Criteria for Serving as a Fiscal Agent
The Institute may agree to serve as a fiscal agent for an agency fund only after satisfactorily considering all the following:

1. The purpose for the agency fund must relate to, but not be a fundamental aspect of, activities dedicated to the achievement of educational, research and public service goals.
2. The agency fund is in the best interests of the institution, taking into account all risk management implications.
3. The establishment of an agency fund account is appropriate, according to the circumstances and reporting principles involved.
4. An agreement governing the agency relationship is established.

Periodic Review of Agency Funds
The status of each agency fund should be reviewed periodically, at least once a year, for the purpose of ensuring whether the agency status should be suspended or revoked. Circumstances to consider when reviewing agency funds include:

• Failure to adhere to institution policies and procedures.
• The nature of the activities and functions has changed such that agency account status is no longer appropriate.
• Deficit balances that are not remedied on a timely basis.
• In the judgment of the president or designee, suspension or revocation is in the best interest of the institution.
• Inactive balances should not be carried forward indefinitely from year to year, but should be disposed of in accordance with the agency agreement.

The Controller’s Office performs periodic reviews of Agency Funds to ensure accountability and oversight of the funds and to minimize the Institute’s financial exposure. The review is also performed to ensure funds are properly managed and that deficit balances are funded timely. Agency Funds are reviewed more frequently at year end.

Agency Funds with Deficit Balances
Individual agency funds should not carry a negative balance outside of short-term timing differences in processing, but under no circumstances should the agency fund groups as a whole have a deficit balance. At the end of the fiscal year, the Institute sets up accounts receivables and notifies donors to fund any applicable deficit balances. Agency funds with ongoing negative balances that are not remedied in a timely manner may be suspended or revoked.

Establishing an Agency Fund
Colleges, schools, departments, organizational units, individuals, or groups requesting an Agency Fund must complete the Agency Fund Agreement Form. The form may be mailed to the Controller’s Office at Lyman Hall Mail Code 0257, or it may be scanned and emailed to accounting.ask@business.gatech.edu.
Once received, the Controller’s Office will review the request and notify the college, schools, department, organizational unit, individual, or group requesting the fund by email whether or not the Agency Fund is approved. If an Agency Fund is approved, the email to the custodian will include terms and restrictions for managing the Agency Fund.

Closing an Agency Fund
The Agency Fund custodian should request termination of agency funds which are no longer required. The account custodian should send an email to accounting.ask@business.gatech.edu requesting that the fund be closed. When the request has been processed, the agency fund custodian will receive written notification from the Controller’s Office that the fund has been closed.

Additional Information
Additional information regarding Agency Funds can be found in section 14.1 (Agency Funds) of the Board of Regents Business Procedures Manual.

Transmittal Cash to Bursar’s Office
The Deposit Remittance Form should be used as a transmittal sheet for deposits. Forms are available from the Bursar's Office. These forms may be copied for use by units at Georgia Tech.

Gifts Payable to Georgia Tech
All checks and securities intended as gifts to the Georgia Institute of Technology should be routed to the Office of Development for acceptance and acknowledgment. Those funds should then be deposited into the Institute's bank account. If related documentation indicates the donor intended to direct the gift to the Foundation, the funds will be transferred after appropriate review. No attempt should be made to deposit a check to any entity other than the Payee. Under no circumstances should a check be modified to change the Payee.

The primary exception to this policy is for gifts of equipment or other tangible property which may more effectively be made directly to the Institute. However, even gifts of equipment or other tangible property are to be reported to and acknowledged by the Office of Development.

It is the policy of the University System of Georgia Board of Regents (BOR) that all gifts to the Institute exceeding $100,000 in value must be officially accepted by the BOR. Conditional acceptance and acknowledgement of gifts, however, may be issued at the discretion of the Vice President for Development and his/her designee.

Each department/unit is responsible for the funds it receives for the Institute. Cash receipts must be officially recorded on a cash register, approved validating equipment, or in official pre-numbered receipt books. If the receiving location receives an average of $250 per day in cash or checks through the mail, mail receipts should be listed on a checks received log form by someone other than the person who prepares the deposit slip.
The list should be updated with the number of the deposit slip which includes the checks on the list.
All checks in payment of amounts due the Institute must be made payable to "Georgia Institute of Technology." Checks should not be made payable to departments, department heads, or any Institute officials or employees designated by name. If checks are received with the payee improperly designated, but yet deemed acceptable for deposit to Georgia Tech, they should be appropriately endorsed as payable to Georgia Institute of Technology so that they can be properly endorsed to the credit of the Institute by the Bursar. If checks of a repetitive nature are received without the proper payee designation, the drawer should be informed to make future checks payable to "Georgia Institute of Technology."

Custody and Safekeeping of Receipts

1. Department heads should make certain that proper safekeeping facilities are available and that proper safeguards are taken to protect Institute funds until they are appropriately deposited with the Bursar's Office or as otherwise designated. Cash or checks payable to the Institute should never be transmitted through campus mail. The number of employees having access to Money stored in a department or unit should be limited. Cash should not be left unsecured overnight. If unusually large sums are on hand after normal hours, arrangements should be made for use of a night depository. A security officer may be requested to accompany the deposits to their destinations.
2. Cash register procedures should be prepared by departmental personnel in the form of written documentation and approved by Accounting Services. These procedures should contain over-ring documentation, documentation of change fund counts by cashiers, proper check-out policies and documentation, cash register tape retention plans, and other policies as deemed necessary in each situation by management. Cash register tape retention practices and proper references of deposits to daily cash register totals are subject to review and/or audit by authorized personnel in the General Accounting Department or the Internal Audit Department.
3. Locations which operate cash registers or have average daily receipts over $250 should prepare a daily cash report. This report should include receipt numbers used and/or register totals, amount to be deposited, and cash overages and shortages. These reports should be retained in date order in the receiving location for a period of three years. Receiving locations which currently have cash reconciliation forms which contain the same basic information may continue to use them.

Petty Cash Guidelines
Petty cash must be held in a locked cash drawer or locked cash box. (Security recommends a smooth metal finish box for fingerprinting purposes.) A primary key to the drawer or box must be held by the custodian while a secondary key should be held by the department head or delegate for emergency purposes.

In the event the fund custodian has a scheduled absence, a temporary custodian can be assigned by the department head. The funds must be counted in the presence of the authorized custodian before the leave period begins and again once the custodian returns. This procedure is used when the petty cash fund is greater than $200.

In the event the fund custodian has an unscheduled absence, a temporary custodian can be assigned by the department head. The funds must be counted in the presence of the department head or his designee before the funds are used. A similar cash count must be performed upon the return of the regular fund custodian. The department should maintain the cash count verifications until the next cash count is performed. This procedure is used when the petty cash fund is greater than $200.

The total amount of the petty cash fund should always equal the cash on hand plus any unreimbursed amounts. If the Department Head or Financial Services feel it is warranted based on circumstances surrounding a shortage, Internal Auditing may be contacted for investigation. Internal Auditing will notify Risk Management. If Internal Auditing determines the custodian was negligent in their duty to safeguard the petty cash, the custodian may be held liable for replacement of uninsured losses. Shortages exceeding $200.00 should always be reported to Internal Auditing.

Unannounced cash counts should be performed quarterly by someone other than the custodian. The individual should be selected by the Department Head, preferably not the same person each quarter. The cash count should be recorded on the Cash Count Form. The completed forms should be retained in a Departmental file. Unannounced cash counts may be performed by Internal Audit. Account balance verification will be performed at year-end by the Controller's Office.

Department petty cash "change funds" should be counted daily.

Petty cash funds should always be kept separate from other cash receipts. To discourage thefts, avoid dispensing money from the petty cash box in the presence of the person requesting money.

Where possible, keep locked box in limited access locked drawer, safe or file cabinet. Funds must be secured each time the custodian leaves the office. The keys to the box and file cabinet, safe, or drawer should be kept in the possession of the custodian, not left in desks or in the office overnight. The custodian and department head may be held jointly liable for uninsured losses that occur as a result of negligence.

In the event of a theft of petty cash funds, the custodian should immediately notify the Georgia Tech Police Department and the Internal Audit Department. Police Department incident reports will be distributed within three days of the theft to the Department Head, Risk Management, the Controller's Office, and Internal Auditing. The Internal Audit Department will communicate to the Controller's Office whether loss is insured or loss is a result of negligence.

Upon departure/termination of custodian or department head, keys to secured petty cash area must be returned to the appropriate departmental authority. A change of custodian requires submission of a new Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form. A final count and submission for replenishment should occur prior to the new custodian assuming responsibility. The new custodian receipts the cash at the Bursar's Office and signs Section Five of the new Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form.

Reimbursement Procedures
Departments should submit a completed Petty Cash Replenishment/Reimbursement Request Form along with supporting documentation to the Bursar's Office within ten (10) working days following a purchase. If the reimbursement is needed during year end closeout, the reimbursement must be received by the published cutoff date for the Bursar’s Office. Failure to turn in receipts promptly may jeopardize reimbursement if the funding source has lapsed.

Fund Establishment
To establish a departmental petty cash fund, Section one and three of the Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form is to be completed and submitted to the Controller's Office for approval and establishment of the account.

If approved, the Controller's Office will establish the petty cash fund account number and forward the information to the Bursar's Office for processing. For funds established for $500 or less, the Bursar's Office will provide cash to the custodian for the amount of the fund. Upon acceptance of the funds, the custodian will receive the cash and sign Section Five of the Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form. For funds established for more than $500, the Bursar will forward the information to Accounts Payable for check preparation and Accounts Payable will notify the department when the check is ready. Upon acceptance of the funds, the custodian will receive the check and sign Section Five of the Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form at the Bursar's Office.

If changes to the established fund amount become necessary, a new Petty Cash Fund Request/Maintenance Form must be submitted to the Controller's Office noting the existence of the current petty cash fund and the request for an increase or decrease of funds and/or change of custodian. (Changes are noted in Section Two of the Form.)

Replenishment Requirements
Fund replenishment requests should be submitted to the Bursar's Office on the Petty Cash Replenishment/Reimbursement Request Form. The form must be completed in full and signed by approved Departmental representative. Requests should include a summary of all charges by account number. The summary should include each unique accounting distribution only once with the total of all charges for the account. Replenishment requests along with two copies of the request (form only) should be attached to supporting original receipts and submitted to the Bursar's Office. The requests for Fund replenishment should be submitted in a timely manner and allow ample time for processing. Cashiers may not be able to provide immediate replenishment upon presentation by Department at certain times of the school year (registration). Specific monetary denominations can be arranged for larger reimbursements by contacting the Cashier's Office via phone at (404) 894-5542.

Closing the Fund - Voluntary
In the event that a fund is to be closed voluntarily, the following steps are to be followed by the custodian:

1. Notify the Controller' Office and the Bursar's Office of the intent to terminate the account.
2. Prepare final replenishment request.
3. Submit all cash on hand and final cash count to the Bursar¹s Office.

The Bursar's Office will review the final cash count and provide information to the Controller's Office, who will close the general ledger account for that fund. Termination of the funds will be noted on the original establishment form and a copy will be forwarded to the custodian by mail.

Fund Establishment
To establish a petty cash checking account, a completed Petty Cash Request/Maintenance Form should be submitted to the Controller's Office for approval. The Controller's Office will notify the department head once the fund is approved. The department head will notify the custodian and ask that he/she request the following information from the local bank:

1. Signature cards
2. Checking account information
3. Bank contact person

This information should be forwarded to the Controller’s Office so that the initial checking account can be set up. The custodian will then be forwarded the following information from the Controller's Office:

1. Bank contact for the account
2. Procedures for reconciling the bank account
3. Copy of agreement with the bank and Georgia Tech
4. Copy of authorized check writers (signature card)
5. Any other pertinent information required to establish this account

Account Controls (new section)
Three basic controls must be incorporated into each petty cash account that establishes a banking account.

1. Of the signers on the account, at least two representatives of Administration & Finance that are also signers on the Institute’s primary operational checking accounts must always be signers on Petty Cash checking accounts.
2. Departments must determine the maximum dollar amount of any written check, and file that information with the bank via an “Account Reconcilement Services Positive Pay Authorization form” (or other similar applicable bank form from the current banking provider) in order to prevent fraudulent checks for a larger amount from clearing. (Maximum amount can be changed on an as needed basis.)
3. Accounts should establish a positive pay methodology with the bank. Any account that chooses not to implement a bank established positive pay, must document why they will not implement positive pay, and must be willing to fund any operational losses that occur from potential fraudulent activities. (Positive pay is an automated fraud detection tool that matches the account number, the check number, and the dollar amount of each check presented for payment against a list of checks previously authorized and issued by the company.)

Reimbursement Requirements
Employees should submit original receipts for petty cash purchases (see Petty Cash Fund General Guidelines 1.5.1 for specific information on allowable purchases) to the departmental fund custodian. To improve financial reporting, the reimbursement request should be made within ten (10) working days following a purchase, or, if at year end, by the published cutoff date. Failure to turn in receipts promptly may jeopardize reimbursements if the funding source has lapsed.

Prior to reimbursement, the fund custodian should ensure that the following information and attachments are included with the reimbursement request:

 

Vendor name

Date of purchase

Price per item

Total price for the quantity received

1. Original of the vendor's customary receipt which includes:
2. Appropriate accounting distribution
3. Signature of the individual authorized to approve departmental purchases on the reimbursement request only.
4. Custodian may require purchaser to sign or initial original receipt.

Upon receipt of completed information, the petty cash expenditures will be reimbursed by the fund custodian.

Closing the Fund - Voluntary
Fund replenishment requests should be submitted to the Accounts Payable Department on the Petty Cash Replenishment/Reimbursement Request Form . Requests for fund replenishment should be submitted in a timely manner and should allow ample time for processing.

1. Requests should include a summary of all charges by account number. The summary should include each unique accounting distribution only once with the total of all charges for the account.
2. Replenishment requests require an approval signature by the authorized departmental representative. Accounts Payable will return unsigned replenishment requests to the originator.
3. Replenishment requests along with one copy of the request (form only) should be attached to supporting original receipts and submitted to Accounts Payable. Upon receipt of completed information, the Accounts Payable Department will return a check to the department for the amount of the request.

Project Establishment
The Controller’s Office is charged with the establishment of sponsored projects in accounting records of the Georgia Institute of Technology upon receipt of properly completed GTF “Gift Transmittal Form” from the Foundation (PDF Version). Please use updated form.

Upon receipt of a gift or budgetary allocation, the Georgia Tech foundation will establish a GTF account number for the funds. GTF will transmit the account number, dollar amount, restricted use of the funds, and any effective or expiration dates for the funds to the Controller’s Office, using the Gift Transmittal Form. All funds reported on this form will be budgeted in the “Other Memo” category. If specific budget details are required, the budget information should be entered on the second page of the Form using the spaces provided. The Gift Transmittal Form must be approved by authorized personnel at the Georgia Tech Foundation.

When gifts and/or awards are received initially by the operating units, a Gift Transmittal Form should be prepared by the unit and forwarded directly to the Foundation with all supporting documentation. Requests received by the Controller’s Office without a properly completed Gift Transmittal Form will be forwarded to the Georgia Tech Foundation for action.

Sub-Projects
Sub-Projects that are required by the managing units should be established using the published procedure governing the establishment of sponsored Sub-Projects (Grants & Contracts: Establishing a Sub-Project Account).
GTF and Financial Aid sponsored sub-projects are managed by the Accounting Services Department. All other sponsored awards (including sub-projects) are managed by the Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting.

1. Upon receipt of a request for a new scholarship or fellowship project, the Accounting Services Department will assign the project number within the appropriate range of numbers (997xxxxx for Scholarships / 998xxxxx for Fellowships) and updates the accounting records of the Institute.
2. If “deliverables” (e.g. progress report, financial report, etc.) or a contract/agreement mutually signed by the sponsor and the Institute (either GTRC or GIT), the award documents should first be forwarded to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) for review. OSP takes necessary steps to execute the agreement and requests project assignment from the Office of Grants & Contracts Accounting (GCA).
3. If a scholarship or fellowship project is to be created as a sub-project under an existing project number, the department is required to submit an online budget revision request through the Grants Management System (Establishing a Sub-Project Account). This request should include the proper department/organization number (997 for scholarships, 998 for fellowships) PI name, start/end date, project name, amount and specific explanation in remarks before submitting the revision.
4. The Accounting Services Department (or GCA as required) notifies the requesting unit of the project number. This notification is the first opportunity for allowable expenditures related to the scholarship/fellowship award to be recorded to the accounting records of the Institute.
5. Requests for payments from scholarship or fellowship awards require various approvals based upon the specific award's guidelines. The award package is maintained by the Office of Student Financial Planning and Services or other designated campus administrative office.
6. Copies of award documents requiring invoicing should be forwarded to the Accounting Services Department for action with the request for project number assignment. This will help the proper accounting office maintain complete account files and insure timely invoices to donor/sponsors.

Scholarship – Trainee - Fellowship Payment Grid
The Scholarship – Trainee – Fellowship payment grid provides detailed information on processing student payments. That information includes the following:

1. Type of Program/Student
2. Program Description (Training Grant, Award, Schl, Fell)
3. Account Code
4. Project ID (997 project, 998 project or other project)
5. Routing Information (Financial Aid, Bursar, AP, Payroll, etc)
6. Forms Required (Check Request Form, Vendor Profile Form, Bursar’s Special Payment Form, etc)
7. IRS Reporting Requirement for US Students and Non-US Students

Bursar’s Office Website
Additional information related to student payments may also be found on the Bursar’s Office website at http://www.bursar.gatech.edu/content/forms.

Student Award – No Services Required
A student (US Citizen or Resident Alien) who receives a scholarship, fellowship or traineeship award for which he/she is not required to perform services (past, present, or future) may exempt the portion of the award that is used for qualified tuition and related expenses (tuition, fees, books, supplies, and other equipment required for courses). Any portion of the award used for other expenses, such as room and board or travel, is considered part of the student's gross income and must be reported on his/her individual tax return. Because the student has no employment relationship with the Georgia Institute of Technology (the Institute), the Institute is not required to withhold taxes on the taxable portion of the award and has no tax reporting obligation to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the student.

Tax Rules
The tax rules applicable to scholarship, fellowship and traineeship awards made to nonresident alien students differ from those applicable to students who are US citizens or resident aliens. The total amount of a scholarship/fellowship/traineeship award made to a nonresident alien student that does not represent compensation for services is reportable by the Institute to both the IRS and the student on IRS Form 1042S. The portion of the award that is used for qualified tuition and related expenses are exempt from US tax. The remaining portion of the award is subject to tax and is considered part of the student's gross income and must be reported on his/her individual tax return. The Institute will withhold tax at the rate of 14% on this taxable portion unless the award is exempt under a tax treaty between the US and the student's home country. The student must supply the Institute with IRS Form 8233 in order to claim the benefit of a tax treaty.

Student Responsibility
The portion of a scholarship/fellowship/traineeship award that constitutes qualified tuition and related expenses is not subject to tax. Ultimately, it is the student's responsibility to determine his/her tax liability and file a tax return with the Internal Revenue Service each year.