Carryforward Balance – The cumulative Net Position at the close of the prior fiscal year, and represented as the beginning balance as of July 1 of the current fiscal year. This balance is found in account 300000 and is referred to as the beginning balance. In Oracle, this balance is determined at the Entity – Fund - Financial Unit - Project level (where Project exists).

Net Position – Also referred to as ending balance, it is a measure of available expendable financial resources and represents the accumulation of total resources and revenues minus total expenses since inception.  It is calculated as the July 1 beginning balance plus the YTD Net Surplus/(Loss). 

Financial Unit - Represents a business unit with an ongoing business mission, with a responsible individual with fiscal authority over budget, resources and expenses, an identifiable group of employees, and generally physical space.

Fund – The Fund is the high-level classification of the source of funds for a transaction and tracks restrictions and designations.

Project – A segment of the Chart of Accounts chart string used in Oracle which tracks ‘a body of financial activity’ with a start date, and in some cases an end date, spanning multiple fiscal years. Examples include Sponsored Awards, Capital Projects and other activities. In some cases, this segment captures index from old chart of accounts in IFIS.

Project Portfolio Management Module – The Project Portfolio Management module is a sub-ledger in the Oracle Financial Cloud (OFC) system which manages Projects that are designated as either: Sponsored Research, Capital Construction, or General Projects.  Each Project in the Project Portfolio Management module is auto-assigned a unique number by the system, and each Project has a distinct set of characteristics identified at the point of setup (including unique Financial Unit association and Project Manager such as Principal Investigator or Administrative Official). This number becomes part of the accounting chart string in the General Ledger.

POLICY STATEMENT

UC San Diego receives financial support from a number of external stakeholders and has a stewardship responsibility to its students, patients, and donors, as well as federal, state and private funding agencies, and the public.  That stewardship includes prudent financial management of resources entrusted to the University and the Administrative Officials in each Financial Unit.

All Financial Units are expected to meet their financial needs within their overall available funding. This may be accomplished by (1) regularly monitoring financial activities, (2) avoiding cost over-runs relative to approved resources, (3) avoiding unallowable or unreasonable costs against various Fund sources, (4) avoiding unauthorized cost-transfers or expenditures, (5) immediately resolving improper charges and any deficit by properly moving expenses or redistributing resources, or (6) a proactive and timely pursuit of additional funding. Financial Deficits should not occur and must be remedied immediately when they do occur. The appropriate resolution will differ by Fund and circumstance.

Units will not be permitted to carry over Financial Deficits exceeding $100,000 without a deficit resolution plan that is approved by the Department Chair/Designee and Dean/Vice Chancellor.

Financial Deficits should first be identified by Financial Unit and Fund. However, in some cases, balances must be measured by including the Project segment that captures business categories. Deficits for Sponsored Research Project Awards, Capital Construction Projects and General Projects (including operating Recharge Activities, Auxiliaries, Service Agreements, Faculty start-up and portfolio, among others) will be measured at the Project segment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

PROCEDURES

A.    Deficit Monitoring and Reporting

When working to resolve a Financial Unit – Fund – Project chart string in Financial Deficit, first consult existing policies and procedures applicable to select type of activity provided below:

Oracle-based Financial Deficit reports are available to help Administrative Officials meet their Fund management responsibilities. They provide a view of current deficits by Vice Chancellor area with drill-down capabilities to the various levels of the Financial Unit, Fund and Project hierarchies (where applicable). They serve as effective reports for monitoring current deficits. As such, Administrative Officials, Fund Managers, and Principal Investigators will be required to make appropriate use of it.

B.    Timely Resolution and Roll Overs

Financial Deficits must be resolved within the fiscal year, i.e., before June 30^th. However,
Financial Deficits may be carried over to the next fiscal year when (1) a written deficit resolution plan is in place that focuses on corrective actions being taken and includes reasonable timeline for resolution and (2) the Financial Unit is in compliance with the plan and with campus policies.

a.     All approved deficit resolution plans must be in place before the end of the third quarter and must be provided to the VC for Finance & Administration and/or CBO upon request to ensure discussion can occur during the annual budget meetings each Spring, if needed. Generally, Financial Deficits in excess of $250,000 will be the priority for discussion purposes.

b.     Any Financial Deficits accumulating in the last quarter of the fiscal year that have not already been addressed in an approved deficit resolution plan must have a plan documented as soon as possible after the discovery of the Financial Deficit.  

c.     If Financial Deficits are not successfully resolved per the timeline presented in the deficit resolution plan, by direction of the VC for Finance & Administration or the Chancellor, a Vice Chancellor Office may transfer Funds and/or expenses from unrestricted Fund sources within the department/unit or cognizant Vice Chancellor area and/or the Campus Budget Office may withhold future funding allocations until successful resolution.

FORMS

None

RELATED INFORMATION

A.     University of California – Policy BFB BUS-10 Principles of Accountability with Respect to Financial Transactions

B.     UCOP Contract and Grant Manual 6-400 Responsibility for Financial Management and Control of Project Funds

C.    Academic Personnel Manual

D.    UC San Diego Administrative Responsibilities Handbook

E.     Overview of Sales and Service Activities

F.     UC San Diego Gift Acceptance and Processing Online Handbook

G.    SPF Sponsored Research Deficit Procedures

H.    UC San Diego Chart of Accounts User Guide

I.       UC San Diego Project Portfolio Management User Guide

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Additional implementation guidance, report access, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will be updated periodically at https://blink.ucsd.edu/finance/budget/deficit-policy-and-monitoring.html

REVISION HISTORY

2025-07-01       Third revision to update dollar threshold for deficit resolution plansand update/clarify roles and responsibilities.

2021-01-01       Second revision with Issuing office and policy renaming changes, new and updated business processes and definitions due to transition to Oracle Financial Cloud and shift in responsibility from Business and Financial Services (BFS) to Campus Budget Office (CBO).

2017-09-19       First revision regarding administrative actions and accountability for overdraft resolution.

2017-02-23       New Policy published.