1 Background

1.1 International Public Sector Accounting Standards

The United Nations has implemented the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) across organizations of the United Nations (UN) System. The first set of IPSAS‐compliant financial statements for the UN Secretariat was produced for the fiscal year 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 for the peacekeeping operations and 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2014 for all other reporting entities of the Secretariat.

As part of the transition to IPSAS, the UN IPSAS Implementation Team issued:

· The UN IPSAS Policy Framework: To enhance understanding of IPSAS and provide IPSAS compliant accounting policies applicable to reporting entities of the Secretariat; and

· Corporate Guidance papers: To provide detailed guidance on application of accounting policies in the UN IPSAS Policy Framework.

1.2 Umoja

Umoja is the UN Secretariat's new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which is designed to integrate the management of administrative processes and related information across the Organization globally. By 2017, the Secretariat will have transitioned to Umoja as its central administrative tool, leaving behind multiple and fragmented legacy software systems such as IMIS, Mercury, Sun, and other databases.

The first release of Umoja, called the 'Umoja Foundation', laid the core building blocks of Umoja. Umoja Foundation incorporates finance (funds management and financial accounting), supply chain (real estate, plant maintenance, logistics execution, and procurement), project management, and sales & distribution (third-party procurement services and billing).

The second release of Umoja, called the 'Umoja Extension 1', incorporates organizational and position management, personnel administration, entitlements, benefits, time management, payroll, travel initiation, travel expenses, and online booking. The third release of Umoja, called the 'Umoja Extension 2' incorporates Budget formulation, force planning, programme management, supply chain planning, warehouse management, conference and event management, full grants management and commercial activities.

Umoja deployment across the global Secretariat has been in phases (known as 'Clusters') primarily to allow the Organization to gradually absorb the change.

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2 Introduction to Finance Manual

2.1 Purpose of the Finance Manual

The Finance Manual (FM) incorporates IPSAS policies and Umoja Foundation and Umoja Extension 1 processes that teach an Umoja user how a transaction is performed in the system; the accounting entries generated by the system when the transaction is recorded; and also addresses IPSAS compliant financial statement preparation. The FM is designed to guide accounting and finance staff on how to perform accounting procedures in Umoja Foundation and Umoja Extension 1 environments and answer common process related questions such as 'How do I create an invoice?' and 'How do I perform Bank Reconciliation?'

2.2 Prerequisites

Staff members should have an understanding of the IPSAS Policy Framework and Corporate Guidance documents and have completed IPSAS training as well as the Umoja training relevant to their Umoja roles and gained an understanding on working in Umoja Foundation and Umoja Extension 1 environments to efficiently leverage this FM in day to day work.

2.3 References and consultations

This FM is subordinate to the legislative mandates, the Financial Regulations and Rules as well as applicable Secretary-General's Bulletins and Administrative Instructions. In case of conflict, the provisions in those documents take priority over the content of this FM.

In addition to the training prerequisites, staff members are required to consult additional reference materials such as the Finance and Budget Manual, Procurement Manual, and other relevant policies and procedures guidelines. The FM should be used in conjunction with the IPSAS Policy Framework and the Corporate Guidance Papers. The IPSAS Policy Framework details an IPSAS-compliant accounting policy which is supplemented by the detailed financial accounting guidance in the Corporate Guidance papers. Additionally, detailed information relating to a particular procedure is available with the department that is responsible for the procedure. For example, complete information regarding the Procurement policies can be found in the Procurement Manual.

2.4 Amendments to the Finance Manual

The present document deals with the application of IPSAS financial accounting policies in the Umoja Foundation and Umoja Extension 1 environments. The need for amendments can arise for various reasons, some of which are mentioned below:

· New or changes to IPSAS accounting policies;

· Change in organization structure or interfacing functions that may involve changes in systems and procedures;

· Upgrades and changes to Umoja Foundation solution; Roll out of Extensions 1 and 2

· Changes to Umoja process which are primarily based on PDD's and Umoja SAP training material.

Accounts Division is responsible for the distribution and revisions to the FM.

Any questions relating to the FM can be directed to the Accounts Division in New York.

2.5 FM Structure

This FM is designed to be task oriented. You can skip to any topic you need and get step-by-step procedures for the accounting tasks that you are expected to perform in Umoja Foundation and Extension 1 environments. The following table lists the FM chapters which are mapped to the Umoja roles and responsibilities.

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Chapters/ Enterprise Roles and Process Area		Umoja overview	Revenue: Non-exchange	Revenue - Exchange	Expense	Employee benefits	Leases	Property, Plant and Equipment	Intangible assets	Inventories	Financial Instrument - Investments	Financial Instrument - Cash Management	Financial Instrument - Accounts Receivable	Financial Instrument - Accounts Payable	Provisions, Contingent Assets & Liabilities	Presentation of Financial Statements & Disclosures	Accounting Policies, changes in Estimates & Errors	General Ledger
		2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.	9.	10.	11.	12.	13.	14.	15.	16.	17.	18.
Back Office Treasury User	Cash Management and Treasury										X	X
Billing Processor	Sales & Distribution			X
Budget Office Approver	Funds Management				X
Business Warehouse (BW) Analyst	Cash Management and Treasury											X
Buyer	Source to Acquire							X
Buyer Supervisor	Source to Acquire							X
Cash Management Cashier	Cash Management and Treasury										X	X	X	X
Consolidation Manager (CONSO MNGR)	Reporting(BPC)																X
Contract Creator	Source to Acquire						X
Data Approver	All process areas	X
End User	Reporting(BPC)																X
Facilities Planner	Real Estate						X
Facilities Manager	Real Estate						X
Finance accounting AP Approver	Financial Accounting			X										X
Finance accounting AR Approver	Financial Accounting		X										X
Finance accounting User (GL/AR/AP/CO)	Financial Accounting		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X		X
Finance accounting Senior User (GL/AR/AP/CO)	Financial Accounting		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Finance accounting AP User	Financial Accounting													X
Finance accounting AR User	Financial Accounting		X	X									X
Finance Budget Manager	Source to Acquire				X
Finance Budget Officer	Source to Acquire				X
Financial Accounting Approver	Financial Accounting		X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X		X
Financial Accounting Asset Accounting Senior User	Financial Accounting						X	X	X
Financial Accounting Asset Accounting User	Financial Accounting						X	X	X
Financial Accounting Closing User	Financial Accounting		X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X		X
Financial Accounting Senior User	Financial Accounting		X	X	X		X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X		X		X
FM Earmarked Funds Documents Certifier	Financial Management				X
FM Funds Commitment Approver	Financial Management				X
FM Support - User	Financial Management				X
Front Office Treasury User	Cash Management and Treasury										X	X
GM Account Approver	Grants Management		X
GM Account User	Grants Management		X
GM Budget Approver Released	Grants Management		X
GM Budget Approver Unreleased	Grants Management		X
GM Budget User Released	Grants Management		X
GM Budget User Unreleased	Grants Management		X
GM Grants Creator	Grants Management		X
GM Support User	Grants Management		X
HR Approver (Consultant/IC Contract)	Source to Acquire				X
HR Partner	Source to Acquire				X	X
Inbound Coordinator	Logistics				X					X
Investment Cashier	Cash Management and Treasury										X	X
Lease Contract Approver	Real Estate						X	X
Lease Processor	Real Estate						X	X
Low Value Acquisitioner	Source to Acquire				X
Master Data Maintainer	Master Data Maintenance	X
Price Approver	Service to Public			X
Price Maintainer	Service to Public			X
Receiving User	Logistics									X
Requestor	Service to Public			X
Requisitioner (including for Consultant/IC Services)	Source to Acquire				X		X			X
Sales Distribution Approver	Service to Public			X
Sales Distribution User/Sales Processor	Service to Public			X
Sales Processor	Service to Public			X			X		X
Shipping Processor	Service to Public			X	X	X
Travel Shipment Processor	Travel				X	X
Travel Processing Officer	Travel				X	X
Travel Administrator -All	Travel				X	X
Travel Administrator_UP	Travel				X	X
Travel Administrator_UNV	Travel				X	X
Travel Administrator_NS	Travel				X	X
Travel and Shipment Approver	Travel				X	X
Travel Claims Processor	Travel				X	X
Travel Display	Travel				X	X
Travel and Shipment Reports	Travel				X	X
Ticket Billing Processor					X	X
Treasury Administrator	Cash Management and Treasury										X	X
Users with Functional Admin. Role	Reporting (BPC)																X
Virtual Direct Receiving User	Logistics				X					X

2.6 Confidentiality

This FM is intended for internal Secretariat purposes. It is not intended for distribution or use by external parties.

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December, 2016

Chapter 1 - Introduction