Glossary

Account Code:  Account codes group similar expenditures, (i.e. Teaching Faculty Salaries 600005, Supplies 740005, Equipment 800005, etc).

Activity and Sub-Activity Codes: Fund reporting codes are used by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education that conform to the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) fund categories. A full list of Activity and Sub-Activity Codes is available here.

Base Budget: An estimate of funding required to continue existing programs at current levels of service.

Bond: See Revenue Bond.

Budget: See Operating Budget and Capital Budget.

Budget Reallocation: The redistribution of funds between vice presidential areas, colleges, departments, budget categories or positions, activities, etc., without increasing or decreasing the total budget.

Budget Revision: The reallocation or transfer of funds between areas, budget units, activities, accounts, positions within departments, or maintenance and operations categories, during the fiscal year due to under- or over-estimation of actual expenditures, realignment of priorities, or unexpected funding emergencies.

Capital Budget: A financial plan for funding new construction, major renovations, and acquisition of physical property for the university, including buildings, land, major equipment, and other items of significant value which have a useful life of several years. Capital revenues for the University of Oklahoma come from five major sources: state appropriations, Section 13/New College Funds, revenue bonds, private donations, and grants.

Clearing Department: An intermediary department that temporarily holds funds that have been received from or will be distributed to various other departments.

Debt Service:  Funds committed to paying principal, interest, and related costs of the University's bonded indebtedness according to a predetermined payment schedule.

Deficit: Insufficient budget or revenues to cover expenditures during a given accounting period (i.e., monthly, annually, etc.). Deficits can occur by department, within a budget category or by account code or position within a department.

Department Number:  The department number is a nine-digit code that identifies a basic funding unit used by a department for an identifiable activity.

Department Sponsor: The individual responsible for authorization of expenditures and reconciliation of department records.

Depreciation:  The decrease in value or service life of fixed assets through wear and tear, deterioration, obsolescence, etc.

Discretionary Funds:  A type of unrestricted fund which can be expended for any lawful purpose.