How to determine if you have a university-related event/activity

Step A

What to do: Review university-related event list.

How to do it: University-related event accounts don't have to literally be "events". Following are some examples that, if approved by the department chair or director, are generally considered "university-related":

• Conferences, seminars, annual meetings sponsored primarily by faculty (if over $5,000, send proof of the sponsorship agreement to General Accounting). This includes events for which the university initially pays the expenses but receives full reimbursement later.
• Training/classes that do not go through Continuing Education.
• Membership/participation fees for campus-created research and public service organizations.
• Faculty editorships (if over $5,000, send proof of the agreement to General Accounting).
• Lease or license agreement payments.
• Agricultural by-products.
• Other income from non-sponsored, non-rate-based, one-time activities with a contract/agreement through Contracting Services.

If your situation is not one of the types listed above, you do not need a university related event account. Skip to Step C.

Step B

What to do: Define incoming money.

How to do it: If receiving sponsorship money, does the sponsor receive a substantial benefit (e.g., does the sponsor have a table at an event, receive promotional value or public exposure)?

• If not, record the sponsorship money as a gift (see Advancement Services website for procedures).
• If so, separate university related event accounts are needed. Read the Note below and then go to Set up university-related event account.

Note: Ideally, sponsorships will have a purchase requisition (REQS) and a signed revenue agreement. Documentation of the business purpose and the benefit to the university must be clearly identified in the revenue REQS. In absence of a purchase requisition and signed agreement, the department must be able to provide detailed documentation of the sponsorship arrangement, including what the sponsor is getting in return for their sponsorship.

Does the sponsor expect to or could be expected to write off the sponsorship or a portion of the sponsorship as a charitable contribution? This would be the assumption in any fund raising event. If so, the documentation should indicate that the sponsor is not receiving anything substantial in return.

• If there is a substantial return benefit to the sponsor, the market value of this benefit is calculated by the department and posted to the event account and the remaining portion of the sponsorship is recorded as a gift.
• If there is no substantial return benefit to the sponsor, record the sponsorship money as a gift (see Advancement Services website for procedures).

If you will charge participant fees, see Set up university-related event account.

Step C

What to do: If not a university-related event account, determine account type needed.

How to do it: If the event/activity is:

• Sponsored by a non-university entity (e.g., a faculty/student association or professional group) or is
• Funded by the participants through ticket sales or contributions for which a faculty, student or staff will be responsible for covering any deficit and/or the balance will not be returned to the department (retirement parties, award banquets, special graduation ceremonies).

Complete a Request For Agency Account (PDF); a university related event account is not needed.

If you don't see the type of account you need, following the steps for Creating a New Account.