Mission Statement

The CEM Business Office provides financial services and support to the faculty, staff and students within the College of Engineering and Mines. The Business Office works in cooperation with the university community to support the broader missions of the College of Engineering and Mines and the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Core Values

The CEM Business Office holds these values as the foundation for providing fiscal oversight and management for the college:

• Provide a needed SERVICE for the faculty, staff and students within CEM. - Assist faculty, staff and students with COMPLIANCE with federal, state and university fiscal policies and procedures.
• RESPONSIVENESS to requests for information from both internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure the ACCURACY of fiscal transactions as they occur within the college.

The Business Office seeks to:

Provide Fiscal Management within the College of Engineering and Mines by:

• Working as a team to develop budgets, monitor expenditures and provide good fiscal management.
• Ensuring that the Dean and Associate Deans play an active roll in Fund 1 budget development and fiscal management.
• Ensuring the Dean and Associate Deans have working knowledge of budget and fiscal processes to successfully manage Fund 1 budgets.
• Preparing budget revisions in a timely manner to re-align budgets as needed, account for new or replacement positions, or request additional revenue and expenditure authority.
• Establishing a method to accurately project indirect cost recovery revenue generated within the college.
• Providing sufficient checks and balances to minimize errors and promote a "Get it right the first time" approach to fiscal management.

Avoid Year-End Deficits by:

• Working with the Dean and Associate Deans to ensure that our college continues to operate in the black with sufficient carry forward necessary to cushion the effects of future staff benefit increases, possible flat funding and funding of high priority items or program development within the college.
• Working with academic units to complete regular management reports that are reviewed by the Dean and submitted to Financial Services.
• Ensuring effective communication between the fiscal officer and academic department administrators regarding fiscal related issues.
• Establishing and maintaining methods to accurately project expenditures and revenues within the college.

Work Effectively with Grants and Contracts:

GCS evaluates the effectiveness of the CEM Business Office regarding grant management; areas of concern for GCS are:

• The Business Office acting as the liaison between the Principal Investigator and Grants & Contracts, as well as the funding agency when appropriate.
• Ensuring that unallowable items are not consistently charged to F2 (restricted) funds.
• Ensuring that grant expenditures are keeping pace with the period of performance, or documenting and explaining discrepancies to the assigned grant technician.
• Ensuring that matching funds are established and cost sharing is met in a correct and timely manner.
• Reviewing the GCS "Suspense Log" and proactively provide updated information regularly to resolve any issues with pending award setups.
• Through the Proposal Office, ensuring that all proposed projects are estimated and presented accurately, and comply with all university, state, and federal policies.

Foster effective communication between Principal Investigators and the Business Office by:

• Establishing methods to project future project expenditures to assist PIs in managing their grants, but also to accurately predict and maximize Indirect Cost Recovery Revenue for the college.
• Establishing a method of notifying PIs when their annual, quarterly or final technical reports become due.
• Providing PIs with the information and answers they need to successfully manage their grants.
• Ensuring that PIs feel empowered to communicate their needs and/or concerns to the Business Office.
• Ensuring PIs get a copy of the terms and conditions of their awards.
• Assisting PIs to reduce the number of cost transfers.
• Assisting PIs to reduce the amount of cost overruns.
• Assisting PIs to reduce the number of requests for no-cost extensions.
• Assisting PIs to submit annual and final technical reports on time.
• Providing and/or encouraging PIs to receive grant management training.

Improve Procard Reconciliation by:

• Ensuring weekly reconciliation via Pathway as required by Financial Services.
• Ensuring Journal Vouchers completed within 60 days as needed.
• Ensuring Procard policies and procedures are followed.

Meet CEM's Human Resource needs by:

• Assisting faculty and staff with recruitments.
• Completing employment contracts is a timely manner.
• Ensuring time and effort reports are completed correctly.
• Maintaining personnel and payroll files.
• Maintaining Non-Resident Alien documentation.

Improve Business Office Staffing by:

• Cross-training staff to cover each other's job functions on a short term basis. The Executive Officer and Fiscal Officers should have knowledge of each fiscal position to successfully recruit, train and maintain correct business practices.
• Maintaining staffing at an optimal level for successfully managing the overall processes, goals and challenges of the business office.

Foster Training and Professional Development by:

• Supporting Business Office staff in attending training opportunities, both on campus and off as appropriate.
• Creating a professional development plan for each staff member in both academic and research focus areas.
• Working with the Dean to ensure continued funding for staff training activities.