V. Chart of Accounts (COA) Governance

Guide to Financial Operations

V.2 Governance

V. Chart of Accounts (COA) Governance
Guide to Financial Operations

Governance of the SFS will encompass many topics in the SFS Program including Chart of Accounts (COA); cost center mapping; commitment control (KK); and combination edits.

  • COA consists of the business unit field as well as the ChartFields activated in the SFS for use in transaction recording, budget control, financial/statistical analysis, and reporting.
  • Cost Center Mapping consists of crosswalks of cost centers to SFS ChartField combinations.
  • Commitment Control consists of statewide (SW), Division of the Budget (DOB) spending plan, and agency-specific KK budget definitions and KK trees developed for use in executing budget control and reporting through the SFS.
  • Combination Edits consist of processing rules that define required, valid, or invalid combinations of ChartFields and ChartField values.

The SFS Program Governance Board will provide overall strategic direction to the SFS Program and is the final decision-making authority over budget, resource plans, scope, schedule and major deployment issues, and receives input from the Program Director and Managers, working in consultation with the Steering Committee. The SFS Program Governance Board is comprised of a representative from each of the SFS Program’s areas, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), DOB, and agency representatives.

The SFS Program Governance Board has established requirements and roles to form the foundation against which governance policies and procedures will be created and executed. Governance roles define who and requirements define what, when, and, to some extent, how. Governance policies will provide guidance on appropriate maintenance actions including documentation and communication of the SFS. Governance procedures will provide documented processes that must be followed to execute any change to the SFS including governance forms for use in submitting and documenting change requests.

Governance for the COA and KK are administered centrally for both SW and agency-specific configuration request for changes as follows:

  • Standardized policies, procedures, and business process flows will be followed.
  • Agencies will submit requests (standardized forms).
  • The COA Governance Workgroup will review, approve, and obtain final sign-off (from OSC and DOB).

Approval Path for SFS COA Value and KK Change Requests:

COA Governance Workgroup Approvals Needed

Field/Chartfield Requires COA Governance Workgroup Approval Additional Request Information
  New Values Changes  
Account Yes Yes Request must be from OSC
Business Unit Yes Yes  
CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) No Yes Request must be from OSC
Chartfield 1 No Yes  
Chartfield 2 No Yes  
Chartfield 3 No Yes  
Class Yes Yes Request must be from OSC
Department – Budgetary Yes Yes  
Department – Transactional No Yes  
Funds Yes Yes Request must be from OSC
Member Items (Program) No Yes Request must be from OSC
Operating Unit No Yes  
Product Yes Yes  
Program – Budgetary Yes Yes See Note
Program – Transactional No Yes See Note
Project – ID No Yes  
Project – Activity No Yes  
Tree Updates Yes Yes  

NOTE: Program values require KK_DB_PRGM tree placement from DOB and RPT_SW_PRGM tree placement from OSC.

COA and KK change request form and instructions for submitting modifications to COA and KK values and descriptions, node names and descriptions, and reporting trees are located on the SFSSecure website:

https://www.sfs.ny.gov/secure/index.php/reference-and-resources/information-centers/chart-of-accounts-coa-information-center

  • Click Reference and Resource tab to access the COA Change Request Form.

Guide to Financial Operations

REV. 04/23/2019