SMU Chart of Accounts Copy
SMU's financial system accumulates and reports financial information to those responsible for administration of University funds. The University's financial accounting system, PeopleSoft Financials for Public Sector, is specifically designed to support the financial management of colleges and universities. In addition to the standard accounting functions of accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger, it also performs the specialized functions of fund accounting, encumbrance reporting, and grants management. The system maintains a financial database from which standard reports are produced.
Accumulators known as ChartFields are used to track and report on transactions. The chart fields are Fund, Account, Organization, Project/Grant, Program, and Sub-Class. ChartFields are maintained by Financial Systems Support. Email psfinsupport@list.smu.edu for assistance.
Fund
Funds segregate financial information for the purpose of carrying on specific activities and attaining certain objectives in accordance with regulations, restrictions, and limitations. They maintain a self-balancing set of accounts to record cash and other financial resources, together with related liabilities and residual equities or balances.
| Length |
2 characters |
| Type |
Numeric |
| Use | Distinguish transactions for traditional fund accounting. Used by Grants and Contracts to distinguish funding source group. |
| Examples |
10 - Unrestricted Fund 12 - Designated Fund 20 - Current Restricted Fund 25 - Plant Fund 30 - Endowment |
| Required |
Yes |
Click here to download the complete list of Funds.
Account
Accounts classify transactions as expenditure, revenue, asset, liability, or equity (fund balance) transactions.
| Length | 4 characters |
| Type |
Numeric |
| Use |
Accumulate transactions by natural classification |
| Examples |
Cash Accounts Receivable Accounts Payable Tuition Revenue Supplies Expense |
| Required |
Yes |
to download a complete list of Accounts (SMU Community only).
Organization
Organization codes (Orgs) represent a department or discrete operating unit within the University. Budgeting and reporting occur at the Organization level.
| Length |
6 characters |
| Type |
Numeric |
| Use |
Accumulate transactions for each individual reporting budgetary unit |
| Examples |
Office of the President College Anthropology Dean of Students Controllers Office |
| Required |
Yes |
To view a list of Orgs for your area, contact your Financial Business Manager.
Project / Grant
Project / Grant IDs segregate and track grant and project encumbrances, revenues, and expenditures.
| Length |
7 characters |
| Type |
Alpha-numeric (alpha character(s) denote(s) type of grant or responsible area for non-grants) |
| Use |
Accumulate transactions for particular grants, projects, or events (used instead of subclass when there is a specific start and end date or when payroll costs will be charged.) Also used to track costs of phases or segments within a larger project. |
| Examples |
Electrical Magnets Dorm Renovation President's Visit |
| Required |
Only for Grants and Contracts |
To view a list of Projects / Grants for your area, contact your Financial Business Manager.
Sub-Class
Sub-class is a flexible accumulator. Sub-class codes are utilized for a variety of purposes, depending on the situation. For example, sub-classes are used to track individual travel receivables. Individual schools or departments can tailor sub-class for specific reporting needs. However, there are university-wide sub-classes to capture revenues and expenses for specific transaction-types such as University Donations and Training Costs.
| Length |
5 characters |
| Type |
Numeric or Alpha-numeric |
| Use |
Sub-account to track individual receivables. Sub-account to further break down revenues and expenses. Accumulator for a particular event or type of expense that repeats from year to year. Accumulator for specific University-wide transaction types not covered by an Account. |
| Examples |
Travel Receivables Mock Court Trial Competition University Donations |
| Required |
Only for Travel Receivables |
View a list of University-wide sub-classes. To view sub-classes for your area, contact your Financial Business Manager.
Program
Programs are groups of related activities directed toward the accomplishment of sets of identifiable objectives. Program codes are not assigned by a user when inputting a transaction into the system. A system process runs monthly that assigns program codes to transactions based upon a set of criteria. Program categories are used for financial and statutory reporting.
| Length |
5 characters |
| Type |
Alpha |
| Use |
System-populated on revenue and expense lines in the Ledger based on transaction criteria to provide reporting by functional category |
| Examples |
INST - Instructional Support ACAD - Academic Support STUD - Student Services |
| Required |
Yes (but not at the time of input) |
Click here to download a list of Programs.