A school district audit committee has the capacity to unearth pertinent information about the operating efficiency and effectiveness of a school district, as well as providing a more professional audit. (Author/WM)

A REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTING AND TESTING THE USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES FOR PROCESSING SCHOOL PROPERTY ACCOUNTING DATA CONSISTS OF PROCEDURAL STEPS FOR COLLECTING DATA PERTAINING TO SCHOOL SITES, BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENT. DATA WERE COLLECTED TO ESTABLISH COMPLETE ACCOUNTING RECORDS OF SCHOOL PROPERTY AS IT EXISTED IN THE CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, SCHOOL…

This annual report presents 1996-97 financial information on 20 degree-granting universities and related institutions in Ontario, Canada. The report first explains the general guidelines and reporting requirements used in compiling the report, including university accounting procedures, the principles of fund accounting involved, and definitions…

Stresses the importance of common understandings of cost definitions and data collection in order to create reliable databases with optimal utility for inter-institutional analysis. Examines definitions of common expenditure categories, discusses cost-accumulation rules governing financial reporting, and explains differences between direct costs…

Advises administrators not to procrastinate on their district's compilation of disaggregated data on student achievement and teacher qualifications. Outlines the data requirements for NCLB compliance. (MLF)

The Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Public Schools (MPS) recently implemented a new, state-designed accounting system, called the Wisconsin Elementary and Secondary School Accounting System (WESSAS), based on guidelines proposed in the U.S. Office of Education's Handbook II. This report describes and discusses that implementation and provides numerous…

Summarizes major problems in school financial management and suggests practical improvements to aid external reporting of financial data and internal management. Sections of the article describe these categories of problems: (1) budget presentation; (2) management control; (3) cost accounting; and (4) financial reporting. (PS)

Niles Township School District 219, Skokie, Illinois, has rebuilt its personnel and payroll program. The new system provides a data bank for storage of any and all information required by both the personnel and payroll departments on each district employee. (Author/MLF)

This document presents the text of a study required by Section 105 of the Student Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act of 1990. The study addresses the feasibility of collecting and reporting national data from institutions of higher education on revenues and expenditures in intercollegiate athletics and athletic departments on a sport-by-sport…

The Model Accounting Plan (MAP) is a demographic accounting system designed to meet three major goals related to improving planning, evaluation, and monitoring of special education programs. First, MAP provides local-level data for administrators and parents to monitor the progress, transition patterns, expected attainments, and associated costs…

School district administrators can decide whether food service components are operating cost effectively. Explains ways to determine costs of energy, personnel, and supplies and equipment. Two tables provide cost-responsibility checklists for school food services and contracted operations. (MLF)

The first years of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) pilot project to collect benchmark data on college costs and service levels are discussed, focusing on lessons learned, needs identified, current use of the results, and the project's place in the association's long-term research plan. (MSE)

This study sought to determine if private colleges and universities are accurately reporting budgetary data to the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS) of the U.S. Department of Education following guidelines issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the National Association of College and…

Asserts the importance of each school business official's responsibility to accurately report the school's financial situation to the state legislature. Uses Minnesota's 33 area vocational technical institutes to illustrate the application of statewide uniform financial accounting and reporting standards to Minnesota public school districts. (JBM)

Addresses the need of school districts in many states to decide on an appropriate mingling of centralization and decentralization in the operation of activity funds. Argues for analysis of activity fund operation through a breakdown into such major components as policy, the accounting system, and reporting and auditing. (JBM)