Dear Campus Community,
We would appreciate budget managers taking a few minutes to verify that FY12 allocations are as expected, and to let us know by July 31 if you have any questions or concerns. If we do not hear from departments by then, we will assume that budget allocations are correct.
Please note that FY12 budgets will appear the same as they did when we started FY 11, unless permanent allocation changes were requested or approved by your area vice president during the budget preparation process. This practice may be different by the end of FY 12 because, as we have previously mentioned at different venues and meetings, the coming months will see the university engage in a comprehensive self-evaluation process to ensure our budget allocations are conforming to our current enrollment patterns and are achieving the goals outlined in the Whitworth 2021 strategic plan.
The university continues to experience sound financial health; we have been shielded from most of the more serious financial challenges other institutions have experienced. We continue to depend on your good judgment and due diligence when managing departmental budgets, making spending decisions, and committing funds on behalf of the institution. These sound practices will be even more important this school year as we start implementing the Whitworth 2021 plan, which calls us to be very intentional about investing our resources in strategic initiatives and improvement efforts.
We will be contacting you in the next few days to request that you complete a new Conflict of Interest (COI) form via SharePoint. We also suggest departments review their Designation of Authority (DOA) data in WhitNet to ensure that budget roles assigned are consistent with the most current department structure.
Now that we have the electronic budget review process in WhitNet, designated budget reviewers are expected to conduct monthly budget reviews and request timely corrections when needed. Since the system easily tracks when reviews are completed, we are able to provide budget managers and supervisors with reports on the performance of these reviews.
Thanks much in advance for your cooperation with our financial policies and procedures and for your careful stewardship of the university’s resources.
Blessings,
Luz Merkel
Associate Vice President for Finance & Administration
PS: Please remember that the last day to process expenses and transactions against FY 11 is Friday, July 15.
