The following instructions provide best practice guidance for Attestation Owners responsible for reviewing asset and liability Balance Sheet account balance reconciliations on a quarterly basis, and responding to attestation requests. Departments are responsible for the timely communication of changes in attestation ownership to Financial Management Services (FMS).
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Before You Start
- Review the Balance Sheet Account Balance Reconciliation and Attestation Schedule of activities supporting quarterly balance sheet account balance reconciliation and attestation. Some balance sheet accounts must be reconciled and reviewed monthly. FMS designates reconciliation frequency for account balances that must be reconciled and reviewed outside the quarterly review cycle.
- Understand Balance Sheet Account Balance Reconciliation and Attestation Roles and Responsibilities.
- Attestation Owners will receive an email from a survey tool (Qualtrics) approximately two weeks before GL close with the subject: Please submit any changes in Attestation Ownership
- Click the OBI (Oracle Business Intelligence) link in the email
- Review the list of current account balance assignments in the Attestation Dashboard of OBI
- Click the survey link at the bottom of the email
- Communicate any known changes in Attestation Owner assignments through the survey
- Submit the survey
Reconciliations can be completed manually using department spreadsheets or by using BlackLine accounting software. For more information, refer to Topic Overview: Balance Sheet Account Balance Reconciliations at Stanford.
- Complete format checks to ensure the reconciliation template includes:
- Correct object code # (and project/award #, if applicable)
- Financial period reconciliation covered
- Brief description of account being reconciled
- Name and signature of preparer
- Date prepared
- Supporting documentation
- Complete content checks to ensure the reconciliation includes:
- Evidence that the ending balance agrees with Oracle
- Explanations of significant changes
- Explanations of reconciling items
- Complete reviewer checks to ensure that you have:
- Checked the accuracy of Excel formulas
- Assessed the ending balance for possible reserves
- Signed and dated the reconciliation as the reviewer
- Prepared a lead sheet (if necessary)
- Attestation Owners will receive an email from a survey tool (Qualtrics) after GL close with the subject: Your Attestation is Due
- Click the OBI (Oracle Business Intelligence) link in the email
- Review the asset and liability Balance Sheet account balance reconciliations that were assigned to you for attestation in the Attestation Dashboard of OBI
- Click the survey link at the bottom of the email
- Communicate your attestation via the survey
- Verify that all the attestation statements are accurate and true to the best of your knowledge
- Enter the total amount that you are attesting to
- If prompted, attach a list of balances to which you are attesting
- Submit the survey
What Happens Next?
- Each quarter, FMS selects a sample of Balance Sheet account balance reconciliations to review for compliance with university policies. For this purpose, university departments are required to submit the selected reconciliation(s) to FMS. Refer to Balance Sheet Account Balance Reconciliation Attestation.