The Letters of Representation (LORs) are electronic certifications signed after the close of each fiscal year. These certifications provide assurance to Executive Management at UT Dallas and UT System that all cost centers, and ultimately the financials of UT Dallas, are accurate and without material errors or known fraud. LORs are used by the President and the Vice President for Budget and Finance to complete UTD’s annual financial certification required by UT System Administrative Policy UTS 142, Policy on the Annual Financial Report. Opens in a new tab.

As an extension of the financial assurances made during the monthly cost center reconciliation and approval process, at year-end, management is also asked to certify the annual financial activity for their area of responsibility. This is achieved through the LOR process.

There are two levels of LOR completed by campus management:

  • Cost Center Owner Certification. This form can be accessed via the Galaxy portal, through Gemini > Gemini for Departments > Financial Compliance > Letters of Representation > Cost Center Owner Certification.
  • Dean / Division Head Certification. This form can be accessed via the Galaxy portal, through Gemini > Gemini for Departments > Financial Compliance > Letters of Representation > Dean/Div Head Certification.

Both types of LOR include reconciliation data and allow room for pertinent comments the certifier wishes Executive Management to know. In addition, there are 11 statements that the certifier is required to certify to.

Timeline

After the close of the fiscal year, LORs are available for certification by cost center owners and Deans / Division Heads. The order of completion should be:

  1. All cost centers should be reconciled and approved. The Account Reconciliation Summary page is a helpful tool to view the reconciliation and approval status of all cost centers and periods on one page. 
  2. Once all cost centers have been reconciled and approved for a Cost Center Owner, the Owner should log in to their LOR to review and certify.
  3. Once all cost center owners for a particular school or division have completed their LORs, the Dean or Division Head should review and certify for the school or division.

Typically, campus has two weeks to complete the LOR process. 

Cost Center Owner: The Cost Center Owner role is assigned to the person with authority, responsibility, and knowledge of the financial activity for a cost center. This person is often the approver of the monthly reconciliation and is responsible for signing the annual Letter of Representation (LOR). Typically, cost center ownership resides at the Principal Investigator or Department Head level. 

Dean or Division Head: In terms of the LOR process, the Dean or Division Head role refers to the individuals on campus who are responsible for an additional level of year-end financial certification. Deans and Division Heads certify on behalf of their school or division. Typically, the Dean or Division Head is only the owner on a small percentage of cost centers in their school or division.