Finance/Administration Section
This appendix includes the position descriptions and list of responsibilities for those individuals involved in the Finance Administration Section of the campus’ emergency response organization. See See Finance section chart. Also included is a generic checklist for all positions within the Finance Administration Section.
Included are descriptions for:
Time Keeping Unit
The duties of the Finance Section are:
- Establish timekeeping procedures consistent with federal, state, and university guidelines for university employees and equipment.
- Provide guidance to other departments with respect to timekeeping, salary, benefits, and documentation procedures.
- Be responsible for all financial and cost aspects of the disaster, including record keeping, for reimbursement.
- Handle any property/equipment claims for compensation.
- Apprise the Management Section Chief of the current and projected financial status of the campus budget.
Obtain eligible reimbursement and other funding from state and federal sources expeditiously.
SOPs of the Department of Finance and Administration provide details regarding the methods used for tracking FEMA reimbursements.
Activation Phase:
Check in with the Security Officer upon arrival at the university EOC.
Report to Management Section Chief, Section Chief, Branch Coordinator, or other assigned Superior.
Set up workstation and review your position responsibilities.
Establish and maintain a position log, which chronologically describes your actions taken during your shift.
Determine your resource needs, such as a computer, printer, phone, plan copies, and other reference documents.
Ensure that any electronic support systems (Web EOC, RIMS, other) is operational.
Demobilization Phase:
Deactivate your assigned position and close out logs when authorized by the Management Section Chief.
Complete all required forms, reports, and other documentation. All forms should be submitted through your supervisor to the Planning/Intelligence Section, as appropriate, prior to your departure.
Be prepared to provide input to the After Action Report.
If another person is relieving you, ensure he is thoroughly briefed before you leave your workstation.
Clean up your work area before you leave.
Check out with the Security Officer, and leave a destination and phone number where you can be reached.
Finance/Administration Section Chief
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Responsibilities:
- Ensure that all financial records are maintained throughout the event or disaster.
- Ensure that all on-duty time is recorded for all university emergency response personnel.
- Ensure that all on-duty time sheets are collected from field level supervisors or Incident Commanders and their staffs.
- Ensure there is a continuum of the payroll process for all employees responding to the event or disaster.
- Determine purchase order limits for the procurement function in Logistics.
- Ensure that FEMA rules for contracting, including advertising and bid requirements are abided y in all acquisition activities, coordinated closely with the Procurement Unit.
- Ensure that all travel and expense claims are processed within a reasonable time, given the nature of the situation.
- Provide administrative support to all EOC Sections in coordination with the Human Resources Unit, as required.
- Activate units within the Finance/Administration Section as required and monitor section activities continuously and modify the organization as needed.
- Ensure that all recovery documentation is accurately maintained during the response and submitted on the appropriate forms to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), State EMA and the Chancellor’s Office.
Activation Phase:
- Follow the generic Activation Phase Checklist:
- Ensure that the Finance/Administration Section is set up properly and that appropriate personnel, equipment, and supplies are in place.
- Based on the situation, activate units within the section as needed and designate Unit Leaders for each element:
- Time Keeping Unit
- Risk Management, Compensation and Claims Unit
- Cost Accounting Unit
- Ensure that sufficient staff is available for 24-hour schedule, or as required.
- Meet with the Logistics Section Chief and review financial and administrative support requirements and procedures, including FEMA requirements for contracts and bidding; determine the level of purchasing authority to be delegated to Logistics Sections.
- Meet with all Finance/Administration Unit Leaders and ensure that responsibilities are clearly understood.
- In conjunction with Finance/Administration Unit Leaders, determine the initial Action Planning objectives for the Action Planning Briefing.
- Notify the Management Section Chief when the Finance/Administration Section is operational.
Operational Phase:
- Ensure that Finance/Administration position logs and other necessary files are maintained.
- Ensure that displays associated with the Finance/Administrative Section are current, and that information is posted in a legible and concise manner.
- Participate in all Action Planning Briefings.
- Brief all Finance/Administration Unit Leaders and ensure they are aware of the EOC objectives as defied in the Action Plan.
- Keep the Management Section Chief aware of the current fiscal situation and other related matters, on an on-going basis.
- Ensure that the Planning/Intelligence Recovery Unit maintains all financial records related to their work throughout the event or disaster.
- Ensure that the Time Keeping Unit tracks and records all university staff time.
- Ensure that the Time-Keeping Unit processes all time sheets and travel expense claims promptly.
- Ensure that the Cost Accounting Unit maintains all financial records related to the event or disaster.
- Ensure that the Finance/Administration Section provides administrative support to other EOC Sections as required.
- Ensure that all recovery documentation is accurately maintained by the Recovery Planning Branch during the response, and given to the Finance Section for submission on the appropriate forms to FEMA, the state EMA or the Chancellor’s Office.
Demobilization Phase:
Risk Management, Compensation and Claims Unit Leader
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Responsibilities:
- Oversee the investigation of property/equipment damage or loss claims involving the university, arising out of the event or disaster.
- Complete all forms required.
- Maintain a file of property/equipment damage or loss claims associated with the event or disaster, which includes results of investigations, and responsible parties.
- Oversee the investigation of personal injury claims involving the university, arising out of the event or disaster.
- Oversee the investigation of liability claims involving the university, arising out of the event or disaster.
Operational Phase:
- Establish and maintain a position log and other necessary files.
- Maintain a chronological log of property/equipment damage, personal injury or liability claims reported during the event or disaster.
- Investigate all property/equipment damage, personal injury or liability claims as soon as possible.
- Prepare appropriate forms for all property/equipment damage, personal injury or liability claims.
- Coordinate with the Logistics Section Facilities Unit and the Human Resources Branch regarding the mitigation of campus event-related hazards.
- Keep the Finance/Administration Chief informed of significant issues affecting the Risk Management, Compensation and Claims Unit.
Responsibilities:
- Collect and maintain documentation of all disaster information for reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), State OES, or the Chancellor’s Office.
- Coordinate reimbursements with disaster assistance agencies.
- Prepare and maintain a cumulative cost report for the event or disaster.
- Supervise the Cost Accounting Unit and all aspects of financial recovery operations.
Operational Phase:
- Establish and maintain position log and other necessary files.
- In conjunction with the Operations Chief and Logistics Chief, compute costs for use of equipment owned, rented, or donated or obtained through mutual aid.
- Obtain information from the Logistics Section Resources Tracking Unit regarding equipment use time.
- Ensure that the University’s Finance Office establishes a disaster accounting system to include an exclusive cost code for disaster response.
- Ensure that each section is collecting cost recovery documentation daily at the end of each shift: overtime related to the section's work, equipment consumed or destroyed during their work.
- Meet with the Planning/Intelligence Section Documentation Unit Leader and review EOC Position logs, journals, all status reports and Action Plans to determine additional cost recovery items that may have been overlooked.
- Meet with Procurement Unit Leader to ensure that he knows and follows all FEMA rules for contracting and bidding, including the differences between types of work, such as emergency work, restoration work and public works contracts.
- Act as the liaison for the university with other government units and disaster assistance agencies, to coordinate the cost recovery process, where appropriate.
- Prepare all required state and federal documentation as necessary to recover all allowable disaster response and recovery costs.
- Contact and assist Incident Commanders and obtain their cumulative cost totals for the event or disaster, on a daily basis.
- Prepare and maintain a cost report for the Finance/Administration Chief, Management Section Chief, and Policy Group. The report should provide cumulative analyses, summaries, and total disaster/event related expenditure for the campus.
- Organize and prepare records for final audit.
Operational Phase:
- Establish and maintain position logs and other necessary files.
- Initiate, gather, or update time reports from all personnel, including volunteers assigned to each shift; ensure that time records are accurate and prepared in compliance with university policy.
- Obtain complete personnel rosters from the Logistics Section Human Resources Unit. Rosters must include all EOC personnel as well as personnel assigned to the field level.
- Provide instructions for all supervisors to ensure that time sheets and travel expense claims are completed properly and signed by each employee prior to submitting them.
- Establish a file for each employee or volunteer within the first operational period to maintain a fiscal record for as long as the employee is assigned to the response.