A fiscal officer is someone who oversees all financial/budgetary aspects of the accounts that they have been assigned. 

This includes overseeing all aspects of a Kuali (KFS) account, which includes using the appropriate Full Accounting Unit (FAU) and the appropriate use of funds when approving transactions. Fiscal officers are granted this authority at the discretion of the department head who, per policy 330-10, is responsible for approving the department's transactions.

Fiscal officers should always remember they have an obligation to the university and the community to be good stewards of the resources that have been entrusted to us. 
We meet these obligations by:

• Processing properly and accurately all receipts and disbursements of funds.
• Accounting for all financial resources received and used.
• Ensuring that all financial transactions conform to legal requirements and administrative policies, and are recorded in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for colleges and universities.
• Providing reports that present to university administrators and the public a complete picture of the university's funds and their uses.

Fiscal officers also have a responsibility to:

• Be familiar with university accounting.
• Promote effective communication among those involved in the department's financial transactions, including Principal Investigator's (PI's).
• Create and/or approve appropriate FAU elements (e.g., accounts, sub-accounts, sub-objects, projects).
• Review transactions to make sure goods and services are consistent with the account purpose.
• Monitor accounts for compliance with funding requirements, the project budget, and university policies.
• Be aware of extramural funds responsibilities when managing extramural/sponsored funds (see Contracts and Grants Accounting page for details).
• Ensure PI's receive regular and understandable information about the activity occurring in their accounts.
• Promptly resolve overdrafts and promote timely corrections to the ledgers.
• Understand appropriate use of accruals and deferrals.
• Ensure accuracy of accounts receivable, clearing and other balance sheet accounts.
• Perform the Analytical Ledger Review monthly.

Fiscal officers must follow separation of duties policy. No one person shall have complete control of a financial transaction. Kuali has been updated to force the separation of duties between the initiator and the approver. If a fiscal officer initiates a transaction, the document will route to their delegates. For more details regarding separation of duties, see PPM 330-11.