Our IT vendor team has made the necessary changes to our system, so users should be able to access our financial  system  with SSLv3  disabled.

 

If you are still encountering problems, please contact [email protected].

 

Thank you for your patience while we worked to resolved this issue.

An update to our 10/22/14 news item re accessing the financial system –

The RCUH financial system uses SSLv3, so it must be enabled in your browser (eg, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome) in order to access the system.  If the the SSLv3 is disabled on any of these browsers, access will not possible.  

Our IT vendor team is addressing this SSLv3 vulnerability issue and we are hoping to have a solution in place shortly.  Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this issue.

RCUH is in the process of updating its Procurement and Disbursing policies.  The intent is to publish the updated RCUH Procurement policies on February 1, 2015, with an effective date of March 1, 2015.  In an effort to inform Principal Investigators and their projects on the upcoming changes, below is a summary of some of the more substantial policy updates that will be implemented. 

If there are any questions regarding the changes, please contact Doug Tonokawa at 956-9244, or [email protected].

1. Threshold Increased for Purchases Without Competition:  In order to streamline RCUH’s procurement process, RCUH intends to raise the threshold for purchases that can be made without competition, from $2,500 to $3,000.

2. Purchases Requiring Only Verbal Quotations:  In order to streamline RCUH’s procurement process, RCUH intends to raise the threshold for purchases requiring only verbal quotations from less than $15,000, to less than $25,000.

3. Tax Clearance:  Under Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section 103-53, a proof of tax compliance with the Hawaii Department of Taxation and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is a prerequisite to entering into any contract for purchases of $25,000 or more.  RCUH is already requiring this for all formal contracts (i.e., Agreement for Services, Construction Contracts) $25,000 or greater.  Since a purchase order is a type of contract, beginning March 1, 2015, RCUH will require a tax clearance for all Purchase Orders for the purchase of goods and services of $25,000 or more, upon both the Purchase Order issuance, and upon final payment on a Purchase Order.  Please begin to plan for this for future purchases.  This is consistent with current requirements for UH and other state agencies.

The Federal Office of Management and Budget published its Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.  This guidance, termed the “Super Circular,” will add several requirements to various purchases using Federal funds.  Although the Super Circular established an effective date of December 26, 2014, it allows a grace period that defers the effective date for one full fiscal year.  RCUH will be electing to take advantage of the grace period, resulting in an effective date of July 1, 2016. 

 

The following will be required at that time: 

 

Invitation for Bids (IFB) and Request for Quotations (RFQ) above $150,000

 

Under current RCUH policies, Projects can obtain written quotes without publicly advertising the solicitation.  Under the Super Circular, that will no longer be permissible.  The following will be required:

 

a.   Public Advertising:  Under the Super Circular (2 CFR § 200.320), all IFBs and RFQs above $150,000 must be publicly advertised.  The Super Circular does not define public advertising.

 

RCUH will require that all IFBs/RFQs above $150,000 be posted on the State Procurement Office’s website.  This is consistent with the existing practices of other state agencies, including UH.  SuperQUOTE may still be utilized for solicitations, provided that the IFB/RFQ is posted on the State Procurement Office’s solicitation website and reference is made to the SuperQUOTE listing. 

 

b.  Sealed Bids/Quotes:  Under the Super Circular (2 CFR § 200.320), all submitted bids and quotes above $150,000 must be kept sealed and confidential and must be opened publicly at the location/date/time indicated in the IFB or RFQ.  Bids/quotes cannot be opened, even by project personnel, before the date/time specified in the solicitation.  SuperQUOTE may still be utilized, provided that the bids/quotes obtained through SuperQUOTE are kept sealed and are not opened until the public opening date/time (we understand that UH and CommercePoint are working on this capability).

c.   Independent Cost/Price Estimate:  Under the Super Circular (2 CFR § 200.323), Projects must make an independent cost/price estimate before going out for bid/quote for all purchases $150,000 or greater.  Documentation of this estimate must be kept in the procurement file.  The estimate may take various forms, including (a) simple market research on similar goods or services, (b) comparison to previous or similar purchases, (c) internally estimating the general range for the purchase price. 

 

This may appear burdensome; however, RCUH believes that the Super Circular simply requires that some minimal background work be done by the Project on the pricing expected before going out to obtain bids/quotes.

Users of Internet Explorer that have SSLv3 disabled are not able to log into the RCUH financial system (https://securercuh01.rcuh.com/).  We are looking into options to address this issue.  In the meantime, Firefox or Chrome may be used to access the system.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding.

TO: RCUH Revolving Fund Administrators

The University has issued the attached memo regarding RCUH Revolving Fund Service Orders and the use of specified object codes.  It is being shared for your appropriate attention.

 

As you know, we implemented new Purchase Requisition and Purchase Order Change forms and, during transition, provided links to both the new and old formats.  The links to the old form will be removed on Saturday, August 2, 12:00 am.  At that point, the PO and PO Change forms will no longer be available in the old format and these forms will now be available only in the new format.

 

For more information, please refer to:

Purchase Requisition: Release Notes, Short Video, and Help page.

• Purchase Order Change: Release Notes, Short Video, and Help page.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Rick Fujioka at [email protected] or 988-8346.

The RCUH fiscal year-end processing has been completed. You may now approve purchase orders and payment documents online. The first check run for fiscal year 2015 will be on Thursday, July 3, 2014 at 4:00 PM.

Reminder: Service dates are required for all payment transactions through Friday, August 29. For payments approved after July 31, $10,000 or greater, and with service dates of June 30 or earlier, please complete the attached “L-11 Accounts Payable Not Paid by 07-31-14” worksheet. Please include estimates or projections for invoices that have not been received as of August 1.  Please email your worksheet to UH General Accounting at [email protected] by Friday, August 8.  For the subject line of the email, enter “L-11 Accounts Payable” and your 3 digit UH FA number (i.e. L-11 Accounts Payable 036).  Please see the June 25, 2014 General News item for more details.

To:  Designated UH Officials / Fiscal Officers

 

 

The fiscal year-end cut-off for RCUH on-line payment transactions is 12:00 noon on Monday, June 30, 2014.   All on-line payment transactions processed after Monday, June 30 through Friday, August 29, will require service dates.  The service date data entry format is mm/dd/yy.

 

 

A service date field is provided on all payment documents and is identified with the heading “S/D”.  The service date is the date goods are received or services are performed.  For certain types of payments including travel completions, petty cash reimbursements, extended services, etc., the service date entered should be the last day of the period covered by the payment.  However if the service period covers multiple fiscal years, allocate costs in each fiscal year incurred (i.e. if the service period is from June 1, 2014 to July 31, 2014, record cost incurred from June 1 to June 30 with a 06/30/14 service date and cost from July 1 to July 31 with a 07/31/14 service date).

 

 

For payments approved after July 31, $10,000 or greater, and with service dates of June 30 or earlier, please complete the attached “L-11 Accounts Payable Not Paid by 07-31-14” worksheet. Please include estimates or projections for invoices that have not been received as of August 1.  Please email your worksheet to UH General Accounting at [email protected] by Friday, August 8.  For the subject line of the email, enter “L-11 Accounts Payable” and your 3 digit UH FA number (i.e. L-11 Accounts Payable 036).

 

 

This information is needed to ensure that liabilities of RCUH are properly reported as of June 30, 2014.  Our auditors, Accuity LLP, will be reviewing selected documents processed during this period as part of their audit procedures.  Accordingly, please be advised that we may be requesting copies of payment documents for review. 

 

If you have any questions, please contact Maile Brooks at 988-8340 or [email protected].  Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a re-posting of our May 16, 2014 Current News item.

 

To:          Principal Investigators, Fiscal Officers/Designated UH Officials

 

Important Dates:

 

June 30	Last Check Run for FY 2014 (Payments must be approved by 12 noon)
July 3	RCUH Financial System scheduled to reopen
July 3	First Check Run for FY 2015 (4:00 PM)

 

On-line payment and purchasing transactions must be approved by fiscal officers by 12:00 noon on Monday, June 30.  The last check run for the fiscal year will be on Monday, June 30, 2014.

 

 

During the period July 1 through July 3, on-line payment and purchasing transactions can be initiated, but fiscal officers will not have the ability to approve transactions.  Transactions will not be posted to project accounts until the year-end processing is completed.  The RCUH financial system is scheduled to reopen on Thursday, July 3.  The first check run for FY 2015 is scheduled for Thursday, July 3 at 4:00 PM. 

 

On an emergency basis only, manual checks can be issued during this period. Fiscal Officers/Designated UH Officials should contact the RCUH Disbursing Department directly.

Project reports will be accessible on the RCUH website.  However, until processing resumes on July 3, balances will reflect transactions posted through June 30 only.

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Maile Brooks at 988-8340 or [email protected].

 

 

 

See RCUH Procurement Attachment Index for a new form and instructions entitled Statement by a Foreign Vendor for a Foreign Source Income Payment, Attachment 60.  The Form may also be found here. 

• This Form may only be used in lieu of the IRS Form W-8 if the payment to a foreign vendor is for an activity (goods, rent, and fees) outside of the United States (the 50 states and the District of Columbia).

 

• All payments to any foreign vendor requires review and execution by the RCUH Disbursing Office. 

 

• If payment to a foreign vendor for an activity in the U.S. is submitted to RCUH and only the Attachment 60 is on file from a previous transaction, the vendor must complete an IRS Form W-8 before payment will be completed.

 

RCUH will also be updating the Foreign Vendor Registration Form to reflect the addition of this new form as a selection option.

 

 

For additional information on foreign source income, see: 

 

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Nonresident-Aliens—Source-of-Income

 

 

 

For Foreign Person definition, see:

 

http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Foreign-Persons