At year end, departments should follow the year end timetable issued by the Finance Division and ensure that all Trust Fund transactions are processed before the GL closes. Additionally, they should be prepared to make adjustments in the final quarter and as part of year end procedures.
Departments should:
- Run off an Accounts Analysis Report on each of their Trust Funds, and check that all the transactions processed during the financial year are correct.
- Carefully check the July Trust Fund Financial Statements distributed by the Finance Division:
- 1st interim statement sent out at the beginning of July that shows the position as at 30th June
- 2nd interim statement sent late August that shows the position as at 31 July
- Final statement sent out September once GL has closed showing the final position as at 31st July
- Consider the investment position of each trust fund.
CUEF unit purchases and sales
Spendable purchases and sales (ZZYB)
The year end purchases and sales of spendable units take place as at 30 June each year.
The Trust Funds Assistant will send a list of all trust funds held, and their investment options, to each School Finance Manager in advance of that deadline. The School Finance Manager will then distribute the lists to each of their departments, and collate the resulting replies from the departments.
Instructions for all requests are then sent back to the Trust Funds Assistant for actioning by the deadline, which will be approximately 16 June each year.
Permanent capital purchases (ZZYA)
As the University's financial year ends on 31 July year end purchases of permanent capital units take place as at 30 September, the next available trading date, each year.
Departments should include a note on their 30 June list for these funds, to show that there will be "no action" as at June. Where there is an instruction that the "managers to be consulted", they need to review these funds again, by early September.
Specific year end instructions for trust funds are determined by the regulations of each fund. The main categories are detailed below.
Trust Funds where the managers should be consulted
For some Trust Funds, regulations state that:
"any unexpended income may be either added to the capital of the Fund or accumulated for use as income in subsequent years, as the Managers shall determine."
The departmental administrators will contact the managers of these funds before the June deadline; to ask them how they would like to invest any surpluses. The managers have the option of purchasing either permanent capital units or spendable units unless the trust fund is a spendable endowment, in which case, only spendable units can be purchased.
Trust Funds where surpluses are capitalised
For other Trust Funds, regulations state that:
"any unexpended income shall be added to the capital of the Fund."
This means that any unused income cannot be spent in a subsequent year. The Trust Funds Assistant will automatically invest any surpluses in permanent capital units at the September quarter end. If the fund is a prize fund, the Trust Funds Assistant will check with the department first whether the prize has been awarded.
Trust Funds where no money is invested
These are normally prize funds where a cheque is received annually from a company and the money is paid out to the prize-winner(s). No investments are held in these trust funds.
Trust Funds where surpluses can be spent in a subsequent year
These funds have regulations which allow any unexpended income to be spent. The department will have the option to either purchase more spendable CUEF units, or place any surplus on deposit.
Overdrawn Trust Funds
If a Trust Fund is overdrawn at the year-end and the fund holds spendable capital units, it is the department's responsibility to sell enough units as at 30 June to cover any deficit. If a fund holds only permanent capital units though, no deficit is allowed, therefore if an overspend occurs, the department is responsible for funding the overspend from one of their departmental accounts.
No Trust Fund should end the financial year in a deficit position