ALL A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
  • Abuse

    The result of behavior that is deficient or improper when compared with behavior that a prudent person would consider reasonable and necessary given the facts and circumstances. Abuse is distinct from an illegal act or other law violation that occurs when laws, regulations, or rules, or contracts, grants or donor restrictions are violated. Abuse usually results in an inappropriate use of University resources, such as excessive cost for an acquired good or service.
  • Account code

    A ChartField used to identify the nature and financial type of a transaction: generally asset, liability, net asset, revenue, expense, or transfer. The complete chart of accounts is available here.  Here is an easy reference list of accounts.

  • Affiliate

    An organization that has a contractual or other legal relationship with the University that closely aligns them operationally with the University to more effectively further both the University and the organization's missions. Affiliates are identified at https://www.cusys.edu/controller/policies/supporting%20listing.doc. Affiliates include Blended Organizations and Supporting Organizations.
  • Affiliate fiscal staff

    Employee(s) of an Affiliate(s) that accepts a role as Fiscal Staff for the University through a written agreement.

  • Agency fund

    The fund group (80) used to account for funds held by the university as a custodian or fiscal agent for others. Examples include funds held for independent (verses affiliated) student organizations, individual students, private businesses, and other organizations that have a working relationship with the university. Agency funds are broken into three divisions: • Independent student organizations • Third party scholarships • Other

  • Associate

    An individual who is not employed by the University, but who is actively involved in furthering the University's mission in some fashion. Examples of associates include members of the Board of Regents and off-campus work-study employers. The term associate does not generally include University vendors, non-employee students, alumni, parents of students, university-sponsored conference attendees, employees of University affiliates, official business guests, donors, sponsors, congressional or state legislative members, or members of the general public.
  • Available resources

    Funds legally available to an Organizational Unit to support the costs of carrying out its assigned roles or objectives, including allocated revenue budgets or spending authority (expense budgets), cash, convertible short-term assets (e.g., inventories, receivables), and allocated accumulated net assets.

  • Award

    An award is a promise, both informal and formal, to send resources or revenues to the University.
  • Budget

    A set of financial expectations (usually revenues and/or expenditures) for a given fiscal period (at least annually).
  • Business continuity

    The plans and processes that allow essential business functions to continue in the event of a disaster or during an interruption of utilities or services (e.g., IT services).

  • Campus

    The grounds and buildings that comprise a section of the university. The legislative mission for each campus of the University of Colorado is mandated by the Constitution of Colorado and stated in the Colorado Revised Statutes. The university has three main campuses (Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver Health Sciences Center) plus a centralized system administration campus (System.)
  • Campus-sponsored fundraising

    Fundraising that is the lead responsibility of the University and not the responsibility of a supporting foundation through a development services agreement. This includes all fundraising events and acceptance of Gift in Kind. The University having lead responsibility does not preclude or prohibit assistance from a supporting foundation.
  • ChartFields

    The individual components (fields of information) that represent the coding structure used by the University's Finance System (and subsystems) to record a transaction. Detailed explanations are available here.

  • Civil union partner

    The civil union partner of an employee in a civil union that satisfies the requirements of the Colorado Civil Union Act, C.R.S. § 14-15-101, et seq., if the employee and civil union partner have not dissolved the partnership and are not legally separated.

  • Classified staff

    An individual who holds a staff position that is governed by the state personnel system's rules and regulations (pursuant to state law).

  • Community relations function (external)

    An event, such as an award dinner or fundraising activity, hosted by an external organization, which supports the instructional, research, or public service mission of the University.

  • Compensating controls

    Procedures used to mitigate risks inherent in Internal Controls arising from approved waivers of segregation of duties. Detailed explanations are available at https://content.cu.edu/controller/policiesandprocedures/accountinghandbo....

  • Concentrations

    Results when material volumes of revenues or supplies are received from a single source (vendor, payer, markets or geographic areas) for which it is reasonably possible that a disruption from this single source would also disrupt the Organizational Unit's operations. Examples include more than 50% of a customer-driven revenues from a single vendor, such as Medicare; or purchasing more than 50% of your supplies from one vendor or market.
  • Conference

    An auxiliary activity to conduct a formal meeting of a number of people, primarily other than employees or associates, for discussion or consultation on a serious and identified topic, where admission is charged to those attending. Unlike the admission fee for a fundraising event,the admission fee for a conference is not intended to be tax-deductible, either in total or in part. Conferences are accounted for in Funds 20 or 29 in the Finance System.
  • Confidential information

    This category includes data elements not usually disclosed to the public but are less sensitive than Highly Confidential data. If a legally required and applicable, Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request is submitted, these records may be released. Examples include Personnel information, Non-public policies.

  • Conflict of interest

    Situations defined in the Administrative Policy Statement Conflict of Interest Policy in which financial or other personal considerations may compromise, or have the appearance of compromising, an employee's professional judgment in administration, management, instruction, research and other professional activities. This includes situations in which an employee might derive private gain due to her/his association with the University.

  • Courtesy vehicles

    A vehicle loaned to the University by a sponsoring car dealer in exchange for goods and/or services (but not cash) provided by an organizational unit not to exceed the value of the annual lease of the vehicle (such as Athletics tickets and Athletic event parking).

  • Customers

    An individual who applies for and/or receives goods or services from the University.
  • Data center

    A University-owned or operated facility with the primary purpose of processing, storage, and communication of large volumes of information needed for University or campus operations.

  • Data custodian

    Any party charged with managing a data collection for a data trustee.

  • Data steward

    A party or entity possessing delegated authority to act on a data trustee's behalf.

  • Data trustee

    A party or entity identified with and widely recognized to have primary authority and decision responsibility over a particular collection of university data. The Council of Data Trustees list is included on this page.

  • Data user

    Any person or party that utilizes university data to perform his or her job responsibilities.

  • Deficiency

    A control that is not operating as designed, a control that is no longer addressing the risk, or the lack of control due to a new risk that has not yet been addressed.
  • Disaster preparedness

    The plans and processes that allow the University to restore utilities and services (e.g., IT services) in the event of a disaster in an orderly and timely manner. Disaster preparedness is a component of business continuity that uses advanced preparation and planning to minimize the duration and impact of utility/service interruptions.

  • Donor-cultivation official function

    An official function, centered around past or future donors, that may or may not involve a donation solicitation but that does not meet the definition of a fundraising event.
  • Electronic record

    means a record created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means.

  • Electronic signature

    means an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.

  • Employees

    An individual who currently holds a University employment appointment, whether full-time, part-time, temporary, seasonal or hourly.
  • Encryption

    The process of transforming data so that it is unreadable to anyone who is not authorized (i.e. an individual or system that is in possession of a required password, key or other electronic token).
  • Estimates

    Fiscal transactions where the value assigned is based upon an assumption or educated guess as opposed to a fact or known event, e.g., estimate of amount owed for services as invoice has not yet been received.
  • Fiduciary

    The obligation arising from a position of authority to act on behalf of another (as in managing the University's operations) where one assumes a duty to act in good faith and with care, candor, and loyalty.
  • Finance system

    The University's official financial records, used to record all University fiscal transactions and prepare the University's financial statements.
  • Finance system users

    Employees or affiliate fiscal staff who have access to the university's Finance System.

  • Financial report review process

    As required by the Administrative Policy Statement Fiscal Roles and Responsibilities, policies and procedures that result in the routine review of financial information. This is a key control to ensure all fiscal transactions are properly recorded in the Finance System and to detect fiscal misconduct. The fundamental components of this process include: • Detailed review of fiscal transactions, including a reconciliation of each individual transaction appearing on the financial report to the related source documentation; • Periodic analysis of planned fiscal activity or budget in relation to actual fiscal activity; • Comparison and analysis of prior year financial activity to current year financial activity where appropriate. Procedures always include taking appropriate investigative and remedial action.
  • Financial reporting entity

    As defined by generally accepted accounting principles, the University plus all organizations that meet the following criteria: 1. organizations for which the University is financially accountable (equivalent to control by the University as an entity or its Regents or Officers); 2. a legally separate, tax-exempt organization: whose economic resources are entirely or almost entirely for the direct benefit of the University's financial reporting entity or its constituents, where the University has the ability to access (broader than control and is demonstrated by the ability not the occurrence in a given year) a majority of its economic resources, and such economic resources are Material to the University; 3. organizations for which the nature and significance is such that exclusion would be misleading to the University's financial statements; or 4. organizations closely related to or financially integrated with the University as exhibited through policies, practices or organizational documents of either entity.

  • Fiscal managers

    As defined in the Administrative Policy Statement Fiscal Roles and Responsibilities, the key employee in the Organizational Unit with the authority and responsibility for its fiscal transactions.

  • Fiscal misconduct

    As defined and illustrated in the Administrative Policy Statement Fiscal Misconduct Reporting and as defined by Regent Policy 13.E: Fiscal Misconduct – fiscal misconduct means a deliberate act or failure to act in the course of university employment regarding fiscal matters, contrary to established law, rule, or policy, with the intent to obtain an unauthorized benefit, which results in loss or other damage to the university or university faculty, staff, student or university affiliated entity. Fiscal misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

     - embezzlement or misappropriation of university funds, goods, property, services, or other resources;
     - improper handling or reporting of financial transactions;
     - authorizing or receiving compensation for goods not received or services not performed;
     - authorizing or receiving compensation for hours not worked;
     - forgery or unauthorized alteration of financial documents or records;
     - diverting funds to an unrelated private enterprise that otherwise could be available to the university; and
     - suspected fiscal misconduct that is a reasonable belief or actual knowledge that fiscal misconduct has occurred or is occurring.

    Fiscal misconduct also includes attempted fiscal misconduct. Attempted fiscal misconduct exists when an employee, with the intent to obtain a financial gain, engages in a deliberate act or failure to act that constitutes a substantial step towards committing fiscal misconduct, even though that act or failure to act did not result in loss or other damage to the university or university faculty, staff, student, or university affiliated entity.

  • Fiscal principals

    As defined in Administrative Policy Statement Fiscal Roles and Responsibilities, Chairs, Directors and Principal Investigators (or equivalent titles) as the result of their assigned fiscal responsibility.

  • Fiscal role

    The categorization of Employees to indicate their fiscal responsibilities to the University as defined in Administrative Policy Statement Fiscal Roles and Responsibilities. Categories include Officers, Fiscal Principals, Fiscal Managers and Fiscal Staff.

  • Fiscal staff

    As defined in Administrative Policy Statement Fiscal Roles and Responsibilities, Employees (other than Fiscal Managers, Fiscal Principals, and Officers) of the University involved in University fiscal transactions, such as initiating purchases, receiving cash or other negotiables, entering or reviewing transactions into the University's Finance System, monitoring contractors, verifying compliance.

  • Fiscal transactions

    Financial transactions occur within numerous University functions including Accounting, Human Resources, Payroll and Benefits, Procurement and Student Services. EXAMPLES OF FISCAL TRANSACTIONS Function/Transaction • Accounting o Asset Transfers/Disposition o Cash Transfer o Journal Entry (JE) o Interdepartmental Invoice/Order • Human Resources, Payroll and Benefits o Create or Modify Position (Employment Management) o One Time Payment (Payroll) o Payroll Expense Transfer (PET) o Payroll Funding Distribution o Time Collection Entry • Procurement (Purchasing, Payables or Travel) o Cash Advance o Departmental Purchase Order o International Travel Meal Diary Form o Official Function Form o Petty Cash o Procurement Card Allocation o Procurement Card Purchase o Payment (Expense) Voucher o Purchase Requisition o Standing Purchase Order Renewal/Requisition o Travel Authorization/Advance o Travel Voucher o Unavailable Documentation • Student Services / Bursar o Cash Receipt o Financial Aid Award o Tuition and Fee Charge o Tuition Waiver
  • FOPPS

    An acronym (Fund, Organization, Program, Project, Subclass) commonly referred to as a SpeedType. These terms represent an accounting cost center in the Finance System (or subsystems), that is, they identify where financial activity occurs.
  • Formal credit relationship

    One between an individual and the University where a credit application results in the extension of credit through promissory note or equivalent instrument.
  • Fraud

    Includes certain illegal acts; misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting; and misstatements arising from misappropriation of assets. Fraudulent illegal acts are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and perpetrated to obtain money, property or services; to avoid payment or loss of services; or to secure personal or business advantage. Misstatements arising from fraudulent financial reporting are intentional misstatements or omissions of amounts or disclosures in financial statements to deceive financial statement users. Misstatements arising from misappropriation of assets involve the theft of an entity's assets.
  • Functional area of responsibility

    A group of related business objectives, processes and entities for which an Officer has oversight by virtue of her/his position that have the following characteristics: organizational permanency and programmatic autonomy.
  • Fundraising

    The act or activity of soliciting and collecting gift revenue benefiting the University. Examples of fundraising activities include the collection of gifts or money through: contributions or donations, sale or auction of merchandise or services, collection of registration or sponsorship fees, imposition of admission charges or registration fees, and/or membership fees.
  • Fundraising agent

    An other individual who volunteers to conduct a fundraising event for an organizational unit. By conduct, this individual is planning and administering a fundraising event, including collecting monies, on direct behalf of the University. This is in contrast to (and does not include) an organization that is affiliated with the University conducting its own event, the proceeds of which are intended to benefit the University.
  • Fundraising campaign

    Organized effort to solicit gifts and grants for any universitypurpose from multiple private sources such as individuals, firms, corporations, groups, and/or foundations. A fundraising campaign is markedly different than ordinary campus-sponsored fundraising events in that a campaign has a specific goal of money to be raised within a longer fixed period of time, generally one (1) to three (3) years. Normally, campaigns are restricted to raising substantial amounts of money needed for construction of new buildings, endowments, major renovations, and other large projects. Such campaigns depend upon reaching out to the larger community beyond the circle of existing donors, and their success or failure directly affects the University's reputation as a whole and the University's ability to raise money for other needed programs. Consequently, any organizational unit wishing to conduct a fundraising campaign must develop a formal plan in conjunction with the University of Colorado Foundation.
  • Fundraising event

    An event at which a required monetary payment to attend or participate includes both a gift component (charitable contribution) and a non-gift component (goods and/or services are provided or available to the attendees, sponsors, or donors). A fundraising event will most often be completed in a single day; however, the event may consist of a multi-day, singularly identifiable event, such as a trip or cultural celebration weekend. This type of event differs from a conference in that some portion of the attendees' payment is intended to be tax deductible. Examples of fundraising events include the collection of gifts or money through sale or auction of merchandise or services, collection of registration or sponsorship fees with a promise of a tax deduction, imposition of admission charges or registration fees with a promise of a tax deduction, and/or membership fees.
  • Gain or loss contingencies

    Situation involving uncertainty about the value of a fiscal transaction because of what may or may not happen in the future. An increase in value is a gain contingency, whereas a negative impact on value is a loss contingency. Examples include the change in the value of an investment due to market fluctuation; or the uncollectibility of accounts receivable.
  • Highly confidential information

    This category includes data elements that require protection under laws, regulations, contracts, relevant legal agreements and/or require the institution to provide notification of unauthorized disclosure/security incidents to affected individuals, government agencies or media. This type of University Information includes personally identifiable information (a category of personal information regulated by federal law), as well as other non-public personal information that would adversely impact an individual if inappropriately used or disclosed. Examples include Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and medical records.

  • Honoraria

    Honoraria are rewards, or token payments, made to individuals (e.g., guest lecturer) for services for which custom forbids a price to be set or where no expectation exists for payment for services.
  • HRMS

    Human Resources Management System, or the University's official human resources records, used to manage all personnel data and actions, such as appointment position and funding management, hiring, promotion and terminations, changes to employees' personal information, salary increases, and payroll production.
  • HRMS users

    Employees or affiliate fiscal staff who have access to the university's HRM.

  • Immediate family members

    Immediate family is a spouse, domestic partners, civil union partner or dependent child.

  • Indemnification agreements

    A legally binding arrangement whereby the University promises a sum of money in compensation for loss, injury, or damage or for trouble and annoyance.

  • Independent student organizations

    Student organizations that have never received, or will not receive, any support funding from the University.
  • Informal credit relationship

    One between an individual and the University where a credit arises as a result of payment not being received when services are delivered
  • Information security officer

    The person who performs day-to-day management of and is the point of contact for the IT Security Program at the campus level.

  • Internal controls

    A comprehensive strategy (i.e., which includes people and tone as well as policies and procedures) designed to provide reasonable assurance that the following objectives of the University are achieved: • Effectiveness and efficiency of operations, • Reliability of financial reporting, and • Compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures, as well as contracts, grants and donor restrictions. Key activities include protection of assets; adequate authorization and record keeping procedures; proper segregation of duties; and monitoring and assessment of internal controls.
  • IT resource

    Computers, networking equipment, storage media, software, and other electronic devices that store, process, or transmit University information. In the context of IT security policy, this includes all IT resources that are owned, leased, licensed, or authorized for use by the University.

  • IT resource user

    Individuals that are authorized to use University IT resources. Examples of users include: faculty, staff, students, researchers, vendors, volunteers, contractors, or sponsored affiliates of the University.

  • IT security

    The protection of electronic information from (intentional or unintentional) unauthorized access, modification, or destruction, as well as taking precautions to ensure that such information is available as needed to conduct University business.

  • IT security principal

    On May 1, 2014 the title of “IT Security Principals” was replaced with the title of “Information Security Officers”.

  • IT security program

    A collection of policies, processes, and responsibilities that provide direction and guidance to the computing community on protecting University information.

  • IT service provider

    Any person that designs, builds, implements, supports, or provides an IT service to other University employees, students, or affiliates, using a University IT resource. Examples of IT service providers include: website administrators, workstation support staff, server administrators, software programmers, application developers, data network technicians, user account administrators, and computer center personnel.

  • Material weaknesses

    A Significant Deficiency that would not prevent or timely detect a material error in the University's financial reports.
  • Material/materiality

    A measurement or threshold to gauge the significance of a fiscal transaction. Determining materiality often involves the reasonable person test; there are two ways to gauge this question: 1. By quantity: In the University, items that are in excess of $200,000 or in excess of 5% of the revenue or expense base (whichever is less) are always considered material. 2. By quality: No matter what the amount, an item is material if the misstatement or omission makes it probable that the judgment of a reasonable person, who was relying on the information to make a decision or to take an action, would be changed or influenced.

  • Non-employees

    Individuals who work for their own interests and are not employees of the university, for example, independent contractors. Other examples of non-employees include • Volunteers who receive no compensation, other than paid expenses or a nominal fee • Students and trainees who are merely acquiring experience without the promise of a job or compensation • Members of the Board of Regents
  • Non-record

    A record that is of immediate value only.  Non-records may share some characteristics with university records; however, they are distinguished from university records by their transitory usefulness.  Non-records may include envelopes, routing slips, data entry- and work-sheets, rough drafts, multiple copies of publications, blank forms, unofficial (“informational,” “courtesy” or “convenience”) copies of records, and notes and audio recordings that have been transcribed.  Non-records may also include duplicates which are maintained for convenience by a person or office who is not the originator or recipient (including copied recipient) of the record and electronic mail of temporary value.

  • Officers

    Includes Officers of the University and Officers of the Administration.  Defined in Regent Article 3:  Officers of the University and Administration.

  • Officers of the administration

  • Officers of the university

  • Official function

    A meeting, meal, or other function, that is hosted by an organizational unit, attended by guests and/or associates or employees, and held for official university business. Official Functions do not include student residential functions, which are defined as events designed to sustain ordinary residential life activities, such as resident hall advisory meetings and resident hall events. Conferences and Fundraising Events are types of official functions separately defined by the university to recognize the need for specific policies and procedures related to those types of events. The following describe the most common types of official functions. • Training functions are held to enhance staff knowledge or to educate employees, associates, or other individuals that are affected by the university's operations or regulations. Note: Training functions should have a written agenda, study materials, and be led by an identified presenter(s). • Community relation functions are hosted on behalf of external entities, or are activities directly related to the educational, research, or public service mission of the university. • Employee recognition functions are held for the purpose of acknowledging, appreciating, or honoring employees as a means of providing an encouraging and supportive work environment. • Goodwill functions are held to express condolence, sympathy, get-well wishes, celebrations of birth, or presentation of official items to official guests or volunteers as an indication of goodwill or esteem. • Multi-unit or multi-campus functions are infrequent events or meetings involving associates or employees from more than one organizational unit or campus. • Recruitment functions are held to enlist new employees, including faculty or post/pre-doctorates. • Retirement functions are held to honor departing or retiring faculty or staff members for their university service. • Student functions are hosted for students and are directly related to student or educational development. Examples include student recognition, student recruitment, and student program development.

  • Official university business

    Any activity that carries out the university's mission of instruction, research and service or that provides support to the university's instruction, research, and service activities.

  • Organizational unit

    A subset of University operations. An Organizational Unit may be a department or any other distinct operational activity with the following characteristics: • Organizational permanency; • Programmatic autonomy; and • An annual operating budget that is fiscally independent. Within the Finance System, these areas are represented on the ChartField tree as Orgs.

  • Other individual

    An person who does not fit into the category of employee, associate, or affiliate fiscal staff. A student is considered to be an "other individual" unless she or he is employed by the university and acting in her or his capacity as a university employee.

  • Personal vehicles

    Vehicles owned by an individual.
  • Personnel appointing authority

    A University Employee with delegated authority for personnel matters, such as appointments, terminations, title changes, salaries, leave approvals, evaluations, and acceptance of resignations and retirements.

  • Position number

    A unique identifier for each employment position in the University's Human Resources Management System (HRMS).

  • President

    As defined in Regent Law 3.B.1, the President is the chief Officer of the University responsible for compliance of all fiscal matters with applicable policies, laws, and regulations.
  • Private information

    Personal information about an individual for which the individual can reasonably expect will not be made available to the public. This type of University Information includes personally identifiable information (a category of personal information regulated by federal law), as well as other non-public personal information that would adversely impact an individual if inappropriately used or disclosed. Examples include FERPA-protected information, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and medical records.

  • Procurement card users

    Employees or affiliate fiscal staff who are assigned a role as Cardholder, Approving Official, or Reallocator associated with a university Procurement Card.

  • Public information

    • Any information on University websites to which the data owner allows access without authentication • Information made freely available through the institution print material • Directory information
  • Related parties transactions

    Fiscal Transactions with the potential to be less than arm's length due to the relationship between a University Officer and a third party (or relationships which result in the Officer's ability to influence the outcome of events differently from that which might result in the absence of that relationship). The ability to influence may be indicated in several ways, such as representation on the board of directors, significant ownership interest, participation in policy-making processes, material inter-company transactions, interchange of managerial personnel, or technological dependency.

  • Rental vehicles

    Vehicles rented from a company in that business.
  • Reportable condition

    Significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls that could adversely affect the University's ability to initiate, record, process, and report financial data consistent with the assertions of management in the financial statements.

  • Reportable transaction

    a transaction that is the subject of external reporting by the university as a result of additional external rules, such as the State Fiscal Rules or the Internal Revenue Code.

  • Responsibility unit

    Refers to the level of Organizational Unit or Sponsored Project for which an individual Fiscal Principal has responsibility.

  • Restricted information

    University Information for which the university can reasonably expect will not be made available to the public due to business reasons, contractual obligations or risk determination and has not been classified as private. Examples include proprietary research data, risk assessments detailing potential weaknesses in the university's computing infrastructure, and inventories of hazardous materials.

  • Risk management

    The process of evaluating and responding to risks to University information for the purpose of reducing those risks to acceptable levels. Risk management is inclusive of the risk assessment process, and uses the results of risk assessments to make decisions on the acceptance of risk or on taking action to reduce risk.

  • Sensitive transaction

    A transaction that may have numerous and complex university, state, or federal regulations associated with it, or a transaction that may be perceived as being in appropriate for support by public funds.

  • Service organizations

    An external party that accomplishes tasks that affect the University's financial statements ranging from performing a specific task under the direction of the University to replacing entire business units or functions of the University.

  • SGDP (same gender domestic partner)

    An individual who is a partner of an employee where both individuals meet all of the following requirements: • not a blood relative of each other to degree that would bar marriage in Colorado; • has shared a principal residence with each other for more than one year; • has filed either a Certificate of Domestic Partnership from the City of Boulder or a Certificate of Committed Partnership from the City and County of Denver; and, • not married or legally separated from any other person and neither is engaged in another domestic partnership

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