University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Policy Name: Journal Entries
Policy Number: LR 305.4
Effective Date: February 19, 2015
Policy
Journal entries are used to record financial transactions on the general ledger. Journal entries can be system generated, manually entered, electronically imported, or BOSS generated.
Documentation is a key element in providing support to a journal entry and explains the purpose of why the journal entry was created. Journal entry documentation is needed for the reviewers and/or approvers of the journal entry and, most importantly, for the university’s external auditors. Additionally, Federal auditors carefully examine the transfer of costs made by universities. Therefore, thorough explanations and documentation is essential to avoid audit comments and possible disallowances.
All journal entries must be accompanied by adequate supporting documentation. Documentation must be clearly labeled and provide the reviewer with a clear purpose as to why the preparer is making the entry.
The basic underlying guidelines is that the documentation should provide enough detail to satisfy an auditor. The following documentation may be used for support, as more fully described in the accompanying procedures to this policy:
- Reports
- Invoices
- Supporting schedules
- Downloads/Queries
- Emails
- Word documents
- Previous journal entries
- Description of processes
Procedures and guidelines for the creation, documentation, and review of journal entries (vouchers) are provided at the following link: Procedures
Source: Initial Policy
Revised:
Approved By: Robert Adams, VCFA, 2/19/2015
Custodian: Office of Finance and Administration