DOCUMENT PREPARATION

 

PREPARATION OF JOURNAL VOUCHER (STARS FORM 01)

This section illustrates a Journal Voucher form. It is important to fully document the purpose of each Journal Voucher either on the face of the Form 01 or in attachments. The Comptroller General's Office will not process Journal Vouchers having inadequate backup documentation.

You may use a Journal Voucher in the following cases:

  1. Corrections of Errors (COE's). Use a Journal Voucher to correct errors made in recording STARS transactions.  See  Error Corrections Section (Preparation of Correction Documents - General) of this manual for detailed instructions concerning the preparation of error correction documents.

Documentation of a COE must include the following:

-- Clearly state that the purpose of the entry is to correct an error or errors.

-- Clearly indicate what was recorded incorrectly.

It is not sufficient to create a COE document by striking through some items and adding others to a copy of the original (incorrect) document. Most COE's produced in this manner are confusing and fail to include sufficient documentation.

  1. Distributions of Revenue from Zero-Balance Clearing Subfunds. Zero-balance clearing subfunds are classified within GAAP Fund X252 on Appendix A of the GAAP Closing Procedures Manual. Subfund 3041, Revenue Clearing, is an example of such a subfund. The primary purpose of zero-balance clearing subfunds is to allow you to make timely deposits of cash collected from various revenue sources. Once you identify the revenue sources, you will prepare Journal Vouchers to classify the revenues into the proper subfunds, object codes, etc. Prior to year-end, you should use a Journal Voucher to properly classify any unclassified revenue. The remaining balance in a zero-balance subfund at year-end should be zero or nearly zero.

  2. Reimbursement of Expenditures. You may use a Journal Voucher to reimburse a subfund for payments it made on behalf of another subfund. For example, as a matter of expediency, Fund A initially might pay certain costs attributable to Fund B. Later, you may use a Journal Voucher to reimburse Fund A from Fund B's resources.

  3. Transfer of Bond Proceeds from the State Treasurer's Office to Agencies. This is the only type of operating transfer that the Comptroller General's Office will accept on a Journal Voucher form.

  4. Transactions of Lump-Sum Agencies. This applies only to colleges and universities.

IMPORTANT: Do not use Journal Vouchers to record any transactions described under Appropriation/Cash Transfers (Section 2.1.3.60) and Interdepartmental Transfers (Section 2.1.3.70).

The following examples are provided for illustrative purposes.

CODE REFERENCE

TYPE OF TRANSACTION

2.1.3.33

Correction of Entry for Revenue.

2.1.3.34

Classification of Revenue from Zero-Balance Clearing Subfund.

2.1.2.35

Reimbursement of Expenditures.

2.1.3.36

Transfer of Capital Improvement Bond Proceeds to Agency from State Treasurer's Office.

JOURNAL VOUCHER - STARS FORM 01

Click here for Journal Voucher Preparation Instructions.