The COA Hierarchies report is an Orbit report available for all Oracle users to better identify the necessary Chart of Accounts segments required to perform financial transactions.

This document is intended to help users locate and review all currently active values for each Chart of Accounts (COA) segment, including Entity, Organization, Account, Fund, Purpose, Program, Activity, Site, Affiliate, and Future, using the COA Hierarchies Report available in Orbit.

• The data available in Orbit will be updated nightly by the source system (i.e., Oracle, Workday, or AURA).
• In Orbit, information is displayed in reports, which present tables covering specific data sets with filtering capabilities, or in dashboards, which combine charts, graphs, and reports to provide a comprehensive view of the data.
• Dashboards and reports in Orbit are organized into folders based on broader topics or categories. After selecting one of these folders, you will need to choose the desired dashboard or report from the available options within the folder.
  • The Public folder, which will be discussed in this article, contains one report: COA Hierarchies Report.
• Dashboards and reports in Orbit display filter boxes at the top of the screen, which can be used to apply filters across all charts, graphs and tables included in the dashboard or report. To use these filters, select a box and enter your filter criteria in the Search field. Double-click or drag the desired results into the Selected item(s) list, then click OK. The information on the dashboard or report will update accordingly. You can use multiple filter boxes to further refine the data.
  • To select multiple values after conducting a search in a filter box, hold the Shift key and select all desired results. Then, drag the selected values and drop them into the Selected item(s) section.
  • When searching for filter criteria, Orbit's search engine matches text starting from the beginning of a string. This means that searching for characters in the middle of a string will not return any results.
    • For example, if you want to search for entity 632-Chief Financial Officer, entering 63 or 632 will return results, but entering chief will not.
  • To ensure all results related to your search criteria are displayed, regardless of their position in the string, use the wildcard character (%) at the beginning and end of your search value.
    • For example, to find all entities containing the word Office, search for %office%. This will return results such as 617-Academic Offices, 623-University Offices, 632-Chief Financial Officer, and more.
• To export a specific report to Excel, select the Menu icon (represented by three horizontal lines, also known as the hamburger icon) located in the top-right corner of the table, and select Underlying Data. A popup will appear. In the popup, select the Export icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
• For more information on accessing and navigating Orbit, refer to the Navigating Orbit Report Fundamentals Knowledge Base Article.

• Chart of Accounts (COA): The basic account structure used to record financial activity to the General Ledger (GL). The COA consists of 10 numeric segments, each with a distinct definition and function. Together, these segments create a string that provides a complete picture of a financial transaction. The 10 segments are: Entity, Organization, Account, Fund, Purpose, Program, Activity, Site, Affiliate, and Future. To learn more about COA, we suggest you receive the training course: Introduction to Oracle and Orbit.
• General Ledger (GL): The University’s central accounting structure, which houses all financial information (i.e., transactions including assets, liabilities, fund balance, income, and expenses) across the organization. Each transaction is represented in the General Ledger through a 10-segment value string called the Chart of Accounts (COA).
• COA Hierarchies: Organized charts that show how different COA segment values are related using a parent-child structure, making it easier to categorize and analyze financial data. Parent values represent broader categories that group together more detailed child values. This setup helps:
  • Group similar values for easier management
  • Create clearer reports by showing both summary and detailed views
  • View financial data at a high level (like total expenses) or drill down into specific categories (like office supplies, travel costs, and more)
• Hierarchy Item: Any value or category within a COA segment hierarchy. A hierarchy item can serve as a parent (if it groups related subitems), a child (if it is grouped under a higher-level item), or both, depending on its position in the hierarchy.
• Hierarchy Levels: The layers that organize hierarchy items from general to specific. Each level reflects an item's position within the structure: higher levels represent broader groupings, while lower levels contain more detailed items. Hierarchy level names typically begin with a letter followed by a number, for example, top-level values start with "A," the next level with "B," and so on. The number of levels varies by COA segment.
• COA Segment Values: The lowest-level items in the hierarchy. These are typically numeric-only, have no child items, and represent the actual COA segment values used in Oracle transactions.

Anyone with Oracle access can view the COA Hierarchies Report, as it is public to all Oracle users. Please note that all full-time, benefits-eligible staff are granted Oracle access to purchase goods and services.

Access to other Orbit reports is managed through Oracle roles. If you need to view additional reports in Orbit, contact your unit's Role Assignment Owner to have the appropriate Oracle role assigned. You can find a list of Role Assignment Owners on the Inside UChicago | Oracle page.

1. Select Company Single Sign-On to log in to Oracle.

2. Select the Reporting Hub menu option.
3. Select COA Hierarchies Dashboard.

4. The data in the COA Hierarchies Report is presented across multiple screens, with each screen corresponding to a different COA segment. Use the tabs at the bottom of the screen to navigate between segments and access all available information. By default, the report opens on the Entity screen, which is the first COA segment.

5. Use Expand All to view all items in the hierarchy and identify the different levels at which COA segment values are organized.

 

6. Select Collapse All to return the hierarchy to its initial view, showing only the top-level items while hiding the lower-level details.

7. Utilize the Plus (+) or Minus (-) icons next to a hierarchy level to show or hide its child items (subitems).

8. Use the filters at the top of the page to refine your search. Each filter represents a hierarchy level, with the final filter showing the actual COA segment values used in Oracle transactions. The number of filters will vary depending on the number of hierarchy levels in the specific COA segment being viewed.

9. The report table displays the hierarchy levels and values within the COA segment being viewed. The final column, Count, indicates how many items are grouped under each expanded hierarchy level.

This report displays all existing values in each COA segment, organized in a hierarchical structure, from broad categories to more specific items. The report contains the following screens:

Entity

This screen shows data for the Entity COA segment, which represents a major part of the University or a separate legal unit, such as the Physical Sciences Division, The College, or Chicago Booth.

Organization

This screen shows data for the Organization COA segment, which identifies departments or units within an Entity that earn or spend money. Each Organization typically has a specific function, an established budget, dedicated staff, and sometimes, they have a physical location. Examples include PSD Chemistry, PSD Mathematics, and PSD Physics, all Organizations within the Physical Sciences Division Entity.

Account

This screen shows data for the Account COA segment, which describes the type or nature of a transaction, whether it is an asset, liability, equity, revenue, or expense.

Fund

This screen shows data for the Fund COA segment, which is used to track specific pools of money, like endowments, gifts, or general operating funds. It also tells us whether that money has any restrictions on how it can be spent.

Purpose

This screen shows data for the Purpose COA segment, which identifies the reason for a transaction. For example, if supplies are purchased for a course, the Purpose value would be Instruction. If the same supplies are purchased for a research lab, the Purpose value would be Research.

Program

This screen shows data for the Program COA segment, which refers to ongoing initiatives run by units across campus that typically do not have dedicated personnel overseeing them. Examples include the Big Data Initiative, Advanced Leadership Program, and New Venture Challenge.

Activity

This screen shows data for the Activity COA segment, which tracks specific events or occurrences that bring in or spend money. Activities that become more formalized, with annual budgets and consistent repetition year after year, may be reclassified as Program values.

Site

This screen shows data for the Site COA segment, which identifies the physical location associated with the transaction, such as Burton-Judson Courts, Bartlett Dining Commons, or Stagg Field.

Affiliate

This screen shows data for the Affiliate COA segment, which is used to record cross-entity transactions.

Future

This screen shows data for the Future COA segment, which indicates a placeholder segment reserved for future growth or changes in how the University tracks financial information.

Expense Accounts

This screen does not represent a specific COA segment. Instead, it displays a list of all Account COA segment values categorized as expenses. These values can be used in Oracle transactions where money is spent to support the institution’s operations and generate revenue. Examples include rent, salaries, office supplies, and more.