UCLA has begun the process to implement a revised Chart of Accounts when we launch Bruin Finance, UCLA’s new core finance system powered by Oracle Financials Cloud, in January 2025.
Chart of Accounts
The Chart of Accounts, or CoA, is the basic structure used to categorize financial transactions to provide meaningful reporting in Bruin Finance. The CoA will replace the current Full Accounting Unit (FAU) structure for recording financial transactions.
To learn more about the new Chart of Accounts, access our Chart of Accounts Summary video.
Why is UCLA Transitioning to the Chart of Accounts?
The University currently experiences several limitations due to the current FAU structure:
- Lack of real-time updates leads to delays in financial reporting, compliance, payments, and decision-making.
- Need to standardize and align the CoA to meet the requirements of the UC Office of the President.
- Commingled data in FAU segments resulting in conflicts.
Benefits of the Chart of Accounts
The CoA will bring several benefits to UCLA when it is launched with Bruin Finance, including:
- Organizing data in a way that drives meaningful, flexible, and real-time reporting.
- Organizing UCLA’s finances by clearly recording expenses, revenues, assets, liabilities, and equity to provide a transparent understanding of the University’s financial activities and position.
- Supporting financial and management reporting by serving as the basis for the fiscal administration of UCLA’s funds, programs, projects, organizations, and activities.
- Serving as the common language for financial transactions.
Chart of Accounts Segments
The CoA contains ten segments that will be used by campus. Explore each of the segments below to learn more by starting with "Entity" below.
Definition: Major operational unit responsible for the transaction.
Example: UCLA Campus
Definition: Academic or operating unit responsible for the transaction.
Example: Neurology
Definition: “Pots of money” and their associated spending restrictions and designations.
Example: General Funds
Definition: Nature of the transaction (e.g., asset, liability, expense, revenue, and net position).
Example: Supply Expense
Definition: Purpose of the transaction (e.g., NACUBO functional classification) or mission.
Example: Instruction
Definition: Major operational unit responsible for the transaction.
Example: UCLA Campus
Definition: Academic or operating unit responsible for the transaction.
Example: Neurology
Definition: “Pots of money” and their associated spending restrictions and designations.
Example: General Funds
Definition: Nature of the transaction (e.g., asset, liability, expense, revenue, and net position).
Example: Supply Expense
Definition: Purpose of the transaction (e.g., NACUBO functional classification) or mission.
Example: Instruction
Definition: Interdisciplinary programs that cross campuses, schools, organizations, or financial units.
Example: Be Smart About Safety
Definition: Includes values for all projects (including sponsored, capital, and internal projects).
Example: Hokugo, Akishige – Discretionary Funds
Definition: Includes locations and other budgetary and/or balance tracking items.
Example: SEAS – Faculty Relocation
Definition: Additional local tracking and reporting details.
Example: TFT – Theater Software
Definition: Identifies the other Entity in an inter-entity transaction.
Example: UCLA Campus
Definition: Interdisciplinary programs that cross campuses, schools, organizations, or financial units.
Example: Be Smart About Safety
Definition: Includes values for all projects (including sponsored, capital, and internal projects).
Example: Hokugo, Akishige – Discretionary Funds
Definition: Includes locations and other budgetary and/or balance tracking items.
Example: SEAS – Faculty Relocation
Definition: Additional local tracking and reporting details.
Example: TFT – Theater Software
Definition: Identifies the other Entity in an inter-entity transaction.
Example: UCLA Campus
How the Chart of Accounts is being Developed
The Ascend 2.0 team has been developing the CoA in strong partnership with our campus partners, Organization Finance Leaders and Mapping Experts. Mapping Experts are individuals with strong financial knowledge who were nominated by campus leaders to help define the values that will be used by their departments.
Review the information below to learn more about the activities that have been or will be completed to develop and launch the CoA.
Initial Definition: Define the current state, organization needs, pain points, etc. to establish a guiding vision.
Governance: Ensures proper management of new values and changes to values (ongoing).
Initial Value Creation: Collaborate with campus to gather CoA values based on initial definition.
Refined Definition: Hold discussions with SMEs to discuss and resolve outstanding items and build a more refined definition.
Mapping & Review: Utilize values to map the old FAUs to the new CoA, in collaboration with Mapping Experts from campus (ongoing through 2025).
Final Values for Testing: Complete changes based on mapping and review to begin testing.
Sprint Tests & Development: Assess sprint testing results and cross-check against retrofit, integration, and conversion.
Overarching Improvement Opportunities: Analyze prior phases, other Oracle clients, and UC schools for process and CoA design considerations.
Refine Testing Definition: Use sprint testing lessons learned to further adjust values and definitions, as necessary.
System Integration Tests: Assess for any minor tweaks and exception-based scenarios.
SIT Testing Definition: Finalize outline of definitions and values aside from those discussed during the final stage.