Common Terminology

This section contains an alphabetical list of terms that are common in the General Accounting area, and a definition for each one.

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• Accounting Line

  The level in a document where, at a minimum, a set of chart of account codes comprising a funding distribution, an event type, and a line amount are entered to create one or more journal postings.

• CAFR

  Comprehensive Annual Financial Reporting.

• Centralized Organizational Structure

  The term often associated with the organizational chart of account elements: Government Branch, Cabinet, and Department.

• Default Code

  A code in a document that is supplied as a result of the use of another code.  For example, when a particular fund code is specified in a document, a specific bank code will be defaulted.

• Effective dates

  The date range during which a code can be used.  When a document is dated outside of the range, the code is considered invalid.

• Event Type

  A high level of accounting activity assigned to a document’s accounting line.  The event type controls smaller components of accounting activity that are used to perform a specific accounting, budgeting or non-accounting activity.  It brings in specific rules for data entry concerning referenced transactions, customer codes, vendor codes, and all defined chart of account elements in the system.

• Journal

  A detailed historical record of processed data that is stored by document in order of processing.

• Ledger

  A summarized historical record of data organized by one or more elements of the accounting distribution and by an established period of time.

• Nominal Account Activity

  The accounting line of a document is said to have nominal activity when a Object or revenue source is used to update a budget.  Examples are encumbrances, accrued expenditures, and collected revenue.  Another way to identify nominal activity is activity closed into an equity account at year-end which is a broader classification than just a budget update.

• Open Item Roll Process

  A process that rolls open pre-encumbrances, encumbrances, receivables, and a selected group of the other accounting activity from one budget and accounting fiscal year into the next.

• Posting Code

  An indication to the system called from an event type during document processing that determines many updates to budget and accounting control tables, posting of journals, default elements with the sequence for finding them and editing any associated balance sheet codes.

• Posting Line

  The level in a document with the most detailed accounting information that is a common source of information used to update many areas of the application.  At this level individual debits and credits are recorded in either a combined posting line (both the debit and credit together) or two half posting lines (separate lines for debit and credit).  a very limited number of situations exist where there is only a half posting line: journal vouchers and certain cost accounting activity.

  The following are the three types of posting line:

  Liquidation Line - A posting line that backs out all or a portion of accounting activity recorded on a referenced posting line.

  Standard Line - A posting line that records new accounting activity that if referenced by another document will be liquidated.

  Non-Standard Line - A posting line that records new accounting activity that will not be liquidated if referenced by another document.

• Real Account Activity

  The accounting line of a document is said to have real account activity when balance sheet is used on a generated posting line.  Examples are reserve for encumbrances, disbursements payable, and cash. While real account activity is most often used in conjunction with nominal activity, an accounting line can have only real account activity.

• Tolerance