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APRIL 3-6, 2013, LONG BEACH, CA. Facilities Accounting What Every District Should Know Lettie Boggs-Cowie, COLBI Technologies, Inc. 714-505-9544. APRIL 3-6, 2013, LONG BEACH, CA. Annual Cycle Budget Multi-year, Multi-fund Pace and timing Chart of Accounts Risk and internal controls.
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APRIL 3-6, 2013, LONG BEACH, CA Facilities Accounting What Every District Should Know Lettie Boggs-Cowie, COLBI Technologies, Inc. 714-505-9544 APRIL 3-6, 2013, LONG BEACH, CA
Annual Cycle • Budget • Multi-year, Multi-fund • Pace and timing • Chart of Accounts • Risk and internal controls What are the differences between fiscal and facilities accounting?
Annual Cycle What are the differences between fiscal and facilities accounting?
Annual Cycle • Facilities goes into its most active phase when Fiscal goes into closing activities • Important to have clarity of project scopes and budgets so facilities can proceed while fiscal is down 2013 CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Annual Cycle • Facilities budgets need to be done for the annual update to the board, typically in conjunction with the Montieth Report, within 120 days after Fiscal close. • Project budgets span multiple years • Facilities projects typically have multiple sources • The aggregate of project budgets constitute the Facilities Program CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Project budgets combine to become the Program CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Program budgets become cash schedules CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Each project budget should be aged CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Budget What are the differences between fiscal and facilities accounting?
Budget • The annual appropriation budget in fiscal is a subset of the project budget • The project budget can be funding driven – or need driven • And the basis may shift • The budget will change over time 2013 CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Budget 2013 CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Budget The Triangle Effect If you constrain one – the others move. The same essential project, with different constraints, will need budget adjustments. 2013 CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Pace and Timing What are the differences between fiscal and facilities accounting?
In the spring the project budgets should inform the fiscal planning process • In the fall the fiscal close should inform the project budgets prior year actuals • Project budgets should be routinely be analyzed to keep them real and coordinated with fiscal (twice a year minimum) Pace and Timing CASBO ANNUAL CONFERENCE & SCHOOL BUSINESS EXPO 2013
Chart of Accounts What are the differences between fiscal and facilities accounting?
Coding Projects in SACS The perfect accounting system tracks everything you need to know – And nothing more! • Fund Codes • The source of the funds • Object Codes • How you spend the money • Site Codes • Don’t differentiate projects, but can help combine projects • Resource Codes • Unique Code for Each Project
Resource Codes • Resource 7710 is required for OPSC projects • Each 77XX Resource has a balance sheet • More work for Fiscal at year end So… • If one self contained project • Use a unique 77XX Resource • Avoid use of unique 77XX Resource numbers for sub projects
Strategies • Begin with the end in mind • SAB 50-06 Columns • What constitutes a project? • If it is an OPSC project – account for it alone! • Otherwise, track projects as bid • Have a distinct object code for every reporting category • Make sure your coding matches the way the projects will be billed If you can’t easily know the number, it will be a lot of work to track it separately!
More Strategies… • Monitor the interest and assign it to projects • Its yours, but they track it • Be consistent in your methodology • Track the savings and be able to report them • Need to report on the SAB 50-06 for the giving project and the receiving project • Working on a change at OPSC on this one… • The challenge of using 5800’s • What type of consultant? • All capital project costs can legitimately be in 6XXX
Risk and Internal Controls What are the differences between fiscal and facilities accounting?
Internal Control Elements • Control environment • Risk assessment • Control activities • Information and communication • Monitoring
Review Procedures and Workflow • Examine workflow in a team meeting • Map existing system • Correct bottlenecks and inappropriate assignments • Communicate to all team members
For the leader of the process • Identify the processes • Contracting, PO process, invoice payments, change orders, stop notices, budget adjustments • Define your starting points clearly • For the Contracting Process, you may want to start at approval of the bid set and front end docs • For the Payment Process, you may start at the arrival of an invoice or payment application • Do the complex example, not the simple one • One step per post it • Let everyone contribute for themselves • This gets to the real process • Each participant’s role is validated
Flowchart Workshop • Give each dept a different color post-it pad • Have each participant write down each step they do in the process • Work together to put the post-its in the • correct order for the workflow
Control Checks • Establish approval routing • Someone with knowledge of the work/purchase • Someone with knowledge of the budget • Look at the results – is it what you want? • Appropriate redundancies • Inappropriate redundancies • Legal compliance
Keep it real • Prepare a formal write up and circulate that draft for comments • If significant changes were made, schedule a Review & Revise meeting for 4-6 weeks after the flow charting • Assure that changes have really happened • Verify the system is working This is a great opportunity to promote conversations and understanding between departments
Remember to review • Review when new employees are hired • Review when people leave the process • The most likely person to pick up the work is the person who is the “second set of eyes” • Review when people are walking things through to make it happen – the process is broken! • Review when process changes • Review annually • Calendar it
Lettie Boggs-Cowie CEO COLBI Technologies, Inc 714-505-9544 leboggs@colbitech.com For questions or assistance with additional resources: