Fiscal year-end deadlines loom

“The April 30, 2015 fiscal year-end is approaching and it is important that all current year transactions are posted and reviewed in a timely manner,” says a memo from Director of Finance Jane Manson distributed last week.

“Please remember that throughout the year all transactions should be sent to Finance for processing as soon as possible, no later than the month following the completion of the transaction,” the memo continues. “Cut-off dates for each month-end can be found on the Finance website. In addition, financial statements should be reviewed monthly throughout the year for accuracy and completeness.”

The memo sets out a number of deadlines for April 2015 transactions:

• For internal billings, departments should establish a cut-off date in April as they must be received in Finance or posted to SharePoint – Client Services no later than April 23. Any activity occurring after the cut-off date should be included as new year business;
• Requests for processing other manual adjustments (e.g. corrections, budget adjustments, transfers to capital, journal entries etc.) must be received in Finance or posted to SharePoint–Client Services as soon as possible, but no later than April 23. No manual adjustments to current-year transactions will be processed after the deadline;
• Departments should review their statements on a regular basis throughout the month of April to ensure accuracy of the April transactions, and extra care should be taken when assigning account numbers to transactions to eliminate the need for corrections;
• Travel claims or settlements for trips completed and individual expense reimbursements or vendor invoices for all goods received up to and including April 30th must be received in Finance - Accounts Payable as soon as possible for payment, but no later than April 30. In the event of a dispute with the vendor, please submit the invoice along with an explanation and request for Finance to withhold payment until further notice;
• Completed Faculty Professional Expense Reimbursement Plan claim forms submitted to Finance by April 10 will be processed for payment and the claimant reimbursed by May 1. Claim forms submitted after April 10th may not be processed for 6-8 weeks;
• For goods or services (including consultant services) received up to and including April 30, greater than or equal to the equivalent of $5,000 CAN, and where the invoice has not been received by April 30, Finance must process an accrual entry. Departments within Faculties must notify the Faculty Financial Officer of this situation by May 1;
• Purchases posted to the purchasing card system by April 15 will be included in the April 30, 2015 fiscal period. Changes to the default account must be completed on-line by end of day on April 25. Purchases posted to the purchasing card system on or after April 16th will be considered new year business;
• All sales activity that includes invoices for external invoicing up to the end of day on April 30 must be posted to SharePoint – Accounts Receivable as soon as possible, but no later than noon on May 1; and
• All cash and cheques received on or before April 30 are for “old year” business and should be prepared for deposit to the bank no later than April 30 and sent to the bank no later than May 1. All credit card payments received on or before April 30 are for “old year” business. Bank deposit journal entries for “old year” business must be prepared and posted to SharePoint and necessary hard copy support received in Finance no later than noon on May 4. All cash and cheques included in a bank deposit prepared after April 30 and all credit card payments received after April 30, should be included as “new year” business.

Academic units should contact their Faculty Executive Officer or Faculty Financial Officer with any questions. Other contacts include:

• Accounts Payable - Roberta Wilson, extension 36591
• Revenue Accounting (Accounts Receivable/Bank Deposits) - Tyler Wendland, extension 35121
• Trust or Endowment Accounts - Sarah Hadley, extension 36209
• Internal Billings or Corrections - Helen Hannusch, extension 33724.

Back to top

Students help students find career success

by Jayne Hayden. Part of a weeklong series showcasing National Co-operative Education Week.

You know you’ve landed a great volunteer opportunity when you can develop your own career while also helping your peers to develop theirs!

The Centre for Career Action (CCA) has run the Student Career Leader (SCL) Program for more than 20 years. It has evolved from a résumé critiquing service for co-op students to its current format that provides job search-related support to co-op and regular stream students.

Volunteers deepen their professional and leadership know-how through mentorship and skills coaching offered by CCA staff.  We strive to have a diverse team of SCLs, and encourage undergraduate and graduate students from all areas of study to apply.

This peer helping program has greatly extended our reach to students by providing assistance with one of our most in-demand services: résumé advice. In 2014, SCLs provided helpful résumé feedback and tips to fellow students through more than 500 drop-in and half-hour appointments. Based on knowledge gained from an intensive 3-day training program, this team of dedicated volunteers provides fellow students with up-to-date information on what employers look for – as well as what they don’t want to see! They are also able to provide general job search advice.

It’s a win-win situation: student clients come away with a stronger document and expanded knowledge to apply to future versions of their résumé; the SCLs gain valuable coaching and communication experience, as well as the knowledge that they have helped their peers - which is often the reason they are attracted to the program in the first place. And, of course, they also learn more about improving their own résumés and job search strategies.

Under the guidance of Career Advisor, Rebecca Burwell, the recently revamped program has also added a new component to further CCA outreach: a marketing and communications role where SCLs deliver classroom presentations on the wide variety of career development services provided by the CCA. We know that Waterloo students are increasingly focused on their career development, from trying to determine what career path to pursue, to grad school planning and application, to how to conduct a successful job search and succeed in the workplace. Helping to make our students aware that there is campus support available on these topics is a goal that the CCA is invested in and classroom outreach will aid us in achieving this objective.

If you are an instructor and would like a SCL to come to your class to inform your students of the career help they can access through the CCA, please contact Karleigh Masney.

We are currently recruiting volunteers for placements starting in the fall of 2015. Interested undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to visit the CCA website for more information about the application process.

Pictured above: Student Career Leader Michelle critiques the resume of 2B Environment student Lucas.

Back to top

Grabbing the Rhinoceros by the horns

The Department of Drama and Speech Communication is presenting its latest production: Eugène Ionesco's Rhinoceros.

One of Ionesco’s most famous plays, Rhinoceros was written in 1959 in response to the resurfacing of fascism in parts of Europe. Ionesco wrote it as an attack on something that troubled him greatly: social conformity. Watch the trailer on YouTube.

On one level, this play is on one level very simple: The inhabitants of a French town in the 1950s one by one turn into a rhinoceros until they all become a mindless and savage herd. All of them that is except for the ‘everyman’ character of Berenger.

"It is Berenger with whom we identify the most as he drifts through life without purpose, comically passive, bored and self-obsessed," says the news release. "But by the end of the play Berenger, in his success at resisting ‘rhinoceritus’, is the character that has changed the most. He becomes a revolutionary, a tragic figure that urgently calls out to his fellow townspeople to resist the insanity. They sadly no longer have the ears to hear him."

Guest director Martha Ross, co-founder of Theatre Columbus and a seasonal instructor with the department, "will examine this intricate dance between comedy and tragedy, beauty and horror, with the accomplished student cast and the assistance of Paul Cegys’ exquisite dream-like set, Colin Labadie’s comically frightening soundscape, Sharon E. Secord’s colourful and splendid costumes and Arun Srinivasan’s masterful lighting."

Tickets are $17 for general admission, $13 for students and seniors, and $5 for those with eyeGO. Performances are scheduled from 8:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. from Wednesday, March 18 to Saturday, March 21, in Modern Languages' Theatre of the Arts.

"Rhinoceros speaks to us as much now as it did 50 years ago," the department's announcement continues. "We’re currently witnessing around the world an alarming resurgence of neo-nazism. But the play as well speaks to our propensity for denial. Like the characters in Ionesco’s play we are blind to what is glaring right at us. We adapt to anything because it’s easier to conform than to challenge the status quo."

Back to top

Riley reappointed Propel Centre director

Professor Barbara Riley has been reappointed to a four-year term as Executive Director of the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact, according to an announcement by the appointment committee.

The Propel Board served as the appointment committee and was unanimous in its recommendation to Vice-President, University Research George Dixon to reappoint Dr. Riley.

The committee’s recommendation followed "an extensive stakeholder consultation process that included individuals drawn from Propel’s internal and external constituencies who were well-informed to give input on Dr. Riley’s achievements in her first term as Executive Director, as well as to provide forward looking comments. There was uniform recognition among stakeholders that Dr. Riley had fully met or exceeded the goals set for her first term. The consultation process also led to constructive suggestions that have helped inform the goals set for her second term which largely align with the goals she herself had identified in her self-assessment report to the Committee."

Professor Riley's second term begins on July 1 and will end on June 30, 2019.

" The Propel Board appreciates the strong support that Dr. Riley receives from Propel scientists and staff, the wider Waterloo health research community, and from the external agencies that support and collaborate with Propel," says an official statement. "The Board is confident that this support will be strengthened still further in her second term so as to enhance Propel’s position as a leading centre for population health in Canada."

Back to top

Monday's notes

Participants in Waterloo Unlimited's Grade 11 Theme of Design program will be on campus this week for a five-day program that showcases design - the creative process - in its many forms, including engineering design, architectural design, graphic design, fashion design, product design, set design, experimental design, automotive design, and more. The schedule for the program is adjusted from year to year to include hot topics and innovative campus happenings.

Here's today's Nutrition Month "myth vs. fact" supplied by Health Services Dietician Sandra Ace:

Myth: Kitchen sponges should be sterilized in the microwave.

Fact:  Kitchen sponges are probably the dirtiest item in the house. Used to wipe down counters, mop up spills, wash dirty dishes or clean the kitchen sink, they are hard to keep clean and dry. Their little nooks and crannies provide an ideal place for bacteria that can potentially cause food-borne illness to grow and flourish. A commonly recommended way to sanitize a sponge is to put it in the microwave and “zap” it. However, depending on the thickness of the sponge, how wet it is, how long you leave it in and the size and power of your microwave, not all bacteria may be killed. Microwaving a sponge will not remove trapped food particles and can cause a nasty steam burn if you remove it too soon. A sponge that is too dry can catch fire and one that contains metal particles can cause your microwave to arc and malfunction. Washing a sponge in the dishwasher isn't an effective way to kill bacteria unless a special high-heat sanitizing cycle is used.

The safest way to wipe up spills or juices from raw meat, seafood, poultry or eggs is to use paper towels. While that is worse for the environment than using a sponge, it’s also less likely to spread harmful bacteria. For general kitchen clean up, toss the sponge in the garbage and replace with a reusable, quick drying cloth; wash it frequently in soap and hot water and allow it to air dry thoroughly after using.

Back to top