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Common Chart of Accounts Design

The Common Chart of Accounts (CCoA) is the basis for all our accounting transactions. It depends on a series of values, called a chartstring, that ensure funds come from the appropriate source and reflect accurate expenditures.

Creating the CCoA was the first and largest undertaking of the Alpha Financials project. We began by assembling a CCoA committee made up of accounting, budget and grants professionals. This group evaluated the current Full Accounting Unit (FAU) and how it was used by campus, reviewed UC Common Chart requirements, and created a chartstring design that would meet UC Merced’s needs while also satisfying UC-wide parameters. The team then mapped more than 2.1 million historic FAU chart values to the new CCoA.

Once mapping was complete and there were CCoA values to compare to the FAU, the team validated with academic and administrative Departments that all of their unique reporting needs were met with the CCoA. Finally, these values were integrated with the Oracle Cloud. This set the foundation for testing UC Merced’s configuration of the system, accomplished through Alpha Financials' design and build sprints.

Go here for more information about what the Common Chart of Accounts is and why we are updating it.