Two (2) staff attorneys from the Hawaii State Ethics Commission will present an ethics training session open to all RCUH and UH employees on Friday, July 8, 2016, 10 a.m. to 12 noon in Spalding 155 (Auditorium) on the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa campus. The session will also be webcast.

This session will provide an overview of State ethics laws that apply to all State employees. Topics will include conflicts of interest, gifts and the reporting of gifts, misuse of official position, confidential information, contracts, post-employment restrictions, and lobbying. Expanded coverage is directed toward procurement issues.

We encourage those who wish to ask questions to attend the live session. We have the capacity to seat 300 attendees.

Registration is required for both the live and web sessions. When registering for the webcast, please enter/select “Webcast” in the Island box. UH employees may register by clicking on RCUH Training Enrollment located on the RCUH web page. RCUH employees should log on to the Employee Self Service to register. For registration inquiries, contact Gayle Hamasaki at (808) 956-7763 or email [email protected].

This meeting is accessible for individuals with disabilities. For more information or to request an accommodation due to your disability, contact Elizabeth Nunez at (808) 956-3100 or email [email protected] at least one week prior to the session.

Effective June 2, 2016, the Determination of Cost or Price Reasonableness and Sole Source Justification Forms have been updated as follows:

Determination of Cost or Price Reasonableness Form

1. The third option under Section II., has been revised to better clarify the efforts to justify independent cost estimates.
   

ORIGINAL	NEW
“Comparison of proposed price with independent cost estimates. Attach estimates used.”	“Comparison of proposed price to an independent (in-house) estimate that describes the cost of the components (e.g., labor, materials). Attach documentation of the data used to prepare the estimate”.

1. The former fifth option under Section II., has been deleted due to its redundancy.

 

Deleted: “Analysis of Offeror’s cost information. Attach cost information.”

 

1. A link to new sample price and cost analyses examples is provided under the instructions section of the form. The samples are also available in Attachment 57 of the Procurement & Disbursing Document Library.

 

Please be aware that the above changes will also affect the way all forms executed before June 2, 2016 look in the financial portal. For these documents, you will need to click on the “view” PDF link to the right of the PO listing to see what the form looked like at the time the PO was approved. Currently, the PDF link is only available for documents created in the modernized system (i.e., 11/23/15 and later); however, eventually all older documents will also have a PDF link.

 

Sole Source Justification Form

 

A link to new sole source justification examples is provided under the instructions section of the form. The samples are also available in Attachment 58 of the Procurement & Disbursing Document Library.

Questions may be directed to Erin Yoda at (808) 956-3969 or [email protected].

The print layouts for the forms have been modified to automatically print to fit to one page (as reasonable) and to reduce the need to manually adjust page setup or print settings.  The new print layouts will have clearer text and an overall improved layout. Most forms should fit to one page; however, there may be some instances where many line items of information on a form (Purchase Requisitions, PO Payments, Travel forms, etc.) may not reasonably fit on one page. In those cases, if it is necessary to print on one page, you will have the option to manually adjust the page setup.

For optimal print layouts, we recommend using Firefox or Internet Explorer as your web browser. Page Setup should be set at Shrink to Fit the page, with margins of 0.2 inches or 5 millimeters.

The Audit Log will not be included on the printed copy.  The Audit Log will only be viewable in the online document.

This announcement pertains to print layouts for forms. Improved print layouts for reports will be released in a few weeks.

If you have any additional questions or feedback, please contact Maile Brooks at [email protected] or (808) 988-8340.

THANK YOU to those who have shared their feedback and reported issues to us.  Please continue to provide us with your feedback or concerns.

Updates

Automatic Logout: all users will be logged out of the Financial Portal when the web browser is closed.

Outstanding Travel Request List (for Fiscal Administrators): FAs will be able to view a list of open travel requests that are pending a travel completion.  It also provides the ability to search or sort by column headings in the list (Doc No, Project No, Employee Name, Depart Dates, etc.).

Common Issues

Following is a list of common issues and the current status (as of May 16, 2016):

Issue	Status
Print Layouts: Printed documents and reports do not fit the page properly	In Progress
Purchase Order: Not able to edit vendor address	Fixed
Purchase Order: Insufficient funds error message for UH Projects should link to the KFS Budget Status Report	In Progress
PO Payments: Users are able to edit the vendor address on the PO Payment, but the payment document will revert to the vendor address in the vendor database	Fixed
PO Listing: POCF amount should be amount of the change (not the new PO balance)	Fixed
Travel Forms: Arrival/Departure times changing in Trip Itinerary section	Fixed
Travel Forms: FA not able to enter Purpose/Justification for Travel, Special Instructions, or Signature Name fields	Fixed
Travel Request: checking and unchecking “Traveler is requesting an Advance” causes issues with the amounts in the Projects to be Charged section	Fixed
Payments: FAs not able to enter Document Number or Reason for Payment	Fixed
Direct Payments Listing: Missing check date, check number, or approved date	Fixed
Service Dates: Service date field defaulting to 1915	Fixed
File Attachments: Not able to open file attachments on all documents	In Progress
KFS Continuation Report: Negative or credit amounts are not reflected in red with parentheses	Fixed
Project List Drop Down: Terminated projects appear in drop down listing	Fixed

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I access documents or reports prior to July 2012?

All transactions and reports prior to July 2012 will be migrated in the future.  Until these are migrated, if you need access to specific documents or reports, please contact Liane Murai at [email protected].

How do I find a check number?

To find a check number, use the new Search All Documents feature, or the Approved PO Documents, Approved Payments, or Approved Travel Documents listings.  Check numbers are not listed in the Pending Documents listings.

The “Form Saved” message box is appearing on my printed copy.

Please wait 5 seconds for the message to disappear or click on the “X” in the box to close the message box before printing.

Questions or Need Assistance?

Issue:	Please contact:
Enhancements or Training Requests	Maile Brooks at [email protected] or (808) 988-8340
User Access	Janice Sato at [email protected] or (808) 988-8345
Processing Problems	Rick Fujioka at [email protected] or (808) 988-8346

To:     Principal Investigators, Fiscal Administrators/Designated UH Officials

 

Important Dates:

June 30	Last Check Run for FY 2016 (Payments must be approved by 12 noon)
July 6	RCUH Financial System scheduled to reopen
July 6	First Check Run for FY 2017 (4:00 PM)

On-line payment and purchasing transactions must be approved by fiscal administrators by 12:00 noon on Thursday, June 30 to be included in FY 2016. The last check run for the fiscal year will be on Thursday, June 30, 2016.  Pending transactions will be saved, and will not be automatically deleted or disapproved in the RCUH financial system.

During the period July 1 through July 5, on-line payment and purchasing transactions can be initiated, but fiscal administrators will not have the ability to approve transactions.  Transactions will not be posted to project accounts until year-end processing is completed.  The RCUH financial system is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, July 6.  The first check run for FY 2017 is scheduled for Wednesday, July 6 at 4:00 PM.

On an emergency basis only, manual checks can be issued during this period. Fiscal Administrators/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 6, 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].

 

Dear Project PIs and Coordinators,

RCUH would like to feature RCUH projects on our website, publications, and/or other collateral, but need your assistance to do so.  See the RCUH Annual Report (pages 11-12) for an example of how projects have been presented.  Two items are needed:  photos and a completed information form—see guidelines below for submittal.  Although publications are prepared throughout the year, we are currently updating the RCUH website and would appreciate your submittals as soon as possible.

Photos

• Horizontal orientation preferred
• 1500 pixels wide
• Clear, bright photos (action or staged activity) that tell a story about your project
• No headshot or group photo, please

Information Form

• Complete the attached form to provide PI and project info.
• Submit form and photos by 5/25/16 to: [email protected]

Mahalo for your assistance!  We look forward to your submittal.

Sylvia Yuen, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Search All Documents has been added as a new feature in the RCUH Financial Portal. This new feature provides the ability to perform a search that looks at all Purchasing, Payment, and Travel documents combined in one search. It also provides the ability to search (by words, number, etc.) within certain fields in the documents.

We are in the process of reconfiguring the database to improve search capability. These changes will make it possible to do faster and more flexible searches in the future. In this initial phase, we are releasing basic search functionality so that you can have access to this feature immediately. In our next releases we will be gradually increasing performance and adding functionality.

Please refer to the attached release notes for further details.

Following are questions that were asked during the development and testing of the Search All Documents feature:

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What is the difference between Search Documents (Search PO, Search Payment, Search Travel) and Search All Documents?  I did a search in Search Payments and Search All Documents and my results were different.

The Search PO Documents, Search Payments, and Search Travel Documents will only perform a basic search on the fields in the listing screens (PO #, Payment Request #, Document #, Project #, Vendor Name, Check #, etc.).  The Search All Documents will search on the fields in the listing screens, in addition to searching within specified fields in the documents (Descriptions, Reasons for Payment, Internal Comments, etc.). For example, searching for “Dell” in Search Payments will produce a list of payments to vendor names that contain Dell, such as Dell, Inc. and Dell Marketing.   However, searching for “Dell” in Search All Documents will produce a list that may include payments to Bankcard Center for a Dell computer.

1. The response time is slow.

In this initial release, results may take several seconds to appear. We are aware of this, and are in the process of improving the search performance.

1. Why are there only 2 boxes to enter keyword search criteria (compared to 6 in the past)?

For the initial release of the Search All Documents, having fewer search criteria will help to improve the search performance. As we continue to make improvements, we will evaluate adding additional search criteria.

1. Can we have the ability to “find exact word matches only”?

We will be adding this functionality in the future.

1. Are we able to use wildcard search functions?

No. However, the search already performs a wildcard search in that it matches any one or more characters.  For example, a search for “UH” will match any text that includes UH, such as UH Bookstore or RCUH.

1. Can keywords be highlighted in the document itself?

We may be adding this functionality in the future.  In the meantime, we suggest using the Find function in your web browser.

1. When searching for amount, what format should I use?  In what field is the search looking at?

Enter the numerical amount with decimals, no commas.  For example, to search for a payment of $10,000.00, enter 10000.00 as your search criteria.  The search will look in the Amount field in the listing screens.  It will also search within specified fields in the documents (Descriptions, Reasons for Payment, Internal Comments, etc.). Since the search performs a wildcard search, a search for “10000.00” will match any amount that includes 10000.00, such as $210,000.00.  We expect that adding the ability to “find exact word matches” in the future will address this and enable you to find your specific document.

1. When searching for a date, what format should I use? In what field is the search looking at?

Enter the date as month/day/year (MM/DD/YY, MM/DD/YYYY, MM-DD-YY, or MM-DD-YYYY).  The search will look in the Check Date and Approved Date fields in the listing screens.  It will also search within specified fields in the documents (Descriptions, Reasons for Payment, Internal Comments, etc.).  It will NOT search in the Trip Itinerary Arrival or Departure fields.

If you have any additional questions or feedback, please contact Maile Brooks at [email protected] or (808) 988-8340.

Policies 2.702 and 2.703 have been updated and renamed as follows:

• Policy 2.702 Direct Vendor Payments (AFP Form), previously named Purchases for Routine Services – Authorization for Payment Form
• Policy 2.703 Employee Business Expense Reimbursements (AFP Form), previously named Optional Procedures for Small Purchase – Reimbursement for Cash Purchases Form

RCUH has discontinued the Employee Cash Reimbursement Form.  The AFP Form now has a dual purpose and can be used to: (1) make a direct vendor payment, and (2) reimburse employees for small business expenses.

Please review the new policies for details regarding the permitted uses.

Questions may be directed to Erin Yoda at (808) 956-3969 or [email protected]

We are seeking your input on a possible change to the financial system on-line approval process.

Currently, many Secondary Users (SU) create a transaction on behalf of a PI. In some instances, the PI has provided approval authority to the SU to “Submit to FA”, which transmits the transaction to the FA for action. In other cases, the SU does not have the approval authority so the project procedure is that the PI must sign off on a hard copy of the transaction before the SU can click the ‘Submit to FA’ button.

To address the latter situation and work towards a paperless system, we are exploring the feasibility of adding a “PI Approval” button. We realize this will meet the needs of some, but may create issues for others.

So please let us know if this will be a useful feature for you or not. Please email Doug Tonokawa, Director of Finance, at [email protected] or call him at (808) 988-8320. We appreciate your comments. Thank you!

The RCUH Summary of Current Travel Rates, Attachment 12, has been updated

Beginning on Jan. 1, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile (includes cars, vans, pickups or panel trucks) for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes are as follows:

• 54 cents per mile for business miles driven, down from 57.5 cents for 2015
• 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes, down from 23 cents for 2015
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations (rate for volunteers)

The business mileage rate decreased 3.5 cents per mile and the medical, and moving expense rates decreased 4 cents per mile from the 2015 rates.

The standard mileage rate for business miles is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The mileage rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs. The charitable mileage rate is based on statute.
IR-2015-137, Dec.17, 2015