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Volume 2 • Issue 4
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April 30, 2009
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In This Issue ...
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Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.
Henry Ford
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Weasels, Winston Churchill, and PBCC
According to Wikipedia, the term "weasel word" takes its origins from the culinary habits of weasels. Apparently, the little creatures like to suck eggs while leaving the exterior of the shell unbroken. Words or claims that turn out to be empty upon analysis, like those eggs, are weasel words. 
We can all recognize "weasel words" when we hear them. They can be non sequiturs like Bette Davis' famous line "I'd love to kiss you but I just washed my hair."* Most are vague generalizations without any basis in fact. Some people resort to weasel words to divert attention, avoid responsibility, or place blame elsewhere.
What does this linguistics lesson have to do with PBCC's Finance Department? Too often, we in Finance are on the receiving end of a weasel word or two. Some of the more popular are "No one ever told me...", and "Why was I not told about this earlier..?"
No one has to tell us to buy low and sell high, not to jump off the top of the Empire State Building, not to eat the sushi from a non-refrigerated cart at high noon in summer in South Florida at the beach. Certain things we know inherently. For those things that relate to our jobs and that we don't know instinctively, PBCC provides a myriad of training opportunities for us to find out, starting with our first day at orientation to professional development courses, to email and phone directories alerting us about who to call with our questions. Finance Department's Internal Web has sections on the Procedures Manual, PantherNet Access, the Newsletter, and a section with tutorials titled "How Do I..."
Weasel or Winston Churchill? Churchill, one of the most well-known statesmen of the 20th century, recognized the importance of taking personal responsibilities for one's own actions. We could be wrong, but Churchill probably never said, "No one ever told me how to save Britain and the rest of the Western Hemisphere from one of the greatest dangers known to mankind." Churchill did say, "The price of greatness is responsibility." Let's strive towards greatness.
*Email Finance@pbcc.edu and correctly identify the Bette Davis film where she spoke this famous line. All who answer correctly will be entered to win a prize!
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Foundation Funded Expenses
As you may be aware, purchases of equipment and supplies or travel expenses payable through the Foundation must be processed through PBCC's Purchasing/Travel offices. Direct placement of orders with suppliers or travel agents is no longer permitted. Purchasing or Travel office intervention in these types of expenses ensures that such expenditures adhere to the same rules and regulations as the college. The Foundation can also benefit from the negotiated discounts available to the college.
Previously, the department placed the order or travel voucher through their respective Fund 1 account and repaid this account with a Foundation check on completion of the transaction. One of the problems with this procedure has been that, from time to time, departments ran into budget shortages that necessitated manual budget overrides and possible delays in procurement.
Effective May 1, 2009, we have developed a new procedure to make things more efficient. Under this procedure a central account has been set up in Fund 6 (69600000-960001-90). Expenditures processed through this account do not have budget restraints since they are ultimately reimbursed by the Foundation. Departments must use this account to create a requisition/travel request for Foundation funded expenditures instead of their Fund 1 accounts. Care must be taken to include the phrase "FDN REIMB" in the requisition/travel request so that staff are aware that the expenditure is reimbursable from Foundation funds.
Not only will the department avoid manual budget overrides, but also this procedure will improve the inventory reconciliation process for high value equipment and the reconciliation of Foundation funded expenditures. If you have a Foundation account, please contact our Foundation Accounting Specialist, Margaret Jones, to get a detailed copy of both the purchasing and travel procedures.
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How does the Purchasing deadline relate to my PCard purchases?
The PCard is another way of purchasing and you should always follow normal purchasing/budget policies and guidelines, which are as follows: 
DEADLINE FOR PURCHASES 2008/2009 BUDGET
May 01, 2009: The last date for purchases from the 2008/09 budget. This also includes PCard purchases with the exception of normal, pre-approved travel, Summer Youth Camps, Childcare, and Grants with an ending date beyond June 30, 2009. Any purchases made after this date that do not fall into one of the exceptions above must be approved by the Vice President of Administration and Business Services.
Any cardholders who will be traveling should check with the PCard office prior to departure to verify that their card is active.
The cut-off date for ALL PCards is June 24th. All charges must have time to process and be reconciled prior to June 30th. Please be mindful when making online orders that they may take longer to process, causing the transaction to post after the end of our fiscal year. |
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Where did it go? Who took my money!
 It is that time of year again. Budgets are running low, mostly because they are supposed to! And it isn't quite money - just your allotted piece of the pie. By May 1st you submitted all of your purchases for the remainder of the Fiscal Year. Here are some helpful hints:
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Try one of our much appreciated "How Do I" demos on the web, such as the one on reviewing your balance View General Ledger Screens. This is also the right place to review your transactions for completion even when all looks right.
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Last but not least: Examine expenditures for ownership - "this is not mine and I would like to give it to someone else" may need the cooperation of someone in Finance. Get with Accounts Payable and they can tell you all the details that brought the transaction to your door. If it was not the right one let them get to someone in Accounting to help you restore your balance and your faith in the system.
If all else fails maybe the budget is just all gone! And the sooner you come to terms with that the better, but do it in May or early June because the end of the fiscal year is coming sooner than you think! And, yes, it does matter now even if you cannot spend it any longer! To mention just a few reasons: a) cost analyses will determine the costs to run a program or a project based on actual expenditures and b) the numbers in planning your next budget in at least one column of reference material may look a little like what you actually needed the last time!
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Important Payroll Dates - May 2009
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Pay Date
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5/14/2009
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5/28/2009
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Cut Off for Assignment Changes to HR
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May 5
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May 18
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Cut Off for Direct Deposit Changes
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May 6
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May 19
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Time & Attendance Due in PantherNet
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May 7
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May 20
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Pay Period for Full-Time & Salary Employees
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May 1 - 15
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May 16 - 31
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Pay Period for Adjunct Salary Employees
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May 1 - 11
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May 12 - 31
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Pay Period for Hourly Employees
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Apr 23 - May 6
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May 7 - 19
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Overtime to be paid for dates worked
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Apr 11 - 24
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Apr 25 - May 15
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Online Leave Requests may be processed through
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6/30/2009
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6/30/2009
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The Four Day Work Week will begin on May 11 and the college will be closed each Friday through August 7, 2009.
We will also be closed on Monday, May 25 for Memorial Day.
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Profile: Debbie Meckelburg
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Debbie Meckelburg came to PBCC eleven years ago after having been laid off from Bell South after 21 years. Debbie works in our Cashier's office, where along with other cashiering duties she handles bounced checks. Debbie's even-tempered, sunny personality serves her well in that department. If you can imagine, due to the nature of her work, not all of her clients are happy campers.
While Debbie's hobbies include reading, going to the movies and scrapbooking, she prefers to spend her free time with her 2 granddaughters. Debbie is also a fan of reality TV. She enjoys most of the current hits including "Amazing Race", "Biggest Loser", "American Idol", and the dance hits "Dancing With the Stars", and "So You Think You Can Dance." Debbie is amazingly perceptive, and can usually spot the winners early in the season.
Not all of Debbie's leisure pursuits are grandmotherly. She's a great poker player and enjoys playing Follow the queen, Low Hole, or No peekie with friends most weekends, with the occasional trip to the slot machines in Pompano. Of course, she is always up for a vacation in Las Vegas. If anyone needs tips on where to stay, or great restaurant finds, Debbie's your Go-To girl.
Bell South's loss became PBCC's gain. We are happy Debbie came, and even happier that she stayed.
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Cashier's Office - MS #11
Phone: 868-3087 (or dial 1-3087 internally)
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Finance Updates and Reminders
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Who has it? Do you have it? Was I supposed to do something?
When you receive your shipments please notify your Campus' Receiver to process Receiving for them on PantherNet. If you prepaid please complete and return the reminder you will receive from Accounts Payable to acknowledge it so it may be recorded. If you receive an invoice please forward it to Accounts Payable. Many times vendors will just slip an invoice in your shipment, you think this is just a copy, but it may be the one Accounts Payable needs to make the payment. Please understand that the College has a financial obligation to pay in a timely manner. This is good for our reputation and may help keep prices as low as possible, and you are very much part of the equation that makes that happen.
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I'm supposed to do Debits and Credits? Yes, please! And you don't have to be an Accountant!
So you received a credit on your PCard. Credits are good, so what's the problem? When you approve a credit transaction to your PCard did you verify that you are sending it to the same account the original charge was made to? And when you looked at the account did you note the original transaction number? Nothing ties a credit to a debit better than including the original transaction number on the credit. Please include this in the description of your credit.
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Contact Us
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Our Mission
The mission of the Finance Department is to provide prompt, accurate, and courteous business and accounting services to students, faculty, staff, and administration.
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