Glossary

Below are selected terms related to the Chart of Accounts in EAS and Banner which are relevant to this project.  These definitions are provided for clarity around some often-confused terminology.  It is important for users of the EAS and Banner systems to understand how and when to use certain elements of the CoA for consistency in transacting and reporting.  Visit the Training page for additional information, including a CoA Primer.

A  B  C  D  E  F  H  I  J  K  L  N  O  P  S  

A

ACCI (see also Banner Index; Index) - A six character (alphanumeric) code that serves as a shortcut or ‘alias’ to populate all or part of the FOAPAL in Banner.  This code is used in the EAS-Banner Mapping Table to translate transactions between Banner and EAS.   It represents a unique combination of FOAPAL elements and may be a different code from the organization.

Account - A five character (usually numeric) code of the General Ledger that represents the identifier for transaction classification (e.g., cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, revenues, expenses, etc.).  In EAS, the 2nd of the 9-segment Accounting String.  In Banner, the 3rd of the 6-segment FOAPAL.

Accounting String - The nine segments used in EAS to fully identify a transaction.  It consists of: Entity, Account, Organization, Funding Source, Net Asset Class, Function, Location, Activity, and Future.

Activity - A six character (alphanumeric) code of the General Ledger that further defines an object of expenditure, such as temporary units of work, subsidiary functional classifications, or short duration projects.  In EAS, the 8th of the 9-segment Accounting String.  In Banner, the 5th of the 6-segment FOAPAL.

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B

Banner - The enterprise resource planning system from Ellucian that is the system of record for Human Resources Management & Development data and student/registrar data, including financial aid.  Banner feeds payroll, tuition and fees, and financial aid transactions to EAS.

Banner Index (see also ACCI; Index) - A six character (alphanumeric) code that serves as a shortcut or ‘alias’ to populate all or part of the FOAPAL in Banner.  This code is used in the EAS-Banner Mapping Table to translate transactions between Banner and EAS.   It represents a unique combination of FOAPAL elements and may be a different code from the organization.

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C

Chart of Accounts (CoA) - The coding system used to capture financial transactions and facilitate retrieval of information and financial reporting.

Child(ren) - Segment value that lies in a range of segment values belonging to one or more parent values; transactions are made to child values only.

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D

Detail Code - A four character (alphanumeric) code used in Banner for assessing charges, payments, or credits to a student's account.  Each detail code carries associated accounting instructions with five segments of the full FOAPAL including ACCI(s), Fund, Organization, Account(s), and Program for both the debit and credit side of the transaction.

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E

Earn Code - The code used in Banner to represent a type of payroll earning.

EAS Alias - A six character (alphanumeric) code shorthand value in EAS used to populate eight of the nine segments of the Accounting String (except for Account).

EAS - Banner Mapping Table - The custom table/form in EAS used to translate a Banner Index to a GL Accounting String (except for Account) or Sponsored Projects’ Project/Task/Award (PTA) or Cost Share PTA with associated funding source for cost share (Banner index that maps to corresponding C or R fund) or Endowment Tracking System (ETS) fund.

EAS Oracle (EAS) - Acronym for Enterprise Accounting System, the ERP system from Oracle that is the financial system of record.  EAS captures all financial data and is the source for financial reporting.  EAS receives information from other systems, including Banner, through interfaces.

Employee - A person hired to fill a vacant position that is assigned as a job in Banner and paid for their work in that job.

Employee Classification (ECLS) - A code in Banner that defines the pay rules for an employee. Pay rules include pay cycle (bi-weekly, monthly, faculty summer, et al.), FLSA exemption status, benefit category, leave category, and shift differential. The employee class also indicates employee type (faculty, staff, research, temporary, student, etc.).

Employee Record - The Employee record in Banner is a form that indicates employee status (active, leave, terminated), employment-related dates (begin date, retirement eligibility, I-9 completion, termination), and the employee's home organization/department.

Entity - A two character (usually alpha) code of the General Ledger that specifies the overarching organizational group.  This is the 1st of the 9-segment Accounting String in EAS.  This element does not exist in Banner.

ERP - Acronym for Enterprise Resource Planning system, which integrates areas such as planning, purchasing, inventory, sales, marketing, finance and human resources.  Banner and EAS are the two ERP systems in use at GW.

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F

FOAPAL - Acronym for the six segments used in Banner to fully identify a transaction.  It consists of: Fund, Organization, Account, Program, Activity, and Location.

Function (see also Program) - A three character code of the General Ledger used to further classify transactions.  In EAS, the 6th of the 9-segment Accounting String.  In Banner, this is known as Program.

Fund (see also Funding Source) - A seven character (alphanumeric) code of the General Ledger that identifies where the resources are coming from.  In EAS, the 4th of the 9-segment Accounting String.  In Banner, the code is only six characters, thus the values are not the same as EAS; it is the 1st of the 6-segment FOAPAL.

Fund Type - Provides a grouping of Fund by category indicating the general source of the resources (e.g., "C" fund for current operating cost centers, "R" fund for departmental designated funds, "A" fund for sponsored-project funds, etc.).

Funding Source (see also Fund) - A seven character (alphanumeric) code of the General Ledger that identifies where the resources are coming from.  In EAS, the 4th of the 9-segment Accounting String.  In Banner, the code is only six characters, thus the values are not the same as EAS; it is the 1st of the 6-segment FOAPAL.

Future - In EAS, the 9th of the 9-segment General Ledger Accounting String.  This element is not used at GW.  This element does not exist in Banner.

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H

Hierarchy - The combination of parent and children values create an ordinal/ranked classification system for grouping and reporting summarized information.

Home Organization - The code used in Banner that identifies where an employee naturally resides for organizational structure purposes.  Must be an Organization in Banner.  This code may or may not be where payroll charges are applied (Job Labor Distribution).

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I

Index (see also Banner Index; ACCI) - A six character (alphanumeric) code that serves as a shortcut or ‘alias’ to populate all or part of the FOAPAL in Banner.  This code is used in the EAS-Banner Mapping Table to translate transactions between Banner and EAS.   It represents a unique combination of FOAPAL elements and may be a different code from the organization.

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J

Job - A job is a position that has been assigned to an employee.  Attributes include all position attributes as well as salary and job begin and end dates. Each job is also assigned a Job Labor Distribution.

Job Labor Distribution - The fund, organization, account, program, activity, and location (FOAPAL) used in Banner that identifies where an employee's salary is charged. The organization(s) represented in the job labor distribution may or may not be the same as the employee home organization, job timesheet organization, or position home organization.

Job Record - A job  record in Banner represents key attributes about a job (salary, status, grade, title) on a given effective date.

Job Timesheet Organization - The code used in Banner that identifies which department is responsible for approving an employee's timesheet.  This code is used by Kronos.  This code may or may not be the same as the employee's home organization or position home organization. This value defaults from the position home organization when creating a new job record.

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K

Kronos - The time reporting system used for timekeeping for bi-weekly paid employees.

Kronos Timekeeper/Approver - The individual who approves time for an employee(s) in Kronos.

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L

Labor Distribution - A function of Banner that represents how a position is budgeted or a job is charged. The labor distribution is broken out into the six main elements in Banner: Fund, Organization, Account, Program, Activity, and Location. A job can be charged to multiple combinations of these elements, represented by percentage, but the sum of the percentages of charges must always  equal 100%.

Location - A two character (usually alpha) code of the General Ledger that specifies a physical location attributed to the transaction.  In EAS, the 7th of the 9-segment Accounting String.  In Banner, the 6th of the 6-segment FOAPAL.

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N

Net Asset Class - A one character (usually alpha) code of the General Ledger that specifies the balance summary for financial reporting purposes (e.g., Unrestricted General, Temporarily Restricted, Permanently Restricted, etc.).  In EAS, the 5th segment of the 9-segment Accounting String.  This element does not exist in Banner.

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O

Organization - A six character (alphanumeric) code of the General Ledger that identifies the responsible unit (department) for the transaction.  In EAS, the 3rd of the 9-segment Accounting String.  In Banner, the 2nd of the 6-segment FOAPAL.  At conclusion of the CoA project, the values and hierarchy of Organizations in Banner and EAS will be synchronized.

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P

Parent (see also Predecessor) - A segment value that references a number of other segment values (individual or ranges) to create summary accounts and to report on summary balances (applies to multiple Account String elements).  In Banner, the value is referred to as a "Predecessor".

Position - A personnel role with specific duties to perform within the University.  Attributes of positions include employee class, position classification, Standard Occupational Code, emergency designation status, budget, and title.  In position control, a position must first be created, classified, and budgeted before being assigned to a person to create a job.

Position Budget - The position budget form in Banner allows a user to budget money to a position, identify the department (home organization) to which the position belongs, and assign the budget to a labor distribution.

Position Home Organization - The code used in Banner that identifies where a position naturally resides for organizational structure purposes.  Must be an Organization in Banner.  This code may or may not be where budget is allocated (Position Labor Distribution).

Position Labor Distribution - The position labor distribution represents where the budget is allocated for a position. This includes the fund, organization (different than the position home organization), account, program, activity, and location (FOAPAL). It also serves as the default value for the job labor distribution when creating a new job.

Predecessor (see also Parent) - A segment value that references a number of other segment values (individual or ranges) to create summary accounts and to report on summary balances (applies to multiple Account String elements).  In Banner, the value is referred to as a "Predecessor".

Program (see also Function) - A three character code of the General Ledger used to further classify transactions.  In Banner, the 4th of the 6-segment FOAPAL.  In EAS, this is known as Function.

Project Task Award (PTA) - The shorthand identifier for grants accounting consisting of three segments:  Project = the overall body of research; Task = one part of that research; Award = the funding for that research task.  Rather than an EAS Alias, the combination of the Project, Organization, Expenditure Type, Task, Award (POETA) drives the population of the GL accounting string.

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S

Sponsor - The company/agency/foundation/organization who is funding (sponsoring) an award/grant.  The sponsor is represented as the Funding Source in EAS.

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