About Us
The Comptroller’s Office reports to the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for the development of financial accounting and related policies to control and safeguard University assets.
The Comptroller’s Office supports the University’s mission by providing effective accounting systems and processes to monitor and assess the financial position and internal controls of the University and its related affiliates. The office provides support to campus through accurate and timely financial information, facilitates policy formulation to enhance financial integrity, and develops strategies for implementing the University’s initiatives ensuring quality and cost-effectiveness.
Jean Gallipeau serves as the University’s Comptroller and oversees a wide range of departments within finance including Accounts Payable, Construction Accounting, Financial Reporting, Financial Systems Management, General Accounting, Purchasing, Payroll, Restricted Gift Accounting, Sponsored Accounting, and Tax Reporting.
Latest News
February 2, 2021
Message from the Comptroller Regarding Paper Paychecks
All paper paychecks dated Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, and continuing until further notice will be delivered through campus mail to each employee’s campus department.
As a reminder, anyone with a NetID and password has the ability to set up direct deposit on MySlice. The Payroll Office provides step-by-step instructions to enroll in direct deposit on its website.
Please contact payroll at payroll@syr.edu or 315.443.4042, option 2, with any questions.
September 14, 2020
Syracuse University Will Not Implement 2020 Payroll Tax Deferral
On Friday, August 28, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department issued guidance on a potential employee payroll tax deferral directed by a presidential memorandum released on August 8, 2020. The deferral provided employers the option to defer withholding the employee portion of social security tax payments from September 1 through December 31, 2020, with the deferred taxes to be repaid from January 1 through April 30, 2021. The deferral applied only to employees whose wages are less than $2,000 for a weekly pay period and to salaried workers earning less than $104,000 per year.
After consulting with tax, legal, and compensation experts, the University has decided not to participate in the optional deferral. Since this program only postpones tax payments, the University chose this option in an effort to safeguard our employees from higher withholdings beginning January 2021.
If you have any questions, please contact the Payroll Service Center at 315-443-4042 or payroll@syr.edu.
Important update made by the IRS for the 2020 version of Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate
Due to the federal tax law changes that took place in 2018, the IRS has updated the 2020 version of Form W-4. Form W-4 is completed by each employee of the university to determine how much federal income tax is to be withheld from each paycheck.
The IRS is not requiring that all employees complete the updated form. It is to be used by employees hired after 2019 and can be used by employees that want to make a withholding change after 2019.
The IRS recommends that employees consider completing a new form each year or when their personal or financial situation changes. To assist employees with making adjustments to their withholding, the Tax Withholding Estimator on the IRS website is available. The IRS has also published Frequently Asked Questions that may be helpful when completing the updated form.
Form W-4 may be completed online by logging into MySlice or in person at the Payroll Service Center in the Skytop Office Building on south campus.
Other Updates from the Comptroller’s Office
- Increase in Mileage Reimbursement Rate: The mileage reimbursement rate for use of a personal automobile on University business incurred on or after January 1, 2023, is $0.655 per mile.
- SAMtool: The Sponsored Award Management tool (SAMtool), is a financial and budget management tool for sponsored projects. It was conceived, designed, and built with the active participation of a campus-wide cross-functional team including central office staff, department and college budget staff, and research faculty from multiple academic units.
- University Fringe Benefit Rates for Fiscal Year 2023: The University’s fringe benefits expense is distributed to the responsibility centers, Syracuse Abroad administration, facilities, and administration and technology units as a percent of actual payroll expense. Fringe benefit rates were established considering the cost of the benefits available to employees in each classification (i.e., Regular, Graduate Assistant, Summer, Part-Time Faculty Union, Temporary Wages) as a percent of the payroll in the same classification. The University has negotiated new fringe benefit rates with the Federal government for fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023). These rates will be used for charging both sponsored (funds 13 and 91) and non-sponsored restricted (funds 15 and 16) chartstrings. The University has also established the fringe benefit rates to be used for unrestricted chartstrings (funds 11 and 14) under RCM for fiscal year 2023. Read more: FY 2023 University Fringe Benefit Rates (PDF file) and FY22 Fringe Rates (PDF file).
- University Facilities and Administrative Rates: The University has negotiated with the Federal government to establish Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rates, sometimes referred to as overhead or indirect cost rates. They pertain only to sponsored activity…more information about Facilities and Administrative rates (PDF file).
- Accounting for Excess Property Sales: Please note that excess property sales may no longer be deposited to an expense account (i.e., accounts beginning with ’56’).
All excess property sales must be accounted for as revenue for the selling department. Please use one of the following revenue accounts to record the sales income:- 480057, Other-Excess Property Income (cash or check sale and the selling department is not an auxiliary department)
- 470057, Auxiliaries-Excess Property (cash or check sale and the selling department is an auxiliary department)
- 800057, Internal Income-Excess Property (ID sale, note: buying department should use an appropriate expense account)
- W-2 Information: The Payroll Office continues to encourage employees to elect Online Receipt of their Form W-2. This can be done online via MySlice. If you have questions about your Form W-2, please contact the Payroll Office at x4042.
- Direct Deposit: We continue to encourage students and employees to elect direct deposit of your student refunds, expense reimbursements, and pay. This can be done via MySlice.