Business and Financial Policies and Procedures
 

Adjust a Budget

Before You Begin

Budget adjustments are made because the unit has changed its plan for allocating its budget. Units may adjust their operating budgets if done between similar and allowable fund types. Gift transfers are not budget adjustments. They are handled through a transfer of revenue. These fund transfers must comply with the donor intent restrictions assigned to the specific gift funds.

Determine whether your college or administrative unit business office requires review and approval before submission to staff assigned the budget function in the office of your campus OBFS executive officer (campus budget office).

Begin

To adjust a budget:

  1. Learn how budget adjustments work:
  • Budget adjustments are usually between similar funds (for example, state-to-state or ICR-to-ICR). Most college or unit budget adjustments involve either state or institutional funds.
  • Adjustments involving exchanges between state and institutional funds are usually possible.
  • All budget adjustments involving an exchange of state and institutional funds are temporary (nonrecurring) transactions that only affect available budget in the current fiscal year.
  • State and/or institutional funds budget adjustments do affect the cash balance of respective C-FOPs.
  • Most institutional funds budget adjustments are temporary (nonrecurring) transactions that affect available budget in the current fiscal year only.
  • Permanent budget adjustments have a recurring effect on the unit's budget base.
  • Permanent budget adjustments must be processed using whole dollars.
  1. Submit a Budget Adjustment Request (BAR) form to your college budget office which will forward the request to your campus budget office for posting in Banner. Submit budget adjustments to the budget office no later than the last calendar day of the month for posting in that month's business.
If the adjustment is for an academic unit, submit the form to your college business office for approval.
  1. Debit and credit the CFOAPs in Banner.
For state and institutional funds:
  • All state and institutional funds budget adjustments affect expense account budgets only.
  • A debit (+) increases the budget in the C-FOAP receiving the funds.
  • A credit (-) decreases the budget in the C-FOAP from which funds are being transferred.
  • The total debit and credit amounts must be equal for state and institutional funds budget transfers.
For self-supporting and service plan funds:
Self-supporting and service plan budget adjustments do not affect a C-FOP's cash balance and are, therefore, primarily used to revise and reflect changes in estimated revenues and expenses budgeted amounts:
  • Self-supporting and service plan fund budgets reflect both estimated revenues and estimated expenses.
  • A credit (-) increases the estimated revenue budget.
  • A debit (+) decreases the estimated revenue budget.
  • A credit (-) decreases the estimated expense budget.
  • A debit (+) increases the estimated expense budget.
Units with self-supporting funds can enter their own budget revisions, using Rule Code 260 (temporary) or 261 (permanent) at Urbana and Chicago. At Springfield, the campus budget office enters these adjustments for the units. At Chicago, contact your campus budget office for more information about service plan budget adjustments.
  1. Your campus budget office will assign the appropriate rule code (budget rule codes are in the 200 series) to keep the funds and account codes in balance.

 

Forms Used in this Procedure

Chicago - Budget Adjustment Request Form (MS Excel)
Springfield - Budget Adjustment Request Form (MS Excel)
Urbana - Budget Adjustment Request Form Version 1.2 (MS Excel)
University Administration - Budget Adjustment Request Form Version 1.2 (MS Excel)

Additional Resources

Budget Training Materials - To make budget adjustments to self-supporting units or service plans, see Appendix to JV course.
Banner Rule Codes
Appendix J, GL 101 - Journal Voucher Processing participant guide
Gift Fund FAQs

 

Last Updated: November 15, 2010 | Approved: Senior Associate Vice President for Business and Finance - November 2010