SUBJECT:

Phase Out of Financial Link Tool - Ledger Annotator

Ledger Annotator will no longer be available effective January 1, 2006. This tool has been replaced by the Financial Link tool - Ledger Reviewer. The Ledger Reviewer contains all of the features of the Ledger Annotator, with the addition of three new fields that provide information about the status of a transaction (check box, status history, and status code.)

You can utilize the Ledger Reviewer tool during your ledger reconciliation and account verification process to review selected sampled transactions. This process is the preferred method of reconciling ledgers and is highly recommended by the Controller's Office. However, the tool can also be used to review 100% of your monthly transactions. This is the less preferable manner to reconcile your ledgers.

The Financial Link menu has been modified to allow you to choose from the following tools to support your transaction review:

- Ledger Reviewer - view all

- Ledger Reviewer - view sampled

- Ledger Annotator (eliminated January 1, 2006)

The Ledger Reviewer tool was developed in conjunction with transaction sampling. Transaction sampling helps you deal with your department's workload in tough budget times. Transaction sampling offers three main advantages:

- It substantially reduces your workload if you practice 100% reconciliation. Current participants are experiencing an average of 64% savings in workload.

- It allows you to focus on high-risk transactions. The time previously spent reviewing transactions with traditionally few errors and minimal associated risk can now be redirected to the riskiest areas.

- It provides a sound and defensible reconciliation process. The monthly management report tracks errors that can be reviewed to improve your department's front-end controls. To decide if sampling is right for you, please visit our Blink site at http://blink.ucsd.edu/go/pwrup

Please contact Debbie Rico at drico@ucsd.edu if you have any questions regarding this announcement or the transaction sampling process, and coordinate with your business officer before beginning transaction sampling. I hope you will all take advantage of this labor saving method.

Don Larson Controller