FINOPS
Which chat systems are being used by the FinOps teams?
Google and Zoom
What are the four specialized EFS roles in FinOps?
Journal Preparer, Voucher Specialist, Procurement Specialist, Billing Specialist
What is the dollar threshold for something to be a capital asset (equipment)?
$5,000
(without looking) When was the UMN founded? (+/- 10 years)
1851 (seven years before MN was even a state)
Looking at a chartstring, how can you tell something is or is related to a sponsored project?
Fund 3xxx, a project field, or "CS", for example.
How difficult is it to remove the BAA profile?
Really difficult!
What comes first, a requisition or a purchase order?
Requisition
What's the difference between Policy and a Best Practice?
Policy explicitly states acceptable actions and best practices are the unified way we approach policy and the gray areas.
Which campus(es) offer(s) graduate degrees?
TC, Duluth, and Rochester
Is the University of Minnesota Foundation an Internal Sales Organization or an External Sales customer?
External Sales Customer
In which states do we have FinOps staff?
MN, WI, and MT
What's the difference between a customer and a supplier?
A customer is in Billing and a supplier is in Procurement.
You come across a purchase request for $5,000,000. What needs to happen to that?
Individual purchases and contracts valued at $5,000,000 and over must be presented to the Board of Regents for approval after the bid/proposal process has been completed.
(without looking) What is the staff size of the entire UMN system (including faculty) in 2025 (+/- 5K)?
27,715
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Blue.
What is the current team size of FinOps (entire team)?
I actually don't know because it keeps changing. Carrie?
What's the difference between Billing and AR?
Billing is the process of creating and sending invoices to customers, while AR is the broader accounting tracking system that records those unpaid invoices as assets and manages the collection of money owed.
Explain the difference between a PI (Principal Investigator) and a CA (Certified Approver)
The PI is the researcher who leads the project and determines the scientific/academic necessity of an expense. The CA is the financial expert who verifies the regulatory compliance (allowability, budget rules) before the money is spent.
Which is the largest academic department in the entire UMN system?
CLA in the Twin Cities
What is Fringe?
It accounts for all non-salary expenses related to someone's payroll.
What are some differences between an ISO and an ESO and who deals with them in FinOps?
Internal sales (AP and GL) vs external sales (AR).
In EFS, debits are represented by a _______ value and credits are represented by a _______ value
Debits = positive value; credits = negative value
Can someone explain the difference between an ISO and an internal sale that's not an ISO? Asking for a friend.
An Internal Sales Org (ISO) is for activity that will surpass $25K in revenue, have a rate structure, and go through an approval process. Infrequent and one-off sales that don't surpass that amount or do not touch sponsored can be considered a regular Internal Sale
Name all of the campus mascots
Goldy Gopher/Gophers (TC), Champ/Bulldogs (Duluth), Pounce/Cougars (Morris), Regal/Golden Eagles (Crookston), and Rockie/Raptors (Rochester)
What's in the basement of WBOB?
A large open room with a disturbingly small bay of cubes in the middle and a flickering light.