The Future of Financial Data Collection

1. The Future of Financial Data Collection 12th Annual ECOS Seminar Friday, April 29, 2005

2. Today’s Topics • Resources Available • Upcoming Changes to Financial Data Collection • Revised Accounting Handbook • Relationships • The Reality of Converting • Handbook Myths Exposed • Frequently Asked Questions

3. Today’s Schedule • 9:00 – 9:45 – Presentation • 9:45 – 10:00 – Group work on presentation topics • 10:00 – 10:30 – Q & A on items developed during group work

4. The Future of Financial Data Collection • Fiscal Year 2006-07 • Financial data collection will be electronic • Project to be accomplished in stages • First: upload of general fund revenue and expenditure transactions from SAU accounting system to MDOE financial warehouse for fiscal year 2006-07 • Second: standardize special revenue data collection with goal to eliminate additional paper reports; date of implementation not yet certain

5. The Future of Financial Data Collection • Standardization of Data • Model Charts of Account • Outline of data points that MDOE needs to collect • Model charts may differ from needs of a school administrative unit; if a unit needs more detail, use handbook to select correct code. If a unit needs less, that’s OK – just because it’s on the model chart doesn’t mean you will have any transactions coded to that particular line • MDOE will run queries on this data from a financial warehouse to obtain information for subsidy calculation, to update EPS model and to meet other fiscal information needs and requirements

6. The Future of Financial Data Collection • Data warehouse will also be a management tool, offering a reporting feature for use by school finance officials and other constituencies, as well as MDOE • “Dry run” of data warehouse upload process to troubleshoot data problems will occur in Fall, 2005 with selected units • Based on upload test, some additional changes may be made to the handbook or model charts; after that, changes will only be made annually in time for start of next budget cycle

7. Revised Accounting Handbook • Handbook Components Revised to date • Expanded field sizes • Alignment of codes to Federal handbook • New codes to collect data for EPS • use of cost centers to discern level of instruction • function codes to track EPS targeted funds and to update components of EPS per pupil rate, such as system admin, OMP, etc.

8. Revised Accounting Handbook • Changes to come • Standardization of other funds and additional model charts • In special revenue accounts, standardized codes likely for certain programs, such as Title I, Maine Care, Local Entitlement and others • Model charts for special revenue programs and nutrition programs

9. Revised Accounting Handbook • Basic Definitions which create levels of data detail • Fund – a fiscal and accounting entity created by a school administrative unit for the purpose of tracking the finances of a particular activity or group of activities • Program – a plan of activities and procedures designed to accomplish a predetermined objective or set of objectives

10. Revised Accounting Handbook • Basic Definitions, continued • Function – describes the activity for which a service or material object is acquired • Object – describes the service or commodity obtained as the result of a specific expenditure • Cost Center – this classification segregates expenditures by instruction level or system-wide costs

11. Revised Accounting Handbook Sample Coding for Secondary Co-Curricular Programs* Fund ProgramFunctionObjectCost CenterDescription 100 9500 1000 1500 31 Stipend 100 9500 1000 2000 31 Benefits 100 9500 1000 5800 31 Travel (not prof. develop.) 100 9500 1000 6100 31 Program Supplies 100 9500 1000 8000 31 Conference Fees 100 9500 2700 5140 31 Transportation *To be used by MDOE for data collection

12. Revised Accounting Handbook Sample Coding for Secondary Co-Curricular Programs* Fund Program Function Object Cost Center Description 100 9500 1000 1500 31 Stipend 100 9500 1000 2000 31 Benefits 100 9500 1000 5800 31 Travel (not prof. develop.) 100 9500 1000 5805 31 Travel – Band 100 9500 1000 6100 31 Program Supplies 100 9500 1000 8105 31 Conference Fees – Band 100 9500 2700 5140 31 Transportation 100 9500 2700 5145 31 Transportation – Band *As used by an actual school administrative unit

13. Revised Accounting Handbook Cost Centers • Cost center = school by level of instruction or grouping of costs not easily allocated to a school as they cross the entire system or cross a range of instruction levels • Uses of data delineated by the handbook’s cost center definitions: • To meet statutory requirements • To update the EPS model – “high performing” schools data • To provide the ability for “like” schools to compare to one another • To provide information to answer questions concerning school costs from constituencies (i.e. your board, parents, the press)

14. Revised Accounting Handbook – Cost Centers

15. Relationship of Essential Programs and Services to the Revised Accounting Handbook • Data to update many components of the EPS model will be derived from your financial data as coded to model chart specifications • When trying to compare your unit to the EPS model, refer to handbook definitions for what’s included in per pupil amounts. For example, system administration = Superintendent’s Office, Central Office and School Board.

16. EPS Targeted Funds in the Revised Accounting Handbook • Handbook Coding Utilized: • Resources for K-2 Instruction – program code 1120 • Resources for Academic Student Assessment – function code 2240 • Resources for Instructional Technology- function code 2230

17. EPS Targeted Funds in the Revised Accounting Handbook • More clarity needed from MDOE around what can be included under targeted funds • Per PL 2005, Chapter 12, the Commissioner shall provisionally adopt rules to establish requirements for the use of targeted funds by December 2, 2005.

18. Relationship of the Revised Accounting Handbook and MEDMS • MDOE Data Warehouse is one of the last phases of the MEDMS project • Salary data coded in financial systems should mirror staff data on MEDMS system • Ultimate goal to link student, staff and financial system for generating calculated reports, such as subsidy printouts

19. Relationship of the Revised Accounting Handbook and MEDMS • As an example of how data should mesh between the two components of MEDMS, here is an actual question from a school administrative unit: “We have a Curriculum Coordinator who is in charge of Curriculum, Student Assessment and Instructional Staff Training. Would her salary and benefits be spread over these three areas, as well as the cost of her secretary”? • If this individual is coded as such in the staff file system of MEDMS, then yes, salary and benefit lines would be allocated across the three functions. If this individual is NOT shown in MEDMS as working in those three areas, either her MEDMS record will need to be updated to reflect these various duties or she needs to remain in the accounting system coded only as the Curriculum Coordinator.

20. What’s the relationship of the EFM 45 report in the new system? • EFM 45 report will no longer exist in its current format • FY 2005-06 scheduled to be last submission in current format • For those units utilizing the revised handbook for the FY 2005-06 year, refer to the model charts of account or the instructional EFM 45 to discern proper placement of items

21. The Reality of Converting • Real life experience from Patti Riggs

22. Common Myths About the Revised Handbook and Model Charts • MDOE wants salary data by Ed Tech I, II and II! • Not true, HOWEVER, some school units want to segregate their data in that way therefore, the accounting handbook provides codes but MDOE will not collect the data in that manner; we will collect at object code 1020 for all Ed Techs.

23. Common Myths About the Revised Handbook and Model Charts • MDOE wants to know if textbooks are soft cover or hard cover! • Again, not true. The accounting handbook does provide codes for hard cover versus soft cover texts for those units that wish to use them but MDOE will collect textbook data at the 6400 object code level for all instructional texts.

24. Common Myths About the Revised Handbook and Model Charts • MDOE wants me to distinguish between Administrators and Assistant Administrators, using different object codes! • Wrong again! The accounting handbook provides codes to do this for those units that wish to but again, MDOE will only collect data at the 1040 object code level. We do not need to distinguish between these two job classifications.

25. Frequently Asked Questions • Are cost centers pre-determined or am I allowed to use my own set of cost center numbers? They are pre-determined within a range of numbers. For schools with grade configurations of K-8, use numbers 01-19. For schools with grade configurations of 9-12, use 30-38. For Career and Technical Centers, use 39 • Are copiers considered technology equipment? No, technology equipment is only computer hardware, software and other related items such as cables. If copiers are paid for via a lease, code them to object 4440 (or 4445 if you wish to segregate from other rentals) in whichever program/function that the payment is budgeted.

26. Frequently Asked Questions • In reviewing the model charts, there is a K-2 template and a K-8 template; which do we use? If we break down our elementary school into K-2 and 3-6, how do we report the middle school? In my unit, 6-8 is currently broken down in its own budget. Will that change to a K-8 budget or a further breakdown of K-2, 3-5 and 6-8? Under the Revised Accounting Handbook, cost centers are used to track costs by building within grade levels. For buildings that house grades K-8, an individual cost center number between 01 and 19 should be assigned to each school. Within the building configuration, you will need to designate K-2 programs by program code 1120, for EPS purposes. For example, expense coding for a grade one teacher located in an elementary school would look like this: 100-1120-1000-1010 -01 Coding for a grade 7 teacher salary could look like this: 100-1100-1000-1010-02 MDOE is not requiring you to segregate middle school grades using cost centers at this time.

27. Frequently Asked Questions • Why can’t we just use the same object code for health insurance for all employees? The EPS model wants to see benefits by employee category so that a ratio of benefits to salary by category can be derived and used to create the total allocation • If secondary students go whale watching as a class science field trip, how do I code that? Use the 1200 program code, 2700 function code and then the appropriate object code.

28. Frequently Asked Questions • What is the difference between function code 2600 and 2620? Also, where do I put maintenance supplies? 2620 is for system-wide maintenance such as building and equipment repairs, as well as grounds keeping, to include snow plowing. Code maintenance supplies to this function, using 90 in the cost center field. 2600 is used for items in each building that are neither maintenance or custodial such as classroom lease purchases and safety and security costs. These should be coded by instruction level cost center.

29. Frequently Asked Questions • How do I code costs for custodian overtime during co and/or extra curricular events? MDOE’s guidance is to code these expenditures to co and/or extra curricular programs so that these costs are reflected in those programs when financial data is reviewed to update the EPS model. Doing so will reflect a true cost of those events as without those events, these specific overtime expenditures would not be needed.

30. Frequently Asked Questions • There are tuition reimbursement lines throughout the various programs and functions, in addition to a function code for “Instructional Staff Training”; is that a more narrow definition of tuition reimbursement to be coded there? Actually, in this instance, units have some choice. Some Business Managers have stated that they would prefer an all inclusive professional development code for instructional staff and others prefer to keep it within the programs. When DOE needs information regarding professional development expenditures under EPS, we will be able to query both tuition reimbursement lines and the more inclusive function code to obtain what we need, depending on how units prefer to code those transactions.

31. FINALLY…….. • The Revised Accounting Handbook and Model Charts of Account are still in draft form through fall, 2005. Once changes are incorporated in late fall, no additional changes will be made for a year and on an annual basis thereafter. Hard copies of the documents will not be mailed – print from the Web documents to ensure you have the most recent information.