How the Fiscal Close Calendar Comes Together at UC Davis

Each year, accounting and financial staff at UC Davis await the release of the new fiscal close calendar. The calendar contains a list of tasks that must be completed, approved, and posted by specific deadlines. Just as important, it helps the university close the fiscal year accurately and on time.

It Starts with UCOP

Building the fiscal close calendar for UC Davis starts with the University of California Office of the President (UCOP). UCOP develops its calendar based on its needs as it prepares financial statements and a year-end report for the University of California System. Once that information is available, UC Davis Central Finance begins aligning local deadlines for accounting, payroll, procurement, accounts payable, and other year-end business processes. The internal calendar that UC Davis Central Finance follows can contain more than 300 tasks and deadlines. This central finance calendar sets the framework for the UC Davis campus calendar.

The UC Davis Campus Fiscal Close Calendar

The campus calendar is built around the work that must happen before the books can close. Central offices look at final reporting needs and work backward, allowing time for transaction processing, approvals, corrections, reconciliations, and final review. The goal is to create a schedule that supports both accurate financial reporting and the practical realities of how financial data moves through campus systems.

A preliminary version of the campus calendar, listing tasks and deadlines for departments across campus, is posted and communicated as soon as it is available. It is called preliminary because, with so many task dependencies involved in fiscal close, it can take additional time to fully finalize the calendar. Waiting to put out a final calendar would create needless delay, especially since changes to the preliminary calendar are usually few and minor.

What Can I Do While Waiting for the Calendar?

Understandably, many members of the campus accounting and financial community are eager to see the calendar to start planning for fiscal close. The good news is that in most years, changes to the campus fiscal close calendar are minimal. Some deadlines may shift slightly, but the overall structure and sequence remain mostly the same. That makes the previous year’s calendar a useful starting point for early planning.

For departments that want to get ahead, reviewing the previous year’s calendar can help identify major cutoff points, begin internal conversations, and set expectations for year-end work. It’s also helpful to start reviewing transactions and balances early to identify potential problems and ensure there aren’t any transactions in a pending or unfinished state. These are simple ways to prepare in advance, even before the updated calendar is released.

If you have any questions about fiscal close, the Aggie Enterprise team is available to help. You can reach them by submitting a support ticket to the Aggie Enterprise Help Desk.