Accounting

Statewide Accounting glossary

This is a list of terms used within the Washington Administrative and Accounting Manual (WAAM) and within Workday. To find a term, enter it in in the search box, and select 'Apply'.

Term	Category	Definition
Cash disbursements		Cash disbursements are any moneys (e.g., checks, cash, warrants, credit or debit card amounts, or Electronic Fund Transfers (EFTs)) paid by the state during a period regardless of when the related obligations are incurred.
Cash receipts		Cash receipts are any moneys (e.g., checks, cash, warrants, credit or debit card amounts, or EFTs) received by the state during a period regardless of when the moneys are earned.
Certificate of Participation (COP)		Alternative financing method authorized by the Legislature and administered by the State Treasurer. (COPs for equipment do not require legislative authorization.) A COP typically has a revenue stream to pay the debt service for the capital project.
Change Request (CR)		A request for change to the program scope, schedule, and/or budget. All change requests must be managed by way of the OneWA governance process.
Chart of Accounts (COA)		The Chart of Accounts is a financial organizational tool providing a complete listing of every account in an accounting system. It is a structured list of all of the codes used to catergorize financial transactions and create financial reports. The Foundation Data Model (FDM) in Workday is the state's chart of accounts.
Client services (purchases)		Client Service Contracts are for services provided directly to agency clients by contractors, including but not limited to, medical and dental services, employment and training programs, residential care, education and subsidized housing. Clients are those individuals whom the agency has statutory responsibility to serve, protect or oversee. Clients are the targeted individuals in the public that an agency is responsible to serve.
Communities of Practice (CoPs)		Collaborative hubs led by OneWA, where agencies come together to share best practices, seek advice, and collectively navigate Workday implementation.
Company-Specific Worktags		Company-Specific worktags are customizable at the company level. They include the following: Appropriation, Budget Activity, Program, Cost Center, Grant, Project, Business Unit, Location, Allocation Pool, and Agency Use Code.
Competitive solicitation		A documented and formal process providing an equal and open opportunity to bidders and culminating in a selection based on predetermined criteria
Consultant		An independent individual or entity contracting with an agency to perform a professional service or render an opinion or recommendation according to the consultant's methods and without being subject to the control of the agency except as to the result of the work. The agency monitors progress under the contract and authorizes payment.
Contract management		Entire lifecycle from conception to end life of a contract. Includes development, tracking, monitoring and updating contracts throughout their lifecycle to proactively manage supplier and user adherence to negotiated terms and conditions.
Control account		An account in the general ledger in which the aggregate of all debit and credit postings to a number of related accounts (called the subsidiary accounts) are recorded. For example, the Accounts Receivable account is a control account supported by the aggregate of the individual customer subsidiary accounts.
Corrective maintenance		Unscheduled repair or replacement of equipment, systems, or components of facilities that requires immediate action to restore service or repair problems that will interrupt building service or agency activities. This work is normally funded from the operating budget.
Cost Allocation System (CAS)		The system that ensures costs are appropriately allocated to the trusts where the work is being done, optimizing resource utilization.
Credit Memo	Financial	In Workday, a credit memo is a customer invoice adjustment that decreases the amount due. A credit memo for suppliers is a supplier invoice adjustment that decreases the amount owed.
Current Asset	Financial	An asset on the balance sheet that is expected to be sold or otherwise used up in the near future; usually within one year or one business cycle (whichever is longer). Typical current assets include cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, inventory, the portion of prepaid accounts that will be used within a year, and short-term investments. On the balance sheet, assets are typically classified into current assets and long-term assets.
Custodial Funds		Used to account for resources held by the state in a purely custodial capacity for other governments, private organizations or individuals that are not required to be reported in pension (and other employee benefit) trust funds, investment trust funds, or private-purpose trust funds.
Custom Objects	Cross Application	Ability to extend Workday business objects by creating custom object definitions based on the business object and adding custom fields. Custom objects enable you to record additional data for which there's no Workday-delivered field. - Business objects are used to store data in Workday (such as organizations or workers). A business object has fields and instances, which are analogous to rows and columns in a spreadsheet.
Customer Invoice Adjustment	Financial	A change to the amount a customer owes, and can be an increase or a decrease in the amount due.
Data Validation		The critical process of confirming that data has been loaded as intended, ensuring it is valid, consistent, functions with Workday business processes, and supports downstream systems.
Debit Memo	Financial	In Workday, a debit memo is a customer invoice adjustment that increases the amount due. A debit memo for suppliers is a supplier invoice adjustment that increases the amount owed.
Debt service fund		A fund type established to account for the accumulation of resources for, and the payment of, general long-term obligation principal and interest.
Debt Service Funds		Used to account for the accumulation of resources that are restricted, committed, or assigned for, and the payment of, general long-term debt principal and interest.
Decommission Planning		The strategic approach to retiring legacy systems that no longer serve the Workday ecosystem, mitigating risks and ensuring a smooth transition.
Defects		Issues reported in the Workday Enterprise system that impact functionality, tracked in the Agency Defect Tracker to ensure timely resolution and resolution status monitoring.
Due Date		The date a payment is due or will be paid. In Workday, depending on the type of transaction, the due date defaults from the invoice date or document date.
Due Date Override		In Workday, the Due Date Override allows the due date to be changed so the payment is made on a future date, up to 30 days from the invoice date. The Due Date Override is not allowed for HHS agencies or if the payment transaction includes a Grant worktag.
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) payments		An alternative method for making disbursements to benefit recipients. EBT is similar in nature to a debit card. The recipient's benefits are encoded on a magnetic stripe card. Refer to WAAM Section 60.30.130 - Electronic Benefit Transfers, Payroll Cards, Stored Valued Cards, and Other Electronic Technologies.
Emergency		A set of unforeseen circumstances beyond the control of the agency that either: (a) Presents a real, immediate, and extreme threat to the proper performance of essential functions; or (b) May reasonably be expected to result in material loss or damage to property, bodily injury, or loss of life, if immediate action is not taken.
Encumbrance		Commitments related to unperformed (executory) contracts for goods or services. Used in budgeting, encumbrances are not GAAP expenditures or liabilities, but represent the estimated number of expenditures ultimately to result if unperformed contracts in process are completed. An encumbrance is often recorded at the time a purchase order is processed.

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