Analysis – FiscalShare

Category: Analysis

Personnel Costs for Negotiations

Have you ever been in this situation? The lead negotiator for the district says that they need those calculations for the cost of a 1% raise and the cost of one day of salary. Negotiations are starting in 10 minutes. You get that frozen look on your face because this is the first time you

March 14, 2015 Short URLcollective bargaining, Cost of 1%, cost of one day, negotiations, pivot tableAnalysis, Basics, Data, Excel, Productivity, Technology

When Your Chart of Accounts Gets Out of Hand

Is your school district’s chart of accounts not working for you? Here are some questions to ask when designing a new one.

December 25, 2014 Short URLaccountability, accounting, best practice, school districtAnalysis, Basics, Data, Procedures and Practices, Productivity

Excel Mastery is What Exactly?

I used to think that the more Excel formulas you knew and the more adept you were at macros, the more you could claim Excel mastery. I have changed my mind. Those who create complex spreadsheets that are beyond the skill and understanding of their users are pushing the program beyond it’s useful limits. Spreadsheets

May 17, 2014 Short URLadvanced Excel, Excel mastery, spreadsheet design, spreadsheetsAccounting, Analysis, Data, Excel, Finance, Procedures and Practices

The Giant Account Coding Monster

“Here’s your process. It satisfies all my needs.” Even when there is lots of customer input, the more powerful party will resolve disagreements in its own favor. Even though California’s Standardized Account Code Structure (SACS) is far superior the previous system and was a done deal fifteen years ago, whenever I take an assignment in

May 3, 2014 Short URLbloat, education, problem solving, school districtAccounting, Analysis, Data, Government, Laws and Regulations, Public Schools

Budget Advisory Committees are Hard

When the Budget Advisory Committee was approaching my boss and I would look at each other and groan in unison “Ugh BAC!” Why? It was not that we didn’t want to talk budget with the community. Hey, we’ll talk your ear off with all sorts of budget geekiness if you let us. It is because a BAC

November 17, 2013 Short URLbudget, budget advisory committee, budget development, community, community input, data, Education Code, government, government spending, input, Management, problem solving, public education, school district business, school districts, school spending, schools, unionsAnalysis, Data, Government, Public Schools

Local Control Funding Formula: Nothing and Something

The California Department of Education has “updated” its reporting software by removing the previous revenue schedule and replacing it with, um, nothing. I am going out on a limb. I have created my own multi-year calculation. Please email me at support@fiscalshare.com if you want a copy. We are four plus months into the fiscal year,

November 7, 2013 Short URLaccounting, analysis, budget, calculation, California, California Department of Education, California school districts, CDE, Excel, government, lcff, local control funding formula, public education, public school finance, revenue forecasts, school district, school financeAccounting, Analysis, Daily Work, Data, Excel, Finance, Local Control Funding Formula

Give Up Already!

I was still in bed when I heard such frightful swearing from the kitchen. Upon investigation I discovered that Spouse had impaled his index finger on a nail and was trying to open up a “bandaid”. Not a brand name Band-Aid, mind you, but a cheap generic version thereof. He handed it to me. Here

November 6, 2013 Short URLanalysis, assumptions, band aid, business, choices, give up, Management, release, stick to it, surrenderAnalysis, Daily Work, Management, Uncategorized, Working Together

FiscalNote: Real Time Government Analytics

Following this company with great interest: “If you look at finance today, we can get in-depth stock and trade updates and analysis every quarter of a second, and it doesn’t make sense to not have the same type of real-time information about what’s happening in the government,” Tim Hwang

October 20, 2013 Short URLanalysis, analytics, Deirdre Bolton, FiscalNote, government, legislation, Tim HwangAnalysis, Data

We Don’t Need No %@# Standards?*

Imagine comparing two school districts’ test scores, where each district uses different tests. That would be meaningless, right? Yet, this situation exists on the business side of things. Legislation will require a calculation, but the implementation is unclear. Subsequent guidelines and regulations (if any) sometimes just cite the statute verbatim. For example, prior to the new funding formula, conversion

October 3, 2013 Short URLaccounting, analysis, business, data, Education Code, Excel, fiscal, government, problem solving, SARC, School Accountability eport CardAccounting, Analysis, Data, Excel

Eleven Important Rules for Reporting

When you are asked to report results internally or externally, there are several rules of thumb that, if followed, will usually make life a lot easier for you. Otherwise, you may overshare, share wrong data, or actually not answer the real question being asked. This is especially important when dealing with reporters and public information requests.

October 1, 2013 Short URLanalysis, archive, data, Excel, formula errors, important rules, newspapers, public information requests, reporters, reporting, reports, rules, school district, selection criteria, standardsAnalysis, Data