I. Budget Manager Definition
When a new OMNI department is created, the Establish a New Department ID form is completed and submitted to the Budget Office for approval and processing. On the form, the Dean / Director / Department Head / Chair (DDDHC) identifies the staff member who will be the Budget Manager. (Departments can have only one Budget Manager listed in OMNI.)
The Update Existing Department ID form can be used to change the Budget Manager should this designation need to be revised.
II. Budget Manager Responsibilities
The Budget Manager:
- Serves as the official contact for the department on financial matters. All Budget Office correspondence is sent to the Budget Manager. Other central offices on campus (such as the Controller’s Office and the Office of Inspector General Services) also use the Budget Manager for important communications.
- Ensures that departmental ledgers are reconciled to supporting documents. The reconciliations may be completed by the Budget Manager or delegated to a staff member. (For specific guidelines related to ledger reconciliations, review the General Ledger training materials at https://controller.vpfa.fsu.edu/training.)
- Maintains departmental balances. E&G departments should have a positive Available Balance. Non-E&G departments should have a positive Available Balance and Fund Balance.
- Identifies and corrects invalid department-fund combinations. Due to erroneous transactions, an OMNI department may be used with an invalid OMNI fund (for example, an E&G department used with an Auxiliary fund). The Budget Manager is responsible for any transactions or balances on their department with any OMNI Fund. Therefore, it is their responsibility to identify these “invalid combos” and initiate corrections.
- Enters Operating Budgets. Budget Managers may be responsible for entering operating budgets. Budget entry occurs in April of every fiscal year. The Budget Office contacts Budget Managers responsible for budget entry to provide additional information at the beginning of the Spring semester.
- Completes and submits any required documentation. This may include any forms required by the Budget Office, Controller’s Office, Inspector General’s Office, etc.
III. Identifying the Budget Manager
The OMNI Budget Manager can be found via the ChartField Values link in OMNI-Financials (see graphic).
On the “Department” screen, enter the "SetID" SHARE and the six-digit "Department" number then click “Search.”
IV. Budget Transfers
The Budget Manager designation does not give an employee the proper security to process budget transfers in OMNI. Any OMNI user (Budget Manager or not) may request the Budget Transfer Role via the eORR Online Role Request link in OMNI-HR.
From that screen, follow the steps to submit a “Financials” role request to “Add” one of the “Central Office Roles” – “FSU_BUDGET_TRANSFER.” The OMNI user’s supervisor must approve the request in order for it to be forwarded to the Budget Office. After the OMNI user’s supervisor approves, the Budget Office will route the request to the DDDHC(s) of the department(s) in which budget transfer access is being requested for approval. After all approvals are obtained, the OMNI user will be assigned security to do transfers involving their department(s). For more information, review the Budget Transfer Job Aid and Departmental Guide to Budget Adjustments.
V. Authorized Signers
The “Authorized Signature List” for a department shows those designated to approve transactions. It can be viewed on the same OMNI screen as the Budget Manager, accessed via the ChartField Values link in OMNI-Financials. It can also be viewed by running the OMNI-Financials query FSU_DPT_AUTHORIZED_SIGNERS. The query can be run by department or by last name.
The Budget Manager may be an Authorized Signer; however, it is preferable that they are not. Authorized Signers are designated on the Establish a New Department ID form, and can be updated using the Update an Existing Department ID form.
VI. Ultimate Responsibility
As noted above, the DDDHC typically delegates budgetary responsibility to a qualified staff member. However, the ultimate responsibility for the fiscal soundness of a department rests with the DDDHC.