Financial Management Services (FMS) and University IT (UIT) have partnered to create a new self-service inquiry tool in Oracle Financials that allows users to look up an organization’s suspense account PTAs. If they are a budget officer, they can also create and send a request to change the suspense account PTAs. The new Suspense Account Query Tool, which launched June 30, provides system controls, reliable data, easier accessibility, and efficiency in suspense account management.
About suspense accounts
An Organization Suspense Account (OSA), related OSA sweep PTA, and Accounts Payable (AP) Default PTA are assigned to an organization (org) to capture both payroll and non-salary transactions when they fail to post successfully to their original PTA. These values are supplied when departments request new orgs via the quarterly organization code hierarchy process managed by Stanford’s University Budget Office (UBO).
Past state/problem
Departments/budget officers did not have the ability to view or manage their existing suspense account PTAs; instead they emailed the Systems and Reporting Operations (S&RO) team, who manually ran queries and input PTAs for change requests. When budget officers/units did not provide their suspense account PTAs by UBO deadlines, it caused inaccurate account setups and incorrect reporting.
Future state/solution
The solution is the launch of a self-service SU Inquiry Tool in Oracle Financials that reduces delays, errors, and administrative burden by allowing users to:
- Search for a particular org or budget unit and display their Organization Suspense Account PTA(s), OSA Sweep PTA(s), and AP Default PTA(s).
- Sort and download the search results.
- Request changes to existing suspense account PTAs via a request form, which sends a system-generated email to S&RO (this functionality is granted only to budget officers).
Resources and support
Below are resources to help you use the new tool.
- Access tool: Launch Oracle Financials and locate in the SU Inquiry Tools and Forms folder (SUNet ID required)
- Learn About: Suspense Account Query Tool system page - new
- How To: Request Changes to Suspense Account PTAs - new (for budget officers)
- How To: Identify and Clear Organization Suspense Accounts (OSAs) for Labor - updated
Questions about the project or need assistance with suspense account PTAs?
Please contact financial_info_systems@lists.stanford.edu.
