Agency Funds

Fund 80

The agency fund group consists of funds held by an institution as custodian or fiscal agent for others such as student organizations, affiliated organizations or third-party financial aid. Agency funds should be accounted for as a separate fund group although, if immaterial in amount, they may be reported as assets and liabilities of current funds. 

Agency funds are used to deposit funds that do not belong to and are not under the control of the Regents, but rather are private funds that belong to the depositor. CU is essentially providing a banking function for the depositor, and these funds are then disbursed at the direction of the depositor. The most common uses of agency funds are for:

• Recognized student organizations
• External entities that have a business presence on campus and have a need to charge internal services such as telephone, copying and printing, etc.
• Funds sent to the university and held to be applied to a specific student’s bill at a later date e.g., third party payment of a student’s bills.

Funds deposited by the depositor should be recorded using a revenue account. Expenditures of funds should be recorded using expense accounts. 

Since agency funds are private (i.e. non-university) funds, the use of these funds does not represent university business and the revenue/expense is not reported in the statement of net position or the statement of revenue, expenses and changes in net position. The FOPPS net position is not reported in the net position of the university, but rather it is reported as a liability, deposits held in custody, on the balance sheet and the statement of net position. CU has chosen to combine the balance sheet accounts with the restricted current fund reporting on the balance sheet.

All agency funds are administered through one of four offices:

• The Center for Student Involvement (CSI) provides oversight for recognized student organization agency FOPPS.
• The Bursar’s Office oversees third party billing agency FOPPS.
• The Office of Financial Aid has numerous FOPPS in Fund 80 used to record money from scholarship providers, for direct lending and various other financial assistance purposes.
• The Campus Controller’s Office (CCO) oversees all other agency fund FOPPS.

Since agency funds represent entities external to the institution, all business dealing with agency fund FOPPS should be approached in the same manner as dealing with any other private individual or business. For example, agency fund operations do not have access to CU procurement services as this would extend CU’s state agency privileges such as tax exemption, higher education discounts, state contract discounts, etc. to private entities. It is inappropriate for private entities to benefit from state agency status. Interdepartmental cash transfers cannot be made to or from agency fund FOPPS. To do so would be the same as providing a gift to a private entity. Payments to CU departments from charges made to agency fund FOPPS should be accounted for the same as a cash payment from an external entity.