Frequently Asked Questions

Our staff is always available to answer your questions or point you in the right direction. These frequently asked questions about university operations may be enough to get you started so please take a look at them. If you have questions that aren't answered here, you can always call our staff for help.

What assets meet the university's definition of capitalized equipment?

Is the Inventory Control Office to be notified of equipment obtained through sources other than the Procurement Services, such as donations/gifts, transfers in from other institutions, when equipment is furnished or loaned to the university by the federal government for periods longer than six months, or fabricated items that meet the university's equipment definition?

Are departments required to conduct a complete physical inventory of capitalized equipment? Should the Inventory Control Office and the Department of Public Safety be contacted if university property is stolen, damaged, or missing?

When an asset (capitalized or non-capitalized) has been identified for disposal, should ISU Surplus be contacted?

What requirements must be followed for cash collections to prevent mishandling of funds and to safeguard against loss?

What fiscal management guidelines apply to in-house operations that provide goods or services?

In order for expenditures to be paid from university funds, costs must be allowable, appropriate, and properly documented. What does this mean?

What hospitality costs are considered allowable? Do additional requirements apply to hospitality expenditures?

Are non-university funds or "agency funds" subject to all ISU allowability and appropriateness policies?

Are you aware that Iowa State University is exempt from paying state sales tax on goods or services purchased in the state of Iowa?

Are you aware that Iowa State University has a conflict of interest policy regarding purchases from faculty or staff?

Should university fund accounts maintain a positive cash balance at all times?

Should each person with system access have a unique user ID and password?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. Each system user should have a unique ID and password that should be kept confidential and never shared with anyone.

Should data on local drives be backed-up on a regular basis?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. Files stored on local drives should either be backed-up to a network drive or to a disk media (floppy/CD-R/DVD-R) on a regular basis.

Should faculty, staff, and students be able to show licensing documentation for all software installed on their computers?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. Documentation showing proof of purchase/license for all departmental software should be maintained.

Should the level of system access assigned to each staff member be regularly reviewed by management to ensure that there is still a continuing need for it?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. User access rights to information and systems should be periodically reviewed to make sure a valid job-related need still exists for the access.

Should a department have a documented disaster recovery/business continuation plan?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. Departments should document the process they would follow to restore operations in the event of a local disaster. The recovery plan should be tested on at least an annual basis.

Are departmental policies important?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. University policy is sometimes not detailed enough to provide guidance specific to departmental operations. Departmental policies are useful in helping faculty, staff, and students understand management's expectations for that area. They also assist in minimizing conflict between those internal and external to the operation.

Is it important to document key business processes?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. Key processes should always be well documented so that business can continue as usual in the absence of the primary business process owner. They are also great tools for training new hires and existing staff across positions. Key processes are the processes the unit engages in to achieve the mission and function of their unit.

Does Internal Audit often suggest additional training in audit reports?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. The lack of appropriate training is often the reason why internal controls break down in processes. People generally want to do the right thing, but they need to know the right way to perform the activity.

Should payroll be reconciled after each pay period using payroll reports accessed via the web?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. Payroll reconciliation reduces underpayments and overpayments. It should be performed by someone other than the person who enters payroll information into the system.

Does my supervisor have to review and approve my wage-hour reports?

  • Ideal answer: Yes. Time records should be reviewed and approved by the employee's supervisor or designee who has knowledge of the hours worked by the employee.

Are principal investigators and those responsible for sponsored programs administration familiar with Federal OMB Circulars A-21 and A-110?

  • Ideal Answer: Yes. It is very important that those responsible for sponsored programs administration are familiar with these regulations. OMB Circulars A-21 and A-110 are the federal regulations that govern sponsored programs for higher education. They detail requirements for allowable costs, effort reporting, and other requirements. These Circulars can be located on the Federal Office of Management and Budget website. Please see the Sponsored Programs Administration and Sponsored Programs Accounting websites for other sponsored program information.

Is written approval obtained from federal sponsors prior to reducing effort by more than 25% of what was committed, or when the principal investigator is going to be absent from the project for more than 3 months?

  • Ideal Answer: Yes. The federal government requires that written approval is requested and granted prior to either of these situations.

Is effort certification based on total university funded effort?

  • Ideal Answer: Yes. The definition of 100% effort is total university funded effort. This includes all effort required to complete the tasks of one's position, regardless of hours worked per week.

Is authorization required for university travel?

What are the responsibilities of travelers and supervisors?

What expense types are considered to be allowable travel expenses?