Education Service Center, Region 20

1. Financial Organizational Review & Compliance (FOR-C)How to Use the Templates for Financial/Administrative Procedures Manuals Aligned with New EDGAR Education Service Center, Region 20 Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

2. LOGIN FOR FOR-C SUBSCRIBERS If you are a FOR-C subscriber, go to www.esc20.net/forc Select the “Current User Login” on the left side of the webpage to access your organization’s FOR-C. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

3. LOGIN FOR FOR-C SUBSCRIBERS Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

4. LOGIN FOR FOR-C SUBSCRIBERS Enter your username and password and select the “Login” button. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

5. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGARSECTION Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

6. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR The main area on your FOR-C home page provides information related to Financial/Administrative Procedures aligned with the new EDGAR (Education Department General Administrative Regulations), including: • EDGAR requirements for written policies and procedures • List of various versions of the FOR-C templates and the dates they were released • Instructions for customizing the templates Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

7. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

8. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Written policies and procedures are important because they serve as internal control activities that help ensure compliance. They are also beneficial as training tools and help maintain consistency. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

9. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR There have been several versions of the templates in the FOR-C, revised according to the guidance released from TEA and/or USDE. • Originally, one template contained all the procedures • Currently, the FOR-C has three separate templates: • Travel • Procurement • Financial/Administrative (procedures other than travel and procurement) Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

10. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Benefit of having separate manuals: • Easier to keep updated as guidance or processes change • Appropriate audience only needs to view applicable manual rather than a comprehensive manual with topics irrelevant to that employee During a desk review, TEA will ask for your APM (Administrative Procedures Manual) • The title of your manual may differ, and you may have several manuals rather than one manual…that’s ok!... • What matters is that you have written procedures Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

11. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Select the “Financial Procedures Template Aligned with New EDGAR” button to access the templates. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

12. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Select the most recent version of the template you are going to customize. • The most recent versions are located at the top of the list • Older, outdated versions are located at the bottom of the list and are color-coded to identify as being outdated Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

13. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

14. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Two formats are available for the templates: • One format does not display the revisions. It is a clean copy. • The other format displays the revisions made between versions, using the “track changes” feature of Word to display the revisions Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

15. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

16. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Click on the file folder icon to open the document. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

17. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Save the document to your computer. You may need to select the “Enable Editing” button at the top of the Word document before you can save to your computer or perform data entry. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

18. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR If you chose the format that displays the revisions made between versions, you may need to perform the following tasks to view the revisions: • Select the “Review” link in your toolbar • Use the drop down arrow to change “Simple Markup” to “All Markup” Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

19. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR The first page or two of the template provides instructions and information. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

20. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR After you are finished customizing your manual, delete the instructional pages so your manual begins with the cover page. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

21. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Throughout the template, places where you need to customize the manual are highlighted in yellow. • In some places, suggested or sample practices are offered • In other places, leading questions prompt and guide you in developing your own local procedures Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

22. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Example: Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

23. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR In the introduction of the manual, the FOR-C template begins with this sentence: Insert your LEA’s name where prompted and remove the brackets and yellow highlight. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

24. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Now, throughout the remainder of the manual, you won’t need to keep inserting your organization’s name because the sentence states that the term “LEA” will be used throughout the manual to refer to your organization. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

25. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR CUSTOMIZATION: It is imperative that the manual is customized to describe your organization’s local policies and procedures, as well as being in compliance with Federal and State requirements. The template was designed to provide a framework that outlines Federal and State requirements and guides the LEA toward developing local procedures. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

26. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Policy • Law, Requirement • Goal of the organization Procedure • How the requirement is implemented at the local level • Steps to achieve the goal • Procedures must be compliant with Federal and State requirements • Procedures must not conflict with local policy • Local policy must not conflict with Federal and State requirements Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

27. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Please spend time at the beginning of the process to contemplate how best to implement the requirements at the local level rather than merely adopt procedures that have not been customized for your organization. • Be sure to read through the entire template to ensure you agree with the text and are implementing the procedures and/or have modified the text to meet the unique circumstances of your organization • Auditors will review your written procedures to ensure they match local policy and are being implemented Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

28. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR When customizing the manual, consider: • What you do • How you do it • How to implement Federal and State requirements at the local level • How things connect between the business side and program side Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

29. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Always follow the most restrictive requirement: • EDGAR (cross-cutting, applies to all federal education grants) • Program-Specific Statute and Regulations (such as ESSA, IDEA-B) • State Rules and Regulations • Local Policy Consider the manual a work in progress, revising as needed, based on: • TEA guidance • USDE guidance • Changes in local policy and processes • Results of audits Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

30. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Your manual should always have an effective date. • Maintain all versions, indicating the effective date of each • When an auditor asks for your written procedures, be sure to give the version applicable for the timeframe being audited • If you give the auditor a copy of your current manual for a previous timeframe, the procedures in the current manual may be different than those that were in place for the timeframe in question • As procedures or guidance changes, update your procedures accordingly Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

31. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Procedures should describe the process adequately, but not be overly prescriptive. • To ensure procedures are being implemented as written, auditors might interview staff and ask them to describe how and why they carry out a certain task • Your procedures should be detailed enough to provide an auditor with an adequate understanding of your procedures, but not so prescriptive that your staff may not be implementing to that detail • A common audit finding is that a procedure is not being implemented as written Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

32. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR If a certain element/topic in the manual is not applicable to your organization, don’t delete it. • Instead, keep the text followed by a statement that this is not applicable to your organization • For example, if your LEA does not use credit cards, have a section where you state that your organization does not use credit cards • If the text is removed, an auditor wouldn’t know if the topic wasn’t included in your manual because it wasn’t applicable to your organization or whether you simply failed to address the topic Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

33. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Develop flowcharts (optional) to insert into the manual. • Flowcharts, by providing a visual illustration of processes, make it easier for the reader to review and understand your procedures Include sample forms in the appendix of the manual. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

34. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Update the Table of Contents once your customization is finished. • Insert page numbers • Add additional topics • Revise existing topics, as needed Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

35. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Once your manual is complete, obtain the type of approval needed according to your local policy. • Some LEAs require Board approval • Some LEAs require Board approval but only as an agenda item, documented in the board minutes, without requiring a series of readings • Some LEAs require Superintendent approval only Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

36. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Document in the Introduction section of your manual the type of approval your organization requires. Ensure that the appropriate approval is obtained and you have documentation of that approval. • Sample “Adoption of Manual” page is included in the template Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

37. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Train your employees. • Employees need to know and understand the policies and procedures relevant to them and implement them • If procedures aren’t followed, it may result in an audit finding • Employees need to understand the reasoning behind the procedure • For example, why does the federally-funded employee complete time and effort reports? Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

38. FINANCIAL PROCEDURES TEMPLATE ALIGNED WITH NEW EDGAR Obtain the employee’s acknowledgement that they have read and understand the procedures. • Sample “Employee Acknowledgement Form” is included in the template Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

39. OUTDATED TEMPLATE USED PRIOR TO NEW EDGAR Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

40. TEMPLATE PRIOR TO NEW EDGAR A link to the Financial Procedures Manual template that was used PRIOR to the new EDGAR is located in the “Forms & Template” section of the FOR-C. • This link is still available in case any users need to access procedures that would have been in place prior to July 2015 Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

41. TEMPLATE PRIOR TO NEW EDGAR Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

42. TEMPLATE PRIOR TO NEW EDGAR Instructions for how to use the outdated template for Financial Procedures (procedures prior to July 2015) are located on the ESC-20 FOR-C webpage at www.esc20.net/forc Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

43. LEA FILES and FILE UPLOAD TOOLSECTIONS Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

44. LEA FILES and FILE UPLOAD TOOL Recommendation: Store all the versions of your procedures manuals in the FOR-C so you may easily locate the version that applies to the particular time period that is being audited Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

45. LEA FILES and FILE UPLOAD TOOL The sections for uploading and storing files are located on the lower left of your FOR-C home page. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

46. LEA FILES and FILE UPLOAD TOOL In the “File Upload Tool” section, select the “Browse” button to locate a document stored on your computer. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

47. LEA FILES and FILE UPLOAD TOOL In the “Description” box, enter a generic description that pertains to the topic. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

48. LEA FILES and FILE UPLOAD TOOL Select the “Upload File” button. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

49. LEA FILES and FILE UPLOAD TOOL Once uploaded, the document will appear in your LEA’s Files section. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C

50. LEA FILES and FILE UPLOAD TOOL The displayed “Description” is the generic descriptor you entered during the upload process. The displayed “File Name” is the name of the document as you titled it when stored on your computer. Education Service Center, Region 20 | FOR-C