DCAR Newsletter - July 2013 -- NEW LOOK!!

DCAR Newsletter

Lynne Bajema, State Comptroller

Steve Funck, Deputy State Comptroller

Raymond C. Hankins, Deputy State Comptroller

 

Newsletter Archive | Procedures Manual | Forms | State Comptroller

DCAR Newsletter's New Look!!

Welcome to the new DCAR Newsletter!!  Please take a moment to enjoy our fresh new view!!  We hope that this change is more appealing for you our viewers as well as more user-friendly with the use of the various links that have been inserted throughout the newsletter.  If you are having any problems viewing the newsletter, you can choose to view it in your browser as well, or you may contact Stephanie Langs @ stephanie.langs@omes.ok.gov for further assistance.


Top Story

dont forget

OFMA Meeting – July 25, 2013

The Oklahoma Financial Managers Association is planning its next quarterly meeting.  Seminars are provided free of charge.  To ensure an adequate number of training materials and refreshments are available, please register at: www.okfma.com

The conference will be held from 1:30 - 4 p.m. July 25, 2013,  at the Business Conference Center Auditorium of the MetroTech Springlake Campus.  The physical address is 1900 Springlake Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73111. 


PAYROLL

1099 Tax Information Quarterly Report

Now that the first two quarters of the 2011 tax year are complete, it is time for ALL agencies to run the Miscellaneous 1099 Tax Information Report which will include all transactions from January 1, 2013, through June 30, 2013. The path for this report in PeopleSoft Financials is: Accounts Payable>Reports> Payments> Misc Tax Information Report. With this report please review the following:

  • The Name and Tax ID number (TIN) must match the information on the vendor’s W-9, which designates the way the vendor reports their taxes to the state and IRS.
  • Pay attention to the 1099 Flag: Y means the vendor should receive a 1099, and N means the vendor should not receive a 1099. A vendor does not need a 1099 if it is registered as a corporation, non-profit or government entity (the exception to this is when the payment is for a legal or medical payment).
  • Please note that address 1 in the vendor file is the designated address for 1099 reporting. If the 1099 Flag is N, any new addresses provided will be added to the end of the list, but Address 1 will not change.
  • Review all warrants processed for each vendor to ensure that all are accounted for the proper vendor and correct amount.  (All warrant corrections need to be made at the agency level.)

Please send any corrections on this report to the Office of Management & Enterprise Services (OMES) by Friday, July 26, 2013. If you have any questions contact Beth Brox at (405) 522-1099 or by e-mail at Beth.Brox@omes.ok.gov.

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OMES Form PWC, Payroll Warrant Cancellation

The OMES Form PWC should only be used when an employee is not entitled, in part or whole, to the funds.  All PWC forms received by OMES will begin the process to retrieve the funds, if direct deposit, and cancel the warrant in the payroll system. It is imperative that agencies identify payroll errors and process the Form PWC immediately upon discovery.

Paper Warrant Cancellations:
The original warrant must be marked “Void”, attached to the completed PWC form, and then sent to OMES Transaction Processing. These requests cannot be processed by fax.

Direct Deposit Cancellations:
Fax OMES Form PWC (06/13) to (405) 521-3902.  Verify the fax was successful.  After faxing the request to OMES, mail the original PWC to OMES Transaction Processing.

Requests for cancellation of direct deposits must be made by completing the PWC form and faxing it to OMES to initiate the cancellation procedures. To ensure that direct deposit funds are returned, the PWC request must be received by 12 noon three business days prior to the effective pay date. Any faxed request for cancellation of direct deposits after that cutoff will be subject to recall or reversal procedures which are subject to denial by the employee’s bank.

Once the funds have been returned to the State, OMES will process a cancellation in the payroll system which returns the funds to the agency. If the funds cannot be recovered from the bank, the agency will be notified and must follow the existing overpayment procedures.

PWC forms received for direct deposit items that are more than business five days past the effective date will no longer be processed in accordance with NACHA rules. Please see the article "EFT Stop Payments, Reversals and Reclaims" published from the Treasurer’s Office.

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Payroll Claims to Include All Payroll Costs

All payroll costs are required to be included in the payroll claim; this includes all employer paid benefits such as retirement, health, dental, vision, etc. Earnings and deduction codes are set up in the system to allow for the proper reporting and the transfer of information correctly to the general ledger.  If an agency has payroll costs that are currently not going through payroll, please contact the OMES HelpDesk.  A case will be created and the CORE Payroll Team will be assigned to help set up the items so that they are included in future payroll claims.  

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Updating Employee Bank Routing Numbers

Agencies have started receiving a new report generated from the Office of the State Treasurer’s (OST) current ACH application. OST’s current ACH application automatically updates bank routing numbers based on the latest table of Federal Reserve Bank routing numbers.  This update allows the items to continue processing for payment. When an update is made, a report is generated listing the employee, the incorrect bank routing number and the correct bank routing number. This report will be distributed to agencies to update employee banking information. This report will be sent out by OMES to the contact listed for the Updated Banking Information report that is currently distributed. These updates must be made now so these transactions will continue to process without interruption after migration to the new application.

If banking information is not updated before OST goes live with the new application, items with invalid routing numbers will be rejected and not processed to pay. The new application will validate the submitted information against the latest Federal Reserve Bank routing numbers table and will reject the transaction if the bank routing number is determined to be invalid. If an item is rejected, it will not leave OST to be paid and additional processing by the agency will be required to pay the employee(s). Again, it is imperative that these updates be made now so transactions will continue to process without interruption after migration to the new application.

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IRS Form W-4 Requires Home Address

IRS Form W-4, Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, requires the Home address (number and street or rural route) be provided.  When the employee signs under penalties of perjury, they are verifying all elements on the form are correct.  If the employee wishes to provide an additional address for mailing purposes, agencies can collect the information on an internal employee information sheet. 

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State HCM System Use of Addresses on W-2s

In the PeopleSoft HCM system, the W-2 process loads the employee’s Mailing Address for IRS Form W-2 reporting.  If there is no value in the Mailing Address field, then the employee’s Home Address will be used on the W-2.  If there is a value in the Mailing Address field that is not to be used on the Form W-2, it will need to be updated or inactivated. 

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W-2 Reporting of Employer-Sponsored Group Health Insurance

Beginning in 2012, the IRS mandated Box 12 reporting for the cost of employer-provided health coverage. The W-2 must show the amount in Box 12 with Code DD.

To correctly report the cost of health coverage, all payments made for health insurance must process through the payroll system. Failure to process through payroll will result in incorrect reporting on the W-2. For help establishing the appropriate deduction codes, state agencies should contact the OMES HelpDesk. Assistance will be provided by the Core HCM Payroll team. For institutions of education, please ensure payroll file information contains the total cost of health insurance (employer and employee share).

As a reminder, this reporting to employees is for their information only. The amount reported is not taxable and is only intended to inform them of the cost of their health care coverage.

For questions or more information, please contact Lisa Raihl at (405) 521-3258 or lisa.raihl@omes.ok.gov, or Jean Hayes at (405) 522-6300 or jean.hayes@omes.ok.gov.

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Taxability of Gift Cards, Certificates, and Coupons

Giving gifts to employees is restricted and should only be given as part of a formal employee recognition program. See Oklahoma Statutes, Title 74, Sections 4121 and 4122. Furthermore, any gift cards, certificates, and coupons given to employees are to be included in the employee’s taxable income. These items are considered by the Internal Revenue Service to be cash or a cash equivalent and do not meet the requirements to be excludable as a de minimis fringe benefit.

Even when an employer provides gift cards, certificates, or coupons to purchase a turkey, ham, or other nominal value property, these are considered wages and are subject to income and employment taxes. This is true even when the card restricts the items purchased, the time to use the coupon, and any unused portion is forfeited. Cash equivalents do not meet the de minimis fringe benefit requirements.

PeopleSoft State Agencies: Process the gift card amount using the TRC Code of “GIFT,” which will show as earnings code “GFT.” The amount will be included as taxable income and will be taxed on the paycheck.

Higher Education Interface Agencies: Process the gift card amount using earnings code “GFT”. The amount will be included as taxable income and will be taxed on the paycheck.

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Reduction of Annual Leave Hours for Overpayments

When an employee chooses to pay back an overpayment using annual leave, the amount of annual leave reduced should equal the gross amount of overpayment. In the past there have been instances where agencies have incorrectly reduced the annual leave by the net amount of the overpayment.

If an employee pays back an overpayment using terminal leave, an OMES Form 94P must be submitted to correct the retirement amounts reported on the check which included the overpayment. Terminal leave is not included in retirement wage calculations; therefore, a payroll earnings adjustment is required.

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ACCOUNTING

Pay Cycle Change

In anticipation of changes OST will make to send payment files to the bank earlier in the day after migrating to the Bottomline WebSeries application, OMES will begin running the pay cycle for state agencies in the morning starting on Aug. 1, 2013. The Rush pay cycle, currently run at 4 p.m., will run at 3:30 p.m. The Alternate Agency and 7XX pay cycle will continue to run at 1:30 and 2 p.m.

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EFT Stop Payments, Reversals and Reclaims

Pursuant to the National ACH Association (NACHA) Operating Rules the State Treasurer’s Office will not process a reversal on an ACH/EFT item that is more than five business days past the effective date. Furthermore, reclamations of benefit payments (pensions, annuities, etc) will only be processed if initiated within five business days of the notification of death. Stop payments on EFT items will still function as they have in the past. Items will be stopped if the request is received more than two business days prior to the effective date of the entry. If agencies encounter erroneous entries more than five business days past the effective date please contact OST for consultation on options for recovering the funds.

For questions related to this notice or other ACH processing inquiries please contact Diedra O’Neil at Diedra.oneil@treasurer.ok.gov or (405) 522-4256.

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Volume 24, Number 01
Fiscal Year-2014
July 16, 2013


In This Issue ...


TRAINING

Payroll Law 2013

  • Lawton – Aug. 7, 2013
  • Oklahoma City – Aug. 22, 2013
  • Tulsa – Aug. 23, 2013 

Presented by Fred Pryor Seminars
1-Day Seminar - $199.00
For groups of 5 or more, $189.00 
Please visit the website for more information.

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13th Annual Oklahoma Payroll Conference

Friday, Sept. 13, 2013 Presented by the Northeastern and Oklahoma City Chapters of the American Payroll Association
Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center Tulsa, OK 

Early registration May 14 to July 13 is $175.00
Registration after July 13 is the full rate of $225.00
Please visit the website for more information.

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HCM Forum

The next HCM Forum is scheduled for August with two sessions offered at 9-11 a.m. and 1-3p.m. The exact date has yet to be determined.  Details and agenda will be sent out via the notification system.  To sign up for notifications, visit the OMES subscription page, enter your e-mail address and sign up for the OMES Alerts that you wish to receive.

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State Auditor & Inspector’s Office

July 25, 2013 – Implementing Performance Based Management & Budget with Stephen L. Morgan, CIA,CGAP

This presentation focuses on lessons learned and best practices in implementing performance based management and budgeting. The presentation will include a primer on how to define performance expectations, measure achievements, and support decisions.

Field of Study: Performance Auditing 

Aug. 15, 2013 – The Psychology Behind Fraud, Unethical Behavior, & White Collar Crime with Joan Pastor, PhD

Understanding the psychological forces behind fraudulent behavior is critical to detecting, preventing and dealing with fraud. This course is completely different from, yet guaranteed to enhance, any other course you take on fraud.

The course includes 2 hrs of Ethics training.

Field of Study: Fraud, Auditing (governmental), Professional Ethics 

Sep. 12, 2013 – Obtaining & Evaluating Audit Evidence: Becoming A Better Auditor with J. Michael Inzina, CPA, CGFM

Recent audit failures have not been the result of insufficient auditing standards! Becoming a better auditor means learning skepticism and critical thinking to audit evidence obtained, and recognize that anything is possible. The material includes a detailed review of SAS 106, Audit Evidence.

Field of Study: Auditing (governmental), Specialized Knowledge & Applications 

All courses will be held at the Character Inn Conference Center, 520 W. Main Street, in downtown Oklahoma City. Courses begin at 8:15 AM and conclude at 4:45 PM. Registration opens at 7:45 AM.

All courses are $160 per participant per day or $145 per participant with 10 or more registrations. Lunch is included with each of these CPE courses.

To register, contact Trey Davis by email at tdavis@sai.ok.gov or call 405-521-3390. 

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Contacts

Accounting:
Jennie Pratt
(405) 521-6160 jennie.pratt@omes.ok.gov

General Ledger:
Dan Thomason
(405) 522-4992 dan.thomason@omes.ok.gov

Payroll:
Lisa Raihl
(405) 521-3258 lisa.raihl@omes.ok.gov

Transaction Processing: Steve Wilson
(405) 521-4679 steve.wilson@omes.ok.gov

Payroll Processing:
Elsa Kunnel
(405) 521-6178
elsa.kunnel@omes.ok.gov

AP Manager:
Patricia Garcia
(405) 522-6855 patricia.garcia@omes.ok.gov

Vendor Maintenance:
Julie Dvorak
(405) 522-1749 julie.dvorak@omes.ok.gov

OMES Service Desk (PeopleSoft questions)
(405) 521-2444 helpdesk@omes.ok.gov

Financial Reporting Unit: Matt Clarkson
(405) 521-2759 matt.clarkson@omes.ok.gov

ARRA: 
Steve Funck
(405) 521-3231 steve.funck@omes.ok.gov

ABS: 
Chris Forster, Director
(405) 521-4619 chris.forster@omes.ok.gov