This handbook has been designed as the national standard for state and local education agencies to use in tracking and reporting financial data for school districts to use in preparing their comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFRs). The purpose of the handbook is to ensure that education fiscal data can be reported in a comprehensive manner.…

A computer facility billing procedure should be designed so that the full costs of a computer center operation are equitably charged to the users. Design criteria, costing methods, and management's role are discussed. (Author/MLF)

Accounting controls are primarily concerned with methods and procedures that safeguard an entity's assets and ensure the reliability of its financial records. This article discusses internal control objectives as applied to educational institutions, outlines specific steps necessary to develop an effective internal control system, and mentions…

In 1984 the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, created to solidify accounting principles for government entities, enumerated Generally Accepted Accounting Principles endorsed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Council on Governmental Accounting. These principles have recently been approved for school…

An electronic filing system makes financial control manageable at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. The system enables quick access to computer-stored consolidated account data and microfilm images of charges, statements, and other billing documents. (MLF)

The listed guidelines for keeping track of petty cash in the schools are organized into three areas--making sure each school has an adequate method of collecting and banking money, adopting a simple and uniform bookkeeping system, and promoting fiscal responsibility. (IRT)

Highlights areas on university's financial statements that warrant careful review by trustees and suggests ways they can check to see whether an institution's financial statements are clear and valid indicators of its financial status. (EV)

The purposes of this handbook are to help improve internal systems for auditing funds received from student activities and to help ensure that school board policies and good business practices are being followed. After brief introductory sections, the document discusses internal auditing functions and standards and notes the internal auditing…

Just as ice cream comes in many flavors for different tastes, fund balances need to be reserved and designated to meet school district plans and commitments. This article examines accounting principles and other issues determining the segregation and size of a school district's fund balance, a legally restricted reserve that can affect the…

Alerts public school business officials to a financial reporting concepts statement to be issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board in late 1986. The new directive will outline four objectives concerned with accountability procedures, resource management and compliance information, operating results, and future financial capabilities.…

The background and purpose of a publication by the National Council on Governmental Accounting (NCGA) is important to school administrators because the accounting principles are being incorporated in a publication for school systems. (Author/MLF)

Increasingly sophisticated analyses of costs and revenues have contributed to more effective financial management in higher education, with attention focused on ways in which fixed and variable factors contribute to direct or unit costs; analyses of cost-revenue relationships; differential effects of one-time and recurring costs; variety of…

The primary purpose of this handbook is to reflect changes that have occurred in governmental accounting and educational finance since 1973. Major emphasis is placed on defining account classifications that provide meaningful financial management information. After describing the need for and advantages of a proposed account classification system,…

Discusses an April 1986 Governmental Accounting Standards Board statement concerning disclosures of repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements. The statement tries to help financial statement users assess the risks a goverment entity takes when investing public funds. It is effective for financial statement periods ending after December 15,…

Explains the importance of comprehensive annual financial reports, including introductory, financial, and statistical sections. Advises school districts to pay special attention to the letter of transmittal, which should provide information on services, financial highlights, economic forecasting, accounting principles used, and other pertinent…