Overview: Financial Transaction Systems @ Stanford

On this page:

• Key Functions of the Oracle Financials System
• Modules Used Campus-wide
• Modules Used Only by Central Office Administration
• Oracle Financials Reporting Tools
• Staying Informed

 

Key Functions of the Oracle Financials System

Oracle Financials is the core of Stanford's Accounting System, allowing the University to conduct and manage its financial affairs. Key functions of the Oracle Financials system include:

• Processing transactions (reimbursements / expense reports, purchases, payments, billings, receipts and journals);
• Receiving activity from the PeopleSoft system related to student accounts and payroll, recording it in the proper accounts, and sending accounting information back to the PeopleSoft and Time and Leave systems;
• Receiving accounting entries from other “feeder” systems (Development, Inter-department billings, etc.);
• Applying “burdens” (indirect costs, fringe benefits);
• Creating and posting allocations such as endowment payout;
• Tracking activity in funds, allowing for reporting to sponsors and donors, and departmental management of funds and expenditures.

Modules Used Campus-wide

Several hundred to several thousand school and department users across campus use one or more modules of the Oracle Financials System. Included in the table below are links to:

• Module overviews outlining roles and responsibilities, how to get access, types of transactions, available training, and more.
• Index pages where you will find How To instructions, job aids, etc., pertaining to the use of each module.

Modules Used Campus-wide, Description & Related Resources

Module Name	Module Purpose & Description	Index Pages with Related Quick Steps & Job Aids
Commitment Management System (CMS)	A custom designed module used by school and department staff to forecast and manage available funds by tracking actual expenditures, accounting for anticipated expenditures and running "what if" scenarios. See Commitment Management System (CMS) web site.	Funds Management
Expense Requests	Allows processing and approval of expense reports / reimbursements, advances, Travel Card charges, non-PO payments and petty cash replenishments See About Expense Requests	• Buying and Paying • Reimbursements • Travel • Petty Cash Administration
Gift Transmittals	A custom designed module used by school / department staff and the Office of Development to enter, approve and track gifts made to the University See About Gift Transmittals	• Funds Management • Cash Handling & Deposits
iBudgets	A custom designed module that allows authorized users to initiate modifications to Expense or Revenue Control information documented in the 9/1 University Consolidated Budget. See Overview: About the iBudgets Module of Oracle Financials.	Funds Management
iJournals	A custom designed module that allows users to initiate transfers among PTAs (Project, Task, Awards) or across Expenditure Types or Object Codes. See About the iJournal Module of Oracle Financials.	• Funds Management • Month-End / Year-End Close
Internet Procurement (including SmartMart)	Allows campus users to initiate purchases of goods and services on behalf of their departments and business units. See About the Internet Procurement Module of Oracle Financials.	Buying and Paying
Labor Distribution	Allows authorized users to distribute and adjust payroll earning allocations, which are paid by the PeopleSoft Payroll system, to the appropriate accounts (PTAs). See Overview: About the Labor Distribution Module of Oracle Financials.	• Month-End / Year-End Close • Payroll Administration
PCard	A custom designed module used to verify, edit, search, approve, or withdraw charges made against Stanford Purchasing Cards (PCards). See About the PCard Module of Oracle Financials.	Buying and Paying
PTA Maintenance	A custom designed module used to update PTA attributes for existing non-sponsored and miscellaneous accounts receivable accounts (PTAs) See About PTA Manager and PTA Maintenance	• Account Structure: Chart of Accounts • Funds Management
PTA Manager	A custom designed module used to request, approve and track non-sponsored and miscellaneous accounts receivable accounts (PTAs) See About PTA Manager and PTA Maintenance	• Account Structure: Chart of Accounts • Funds Management
Sunflower	Provides authorized users a means of tracking specific moveable assets and the ability to report on the status of these assets. For more information, see Property Training, Property Management Office.	Capital Equipment and Capital Projects

Modules Used Only by Central Office Administration

Certain modules of Oracle Financials are used only by Central Office Administration staff within Financial Management Services (i.e., Controller's Office, Procurement, Treasurer's Office, Global Business Services, and Financial Management Consulting & Support), Research Administration (i.e., Office of Sponsored Research and Research Financial Compliance & Services), the Property Management Office, and Land Buildings & Real Estate. These core modules include:

• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Capital Accounting and Debt Management System (CADMS)
• Cash Management
• Enterprise Asset Management
• eBusiness Tax
• eSourcing
• Fixed Assets
• General Ledger
• Grants Accounting
• Purchasing

Oracle Financials Reporting Tools

Information from all Oracle Financials modules is fed to ReportMart3. ReportMart3, Stanford's web reporting tool by Business Objects, provides access to over 160 predefined, static reports with download capability.

Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI) Financial Reporting is being released in phases by business function. OBI provides integrated reporting on data from PeopleSoft and Oracle Financials via:

• Robust and dynamic ad hoc analyses for experienced financial analysts
• Simple and interactive reports for administrative and financial staff

There are also several inquiry tools available directly from the Oracle Financials home page. See Overview: Oracle Financials Reporting for more information including:

• Tool Descriptions and Uses
• Access and Authority Information
• Frequency of Data Updates (Daily vs. Real time)
• Available Training Resources
• How to Stay Informed of Changes to Reporting

Staying Informed

To receive email communications regarding changes and updates to Oracle Financials modules and Oracle Financials Reporting, subscribe to any of the email lists below.

Financial Transaction Systems @ Stanford>

Email List Subscriptions

Module Name	Click a link below to subscribe
Commitment Management System (CMS)	Note:  The CMS user mailing list includes all staff with access to CMS.
iBudgets	Subscribe to iBudgets-users@lists
iJournals	Subscribe to iJournals-users@lists
Internet Procurement	Subscribe to purch-users@lists
Expense Requests	• Subscribe to reimburse-users@lists • Subscribe to petty-cash@lists
Labor Distribution	• Subscribe to LD-adjusters@lists • Subscribe to labor-schedulers@lists
Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI)	Note:  The OBI user mailing list includes all staff with access to OBI Financial Reporting tools
PCard	Subscribe to pcard-users@lists
ReportMart3	Subscribe to ReportSU-Finance@lists
Sunflower	For the latest information about Sunflower, visit the Property Management Office web site.

Check Archived Bulletins to view communications organized by financial activity and date.