General Accounting Dashboard

This guide will cover:

• Navigating to the General Accounting Dashboard

• Creating an Account Group for specific accounts to view

• Using the Account Monitor to view account group details

  • Saving search criteria in Inquire and Analyze Balances

• Recommended ways to utilize the views available

  • View fund balance for designated operating

  • View actual expenditures

  • View budget to actuals

 

Step One

Upon accessing WyoCloud from WyoWeb, navigate to the General Accounting Dashboard.

• Click on the Navigator (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner of the homepage.

• First click on General Accounting to expand, then select General Accounting Dashboard.

 

Step Two

For campus users, the most useful portion of the General Accounting Dashboard is the Account Monitor located at the top of the page.  First you’ll set your view in the Account Monitor.

• In the Account Monitor box, click View then Account Group and Create.

• On the Create Account Group page the following fields are required:

  • Name: Create a name that will be easy to identify the account the view is created for in the future.

  • Display in: Account Monitor (default)

  • Set as default (optional): if you would like this view to always be listed on the main General Accouting Dashboard upon accessing.

  • Time Option: Accounting period

  • Comparison Option:

    • Budget PTD:  Compares what was budgeted for the period to actuals posted to the general ledger for the period

    • Budget QTD: Compares what was budgeted for the quarter to actuals posted to the general ledger for the quarter.

    • Budget YTD: Compares what was budgeted for the year to actuals posted to the general ledger for the year to date. (Recommended. See step 3 for full list of recommendations)

    • Prior Period PTD: Compares actuals from the prior year for the period to actuals posted to the general ledger in the current period.

    • Prior Year QTD: Compares actuals from the prior year for the quarter to actuals posted to the general ledger in the current quarter.

    • Prior Year YTD: Compares actuals from the prior year for the year to actuals posted to the general ledger for the current year to date.

  • Access: Private

• In the Accounts area, you will add the account information you’d like displayed in the view.  Click the plus sign (+) to add an account row.

• In the Ledger field, use the drop down to select University of Wyo US then continue completing the desired chart string.

  • All segments of the chart string are required.  It is recommended to just enter the desired organization and select all for other segments.

• If desired additional accounts may be added by clicking the plus sign (+) again.

• Once all segments of the chart string are entered, Save and Close using the drop down next to Save.

 

Step Three

Using the Account Monitor by changing what columns appear and what order. In addition, how to export data into an excel spreadsheet.

• After Saving and Closing, you will return to the General Accounting Dashboard.  The selected  account information will display in the Account Monitor.

• You can adjust what columns you want to on your view and what order by selecting View then Columns, select the columns you want or scroll down to the bottom of the list and click on Manage Columns. 

• You can add or remove columns to your view by selecting the field and using the middle arrows to move to hidden or visible column sections. Additionally, using the visible column, you can move the order of the columns per your preference by selecting the filed and using the arrows to the right to move the field up or down. Then click OK when you’re done.

 

Navigate between different Account Groups or Accounting Periods

• If you have set up multiple views, the one set as default will always be displayed in the Account Monitor. 

• To see other views, select View then Accounting Group. All views you have set up will be displayed by the title you entered for them, select the desired view.

• From the Account Monitor, you can adjust the view to show a single period by using the Period drop down. Depending on the comparison option selected from Step Two, these results could display a year-to-date total up to that period, or only data for a specific period.

• To see the change in the account scroll to the right to locate the Change and Change (%) columns. What this represents depends on what Comparison Option you selected when setting up the view. 

 

Viewing the details

• All text in blue is available to drill into details. 

• In this example, we will click on All Account Values hyperlink. The Inquire and Analyze Balances screen appears with more details on the account group.

• Additional columns can be added to add details.  Click View then Columns.  Then check the box next to the desired additional column.

• To export the table from the Inquire and Analyze Balances page, click on the Export to Excel button.

• Depending on your browser, the excel spreadsheet will download and you can save or open the file.

 

Saving a search criteria

• From the account monitor, click on an amount to drill into, for example click on the hyperlink total under Actual.

• While on the Inquire on Detail Balances screen after drilling into the amount hyperlink, the search criteria can be adjusted.

• Once you have the search criteria selected you want to save, click on Save.

• After selectin save, you must give the saved search a name. You may select it as a default if you wish. Click OK.

• You can create as many saved searches as you want, and to navigate between the saved searches, use the drop down next to Save Search and select the name of the search you wish to view.

• Note: These saved searches will not show as an account monitor saved search from the main General Accounting Dashboard.

 

Recommended Usage and Views

1. View Fund Balance for Designated Operating Funds

Fund balance is the remaining funds left over in designated operating at the end of a fiscal year. Fund balance is first posted at the entity and fund class level until accounting entries are made to post at the fund source and organization level.  In order to expend the fund balance, the organization must budget to use those dollars.  The below setup will show the way to estimate what the fund balance is throughout the year as well as any fund balance that has been posted at the organization level.  The fund balance is not finalized and posted until after the audit is complete.

• After creating an account group, or editing an account group, use the following prompts:

  • Time Option – Accounting Period

  • Comparison Option – Budget YTD (it is recommended to always set this option to Budget YTD)

• If creating a new group, enter the account information at the bottom for the account you want to view fund balance for. Be sure to select All Accounts Values for the Account segment. This will allow you to view fund balance that has been posted and all other activity to show a current estimated fund balance to date.

• Click Save and Close from the dropdown arrow next to Save at the top once you’ve completed all required account information.

• From the Account Monitor page, change the period to the last posted period or if it’s at the end of a fiscal year, to the last adjusting period. In this example, Adj-19 is the 13^th period in fiscal year 2019.

• Then click on hyperlink for All Account Values to drill into the details.

• All accounts will display. When fund balance is posted at the organization level, it will appear on the organization details within natural account 30002 – Beginning Net Position. In this example, $-137,479.63 (credit balance) is the beginning fiscal year 2018 net position.

• The projected fund balance for the fiscal year will appear at the bottom of the Actual column. In this example, $-155,113.97 is the projected fund balance at the end of fiscal year 2019, barring any additional audit entries posted to this fund class-fund source- organization combination during Adj-19.

 

2. View Actual Expenditures

These steps allow you to review and drill into detail of your actual expenditures.

• From the Accounting Monitor, click on the dollar amount under Actual.

• This brings you to the Inquire on Detail Balances page.  There are a number of options from this page.  What is displayed can be adjusted and refined by using the filters at the top of the page.

• After applying filter(s), click Search.

• It is recommended to adjust From Accounting Period and To Accounting Period to see your Beginning Balance, Activity and Ending Balance by  account for a single period. In this example, May-18 is entered in both fields to see just May 2018 information.

• All values in blue can be clicked on to display additional detail related to that value.

• In this example, we are going to click on $4,610.95 to view the detail in the period of May 2018 for account 62001.

• This opens additional details about what makes up this dollar amount.  You can continue to drill into detail by clicking on the blue text on this page as well.

• Click Done to return to the Inquire on Detail Balances page.

 

3. Budget to Actuals

These steps allow you to see your actuals side by side with the amount that was budgeted for that account.

• From the Accounting Monitor, click All Account Values.

  • If you would like to review just one period, use the Period drop down to the desired period prior to selecting All Account Values.

• The Inquire and Analyze Balances page will appear.  Similar to other pages, all values in blue can be drilled into for more detail.

• There is a column which displays the Actual transactions which have occurred for that account as well as one that shows the UW Budget.  In the Change column is the actual minus the budget. 

  • Note: If your actual revenue is greater than your budgeted amount, the difference is not available as part of your spending authority.

Note: the total values listed at the bottom of this page do not represent an actual total as it includes balance sheet accounts (asset, liability, and fund balance accounts).

 

• Additional columns can be added to add details.  Click View then Columns.  Then check the box next to the desired additional column.

 

You have now navigated and ran the General Accounting Dashboard.