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…

Internal control comprises the plan of organization and all the coordinate methods and measures adopted within a school system to safeguard its assets, check the reliability of its accounting data, promote operational efficiency, and encourage adherence to prescribed policies. (Author)

A step-by-step guide to setting up an inventory control system that works. (Author)

Standards and principles recommended for formal adoption as the Association of School Business Officials'"official" policy on the subject. (Author/MLF)

Discusses the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, a formal response to major corporate and accounting scandals, exploring its implications for higher education and promoting it as an opportunity both to reassess best practices for audit committees and executives and to refresh the ongoing dialogue with external auditors. (EV)

Reviews how the principles of the new Sarbanes-Oxley accounting legislation could apply to the non-profit world of higher education, particularly regarding audit practices. (EV)

Explores how public colleges are adapting to a new accounting procedure that gives many of them apparent deficits. (EV)

Highlights projects and statistics of the Association of School Business Officials' Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting by Schools Program. (MLF)

Offers lessons for non-profit colleges and universities from for-profit schools: (1) establish a professional cost accounting system; (2) think of foundations as funding partners; (3) increase retention; (4) market to students as customers; and (5) promote the college as a brand. (EV)

Discusses five questions that must be answered before implementing site-based budgeting: Why are we doing this? What budgeting decisions will be devolved to the school site? How do dollars flow from the central office to the site? Who will be involved at the site? How will accountability be achieved? (Author/PKP)

This paper presents a standard costing model appropriate for determining real costs of programs which are not entirely self-contained. Central to the model is the concept of allocation pools involving resources which are not attributable to a single program or program component, but whose costs must be shared by any given program which is part of…

A 1972-73 statewide study conducted in Illinois to develop a cost accounting system which facilitates cost differential ratios for secondary vocational education courses indicated that vocational programs are approximately twice as expensive as nonvocational. Specific cost elements identified in the study provided essential information regarding…

California's official school accounting procedures, amended in 1984 to clarify definitions and improve program cost accounting, are presented. Following an introduction that discusses general characteristics of school accounting, the manual explains the following areas of accounting practice: (1) financial reporting; (2) income; (3) expenditures;…

The Joint Accounting Group (JAG) has as its primary goal to develop a capability to provide uniform transactional finance data at the institutional level. Such data should effectively meet the needs of public reporting, institutional financial management, and program planning. The group believes that the attainment of this goal requires uniformly…