Overview
Commitment Control is the section of the M-Pathways General Ledger that contains the budget definitions for the budget ledgers. When a new department or project/grant is established, defining the budget is a part of the process. M-Pathways Commitment Control automatically applies the appropriate budget definition (or a recognized variation within that definition) when a new budget line is entered for a department or a project/grant.
M-Pathways Budget Definition Terminology
A budget ledger tracks a particular type of budget data (e.g., Appropriation budget, Organization budget, Project/Grant budget, etc.). In M-Pathways, the budget ledger’s definition includes the following:
| Term | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Control Group (Ledger Group) |
Defines the type of appropriation, organization or project/grant budget. In M-Pathways, these are called Ledger Groups | ORG_GENRL is the General Fund organization budget ledger. |
| Control ChartField | The main ChartField value(s) for the ledger group. The valid values for the Control ChartField can be a Fund, a Fund range, or a type of Project/Grant. |
|
| Control Option | Identifies the level of spending control available for the budget. | The Track w/ Budget Control Option records the spending activity in relation to a budget and is not limited by the budget line dollar amount. |
| Ruleset | A sub-set of distinct budget keys, translation rules, and budget period calendars for different University business areas within a type of budget. A Ledger Group may contain one or more Ruleset values. | The ORG_GENRL ledger group has a Ruleset for Flint because that campus has specific General Fund budget requirements that differ from the default budget definition. |
| Ruleset ChartField | The ChartField used to identify a sub-set of distinct budget keys, translation rules, and budget period calendars for a business area. The valid values for the Ruleset ChartField field may be a specific value or a range of values. | The ORG_GENRL Ledger Group’s Ruleset ChartField is the Department ChartField. The Flint Ruleset contains the Dept ID range for Flint (950000-965999). |
| Calendar | Determines the timing of the budget. |
Fiscal Year, Life-to-Date, etc. Most of the Ledger Groups use a Fiscal Year (e.g., 2016) calendar. |
| Budget Keys | The required ChartFields for a budget line for that type of budget. | The General Fund organization budget (ORG_GENRL) requires the Fund, Department, Program, and Account ChartFields in a budget line. |
| Translation Rules | Indicate which of the required ChartFields roll-up to a higher budget level to track and convert the transaction data to the corresponding budget data. The translation rules include the specific budget tree and the ChartField level used for that conversion. | The default ORG_GENRL translation rule applies the budget roll-up to the Account ChartField, using the BUD_TRAN_ACCT_STD tree at Level 2. |
| Budget Tree | A hierarchical organization of the valid values for a particular ChartField for a particular business area. Each budget tree for a ChartField may contain the same valid values, but organizes them differently to reflect different business accounting requirements. | The BUD_TRAN_ACCT_STD organizes all the valid revenue and expense Account values into groups of revenues and expenses. |
Business Process Information
The University’s standard Control Option for a Ledger Group is Track w/ Budget. This means that the spending activity is recorded in relation to a budget, but not controlled to the point where a transaction would fail the Budget Check process because there is not enough money in the budget line. In M-Pathways, expenditure activity that exceeds the dollar amount of the budget line is recorded in Commitment Control as an Exception Warning. You do not need to research or correct the Exception Warnings, but they can be used to track spending/budget activity using the various budget inquiries in M-Pathways.
If you have a question about your organization or project/grant budget(s), contact your Accounting Service Coordinator. Use the Find your Accounting Service Coordinator spreadsheet on the Financial Operations website if you do not know your coordinator.
Budget Transaction Information
- When you create a Budget Journal to enter the budget lines for a department or project/grant, the system applies the appropriate budget definition based on the Ledger Group and the Ruleset ChartField values.
- When a transaction (e.g., journal entry or eProcurement Requisition) has a budget check error, a Budget Check Status link (e.g. Error) opens the applicable Review Budget Check Exceptions page in Commitment Control. This page displays the associated Ledger Group, the budget check error description, and the budget line(s) that corresponds to the ChartFields used in the transaction. Use these pages to research a budget check error and determine its resolution.