This document is a high-level checklist of questions you should consider before creating a JE in M-Pathways.
Do I need to reverse a charge from a Service Unit?
If your Statement of Activity (SOA) shows an incorrect charge from a Service Unit (i.e., SUB journal), contact that Service Unit to determine how the error should be resolved.
- For recurring expenses, provide the correct ShortCode or ChartField combination to the Service Unit to avoid future errors.
- For the current error, determine who completes the JE correction.
For example, suppose your department was mistakenly charged $100.00 by the Michigan Union for a room rental. You should call the Michigan Union staff to get the charge removed. If you were to create a JE instead of contacting them, it is likely that the Michigan Union would charge you $100.00 again next month (because your account would still indicate that you owe them money).
Whose responsibility is it to correct this error?
If an error involves another department or project/grant, contact that department’s manager or the project’s Single Administrative Point of Contact (SAPOC) to verify that the error hasn’t already been corrected.
For example, Suzy from the Engineering department noticed that her project/grant was erroneously charged $200 by the Natural Sciences department. Before creating a JE to correct the error, she calls the Natural Sciences department to verify that they did not already create a JE for this error.
Is the fund transfer appropriate or allowed?
Monies for similar purposes are classified into Funds. The University receives funding from many sources, often to be used for specific purposes. Additionally, some Accounts are allowed to be used with only certain Funds (sometimes Accounts are excluded from certain Funds because those activities are not appropriate in the Funds).
For further details, refer to the Transfer Account Matrix.
Am I trying to address a payroll issue?
If an employee did not get paid correctly, contact the Payroll Office. Do not create a JE.
Would it be cost-effective to create and process this JE?
For Non-Sponsored JEs, consider if it would cost the University more to process a JE for a very small dollar amount than it’s worth for reporting purposes. For Sponsored JEs, you must correct expense errors regardless of the cost, due to funding requirements.
Who identified the need for a JE?
As an internal control measure, the JE Approver and the JE Requester must be different individuals.