Departments

Chief Financial Officer Operations

The departments and staff of this administrative area support the university’s mission by providing financial services. The Office of the Chief Financial Officer is responsible for all aspects of financial management of the flagship and community college.  Responsibilities include oversight on accounting and financial controls, tax compliance, and financial auditing.

Financial Systems

Ensuring the integrity of the University’s financial data is a primary component of the department’s mission. The Program Systems unit maintains the internal control environments of Banner Finance and D.C. Government legacy applications that safeguard sensitive financial data against unauthorized access, fraud, waste, and abuse of privileges.

The Program Systems unit also provides an array of training and key functional (and technical) support roles to the Finance Office and the University’s Banner Finance user community for General Ledger, Grants and Research, Procurement, and Accounts Payable.

Budget Operations

Budget Operations manages the annual budget formulation process for operating, capital, grants, intra-district, and federal stimulus funds. This unit leads the program community through the budget cycle by developing departmental spending-plans and any required reprogramming adjustments.

Budget Operations also manages the financial review process and provides executive management with objective, accurate, and timely analyses to assess any ongoing budget and financial planning pressures that may negatively impact the university’s long-term strategic planning process.

Accounting Operations

With direct oversight and management authority for General Ledger, Grants, Accounts Payable, and Financial Reporting, Accounting Operations is the core of the university’s financial processing and reporting infrastructure.

Accounting Operations encompasses a variety of specialized financial services and maintains a highly visible role in areas such as Payroll, Investments, Banking, Grants Billing, Accounts Payable, Fixed Assets, Inventory Management, Reporting, Auditing, and Financial Statement preparation.

Daily operational tasks include a myriad of account and transaction analysis, banking reconciliations, and other deliverables required for remediation of audit findings as mandated by executive management and the university’s Board of Trustees.

Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable plays a critical role in supporting the goals, missions, and performance standards of the D.C. Government and the university’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Accounts Payable is an integral component of financial operations. It involves nearly all aspects of the university’s payment processing platform.

Accounts Payable’s main charge is to provide accurate and timely processing and disbursement of valid payments to vendors, contractors, students, faculty and staff. All payments are processed in accordance with applicable compliance standards and legislative authority as established under the District Quick Payment Act to promote efficient and effective disbursement administration and assist in the reliable reporting of disbursement related transactions.

Student Accounts

A student account is the account that is charged tuition, fees, room, board, and other miscellaneous charges (parking fines, short-term loans, etc.). Since the student is the individual that receives services from the university, the Student Accounts office manages all student related billing.

Operationally, Student Accounts is responsible for most inquiries related to student billing, posting aid, processing refunds, and the administration of the tuition payment plan where applicable. The office also serves as a quick-guide that directly assists a culturally diverse student population with navigating a roadmap of university policies and procedures in an effort to provide the student with a better understanding of topics related to student financial services and financial aid.

Cashiers Office

The Cashier’s Office is a crossover unit that works in tandem with the respective Finance and Student Accounts offices to record and reconcile the charge, payment, and receipt of miscellaneous transactions in the Banner Finance system.

Although officially a part of the D.C. Treasury, the Cashier’s Office receives and processes various types of payments for tuition, fees, room and board, and other charges related to university operations and auxiliary services. This office is also responsible for the recording of deposits on behalf of campus departments and student organizations.

Additionally, the unit works closely with Accounts Payable to prevent fraud by adhering to strict guidelines for managing the release of checks designated as hold-for-pickup by students, faculty, staff, and vendors.