Chapter 4: Chart of Accounts (COA)

 

What is the COA and its importance to the University? 

The Chart of Accounts (COA) is an essential framework that defines the financial structure of the University of Alberta. It serves as an index of all the Chartfields the university uses to record and report its financial transactions.

This structure is critical for categorizing and classifying accounting and budgetary transactions, which supports effective financial reporting, stewardship, and decision-making across all levels of the institution.

 

Purpose of the COA

The primary purpose of the COA is to provide an organized and efficient system to manage financial data. This system facilitates the preparation of annual financial statements, meets external financial reporting requirements, supports internal and external audits, and enables effective budgetary control and department reporting.

A well-structured COA is vital for generating accurate and useful financial information for various stakeholders within the university, from individual departments to institutional governance.

 

Who has responsibility within the COA?

The COA involves multiple stakeholders with distinct responsibilities:

  • Financial Reporting (FR): Holds overall ownership and accountability for the COA, ensuring that institutional reporting and audit requirements are met.
  • Finance Partner Network: Reviews COA requests at the first level, ensuring the efficiency of transaction coding and financial reporting within their respective units.
  • University-wide Service Units: Align their business processes with the COA and ensure external reporting requirements are met.
  • College and Faculty General Managers: Responsible for the overall structure of their unit’s COA, ensuring it meets both the unit’s needs and the broader institutional reporting standards.

 

UAPPOL Procedure 

The COA maintenance and management are governed by the UAPPOL (University of Alberta Policies and Procedures On-Line) procedures. These procedures outline the process for requesting new Chartfields, maintaining existing ones, and ensuring compliance with institutional standards.

All Chartfield requests must be reviewed and approved by Financial Reporting, following the guidelines set forth in the UAPPOL COA Maintenance procedure to ensure consistency and accuracy across the university.

 

Last Updated: October 2024