395-6
Effective: 07/1/1997
Supersedes: 11/23/1982
Next Review Date: TBD
Issuance Date: 07/1/1997
Issuing Office: General Accounting Division

PPM 395-6 Policy [pdf format]
PPM 395-6 Exhibit A [pdf format]
PPM 395-6 Exhibit B [pdf format]
PPM 395-6 Exhibit C1 [pdf format]
PPM 395-6 Exhibit C2 [pdf format]
PPM 395-6 Exhibit C3 [pdf format]
PPM 395-6 Exhibit C4 [pdf format]
PPM 395-6 Exhibit C5 [pdf format]
PPM 395-6 Exhibit D [pdf format]

INTERNAL CONTROL STANDARDS FOR DEPARTMENTAL PAYROLLS

  1. REFERENCES AND RELATED POLICIES

    1. Systemwide Business and Finance Bulletin (BFB)

      2.

      IA-101 Internal Control Standards Departmental Payroll

    2. UCSD Policy and Procedure Manual (PPM)

      3.

      350-7 Signature Authorization

      395-4.2 Timekeeping: Time Reporting to Payroll

    3. Personnel Policies for Staff Members

      4.

      31 Hours of Work

      31 S-2 Attendance Records

  2. POLICY

    3.

    The following internal control standards have been established by the Office of the President and are to be followed by departmental personnel who have payroll responsibilities. Internal and external auditors will use these standards as a frame of reference when examining departmental payroll practices and records:

    1. Approval Authorizations

      2.

      1. Signature Authorization, Form FO 2091, Exhibit A, delegating payroll approval authority will be signed by department chairs or administrators at a similar level and filed with the campus Accounting Office. Notification of changes in delegation of this authority will be submitted promptly to the Accounting Office.

      2. An employee authorized to approve payroll documents will not be responsible for reviewing the Distribution of Payroll Expense (DOPE) report or for distributing payroll checks.

      3. An employee will not approve documents which affect his/her own pay. Formal approval at a higher administrative level will be required.

      4. Payroll Personnel System (PPS) Department/Unit Delegation of Update Usage & Review form, Exhibit C, delegating departmental access to the Employee Database (EDB) via the Payroll Personnel System (PPS) to add, change, and/or delete employee records. Form must be maintained by the department. Changes to the delegation of departmental PPS access will be submitted to the Departmental Security Administrator (DSA) for update.

      5. On Line Payroll Time Record (OLPTR) Department/Unit Delegation of Update Usage and Review form, Exhibit D, delegating departmental timekeeper access to the On Line Timekeeping System to perform on line time entries. Notification of changes in timekeeper assignment and delegation of on line access will be submitted promptly to the Payroll Office. A copy must also be filed in the department. The form is available electronically at the following address:

        http://www-bfs.ucsd.edu/pay/timedf.htm

    2. Time and Absence Reporting and Recording

      3.

      1. Time reported for pay purposes must be for work actually performed or for earned vacation or sick leave taken.

      2. Time worked and absences will be reported after the fact. If reporting deadlines require the estimating of time to the end of the reporting period, adequate control will be maintained to insure that appropriate adjustments are made for differences between estimated and actual time worked.

      3. Alterations made in entries pertaining to pay status (Personnel Action Forms) or time worked records (payroll timesheets and Special Payrolls) will be formally approved by the pertinent supervisor.

      4. Daily attendance and job time records, including sick leave and vacation accrual records, will be maintained on a formal and current basis.

      5. Time records will not be returned to employees after supervisory approval.

      6. The Distribution of Payroll Expense (DOPE) report shall be reviewed to prevent the issuance of improper payroll checks to employees who have been terminated, demoted, placed on leave without pay, or otherwise placed in any status under which full standard pay is not to be received.

    3. Departmental Check Distribution

      4.

      1. Payroll checks will be distributed in accordance with Payroll Wage Disposition Requests, Form FO 2048, Exhibit B, signed by the employees, with distribution options provided by campus policy.

      2. Checks awaiting distribution to employees will be kept in locked storage accessible only to a designated departmental employee (check custodian) and an alternate who have been formally assigned responsibility for the checks.

      3. Check custodians who release checks to employees not known to them will require presentation of proper identification, e.g. a valid drivers license and UCSD Employee I.D. Card, before checks are released.

      4. When a check is released to someone other than the payee, the check custodian will 1) require proper identification, 2) obtain a signed receipt which will be retained by the custodian, and 3) require an authorization signed by the payee to release the check.

      5. An employee who distributes payroll checks will not be authorized to approve payroll documents or be responsible for reviewing Distribution of Payroll Expense (DOPE) reports.

      6. Unclaimed payroll checks delivered to departments for distribution to employees shall be promptly returned to the Accounting Office with an explanation of the department's inability to distribute the checks.

    4. Review of Distribution of Payroll Expense (DOPE) Reports

      5.

      1. As a normal administrative control procedure, departments are expected to review the validity of payroll payments charged to their accounts. To assure that the payroll charges are reviewed, departments are expected to establish necessary internal procedures. One of several possible methods of assuring that such reviews are documented is to require the staff member assigned the review function to sign the Distribution of Payroll Expense (DOPE) report and indicate the date of review.

      2. Responsibility for reviewing the Distribution of Payroll Expense (DOPE) reports will not be assigned to an employee who approves payroll transaction forms or distributes payroll checks.

  3. RESPONSIBILITIES

    4.

    Departments shall establish procedures to insure that the above control standards, including adequate separation of duties within the department, are implemented. Such procedures shall provide for systematic reviews to assure that adequate controls for payroll operations have been established and are implemented. Departments that are at variance with these control standards (e.g., limited staffing in small departments that will not permit the separation of payroll duties) shall be subject to periodic reviews of payroll operations by the Internal Audit staff. Such reviews shall include an evaluation of departmental payroll records and procedures for compliance with these standards as well as a verification of the existence of departmental employees.





Exhibit A



Exhibit B

Payroll Wage Distribution Request

Exhibit B is availabe at the following website: http://www-bfs.ucsd.edu/pay/spay.html





Exhibit C



Exhibit D