Accounting

Various university units sell goods or provide services to other university units. This results in “revenue” to the internal services unit that is not true revenue to the university (no new resources are being provided from an external source). Therefore, these sales must be offset by the interdepartmental expenses charged to the university units – in total, interdepartmental revenues and expenses should net to zero.

Many institutions have an "other" category to reflect any exchange revenues not considered elsewhere. Examples are miscellaneous rentals and sales, miscellaneous fees, and items that are not material enough to warrant separate disclosure.

The sales and services of educational activities category includes (1) revenues that are related to the conduct of instruction, research, and public service, and (2) revenues of activities that exist to provide instructional and laboratory experience for students and that create goods and services that may be sold to students, faculty, staff, and the general public.

An auxiliary enterprise is a non-academic entity that exists predominantly to furnish goods or services to students, faculty, or staff, and that charges a fee directly related to, although not necessarily equal to, the cost of the goods or services. The general public may be served incidentally by some auxiliary enterprises.

Interest Income, Dividends, Realized and Unrealized Gains and Losses

A gift/contribution is an unconditional transfer of cash or other assets to the university in a voluntary, nonreciprocal transfer by another entity. Several components of this definition merit further definition:

Funding from an external entity, such as a governmental agency, corporation or private foundation, is recorded as grant and contract revenue (sometimes referred to as “sponsored” revenue) when it is for an activity with a defined budget, period of performance, and scope of work undertaken by the university, and with the expectation of an outcome that directly benefits the resource provider. The agreement with the external entity may take the form of a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement, and is generally in direct support of the university’s mission.

Cornell receives appropriations from both the federal government and New York State. Typically, appropriations are awarded based on legislation, and not through an application process, though special reporting may be required to maintain the appropriation. The government appropriations revenue source does not include government grants and contracts (see the Grant and Contract Revenue: Grants, Contracts, and Similar Agreements).

The tuition and mandatory fees category includes all tuition and fees (net of refunds, bad debt estimates, and any discounts recognized) assessed for educational purposes. Tuition and fees that are levied for academic terms that fall entirely within one fiscal year are recognized as revenue in that fiscal year. Take care to ensure that prepaid tuition is deferred and that unpaid tuition is accrued at the end of the fiscal year.