Article Intended For
All university faculty, staff, researchers with permission to use and/or access Penn State Research Information Systems.
Introduction
This article covers the Account Setup display used by Research Accounting users to update status activities related to processing.
Article Body
The Research Accounting - Account Setup display is where researching accounting updates the status of processing in SIMS.
There are multiple options that appear in the dropdown for 'Activity'. Users can select one of the options from the dropdown and add additional comments before clicking the 'complete update' button:
- Send to Accountant Review - This activity is selected once the Master Data Team has completed SIMBA Account Setup and determined that an Accountant must review.
- Staff Assigned (NEW FEATURE 9/2024) - When 'Send to Accountant Review' is selected, staff assigned box will appear and is required to 'Complete Update'. All active Research Accounting users will listed in the dropdown and one must be selected to be assigned. Staff assigned will only appear for 'Send to Accountant Review'
- After selections, are made and 'Complete Update' is clicked, system will add a Research Accounting activity to the OSP number viewable under RA Comments tab and on Negotiation Manager. In addition to an activity comment, the SIMBA Account Setup Complete email is generated. This activity action WILL NOT remove the OSP number from the Research Accounting Dashboard. If activity 'Send to Accountant Review' is added multiple times, the account setup email only generates the initial time and will not regenerate.
- Account Setup - This activity is selected once Research Accounting has completed all tasks necessary related to SIMBA Account Setup and Accountant Review, if it was determined to be required. After selection is made and 'Complete Update' is clicked, system will add a Research Accounting activity to the OSP number viewable on Negotiation Manager - Activity Tab. In addition to an activity comment, the SIMBA Account Setup Complete email is generated if it was not previously sent when sent to Accountant Review. NOTE: After adding this activity, system will automatically remove the OSP number from the Research Accounting Navigator list.
- Complete w/o Account Setup - This activity is selected after Research Accounting has completed any necessary tasks needed and determine an account setup was not needed. After selection is made and 'Complete Update' is clicked, system will add a Research Accounting activity to the OSP number viewable on Negotiation Manager - Activity Tab. NOTE: After adding this activity, system will automatically remove the OSP number from the Research Accounting Navigator list. The SIMBA Account Setup complete email is NOT generated when using this activity.
- Status Update - This activity is selected to add any status updates or comments as its related to research accounting processing. After selection is made and 'Complete Update' is clicked, system will add a Research Accounting activity to the OSP number viewable under RA Comments tab and on Negotiation Manager - Activity Tab. This activity action WILL NOT remove the OSP number from the Research Accounting Dashboard.
The below shows a screenshot of the RA Comments section that includes examples of activities that might be logged using the above. The activity comment will also be visible in Negotiation Manager - Activity Tab.