Procedures and Practices – Page 2

Category: Procedures and Practices

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 Mystery of the Black Box

The black box is usually associated with tragedy. However, this post is not about airplane accidents. It is about wasted opportunities and undefined steps. There is a cartoon that shows a blackboard full of calculations. The calculations on the left hand side are, presumably, Step One and those on the right hand side must be Step Three. Between

March 19, 2014 Short URLblack box, business, Management, mission, planning, strategyHuman Resources, Procedures and Practices, Uncategorized, Working Together

Annotated Timeline for School Funding (California)

When I first started out in California school business, I was a bit confused by the state’s revenue certifications and re-certifications. I wished I had an overview of the entire process. So – here’s one I put together: Annotated Principal Apportionment Timeline This does not contain enough detail to be used instead of your complete annual calendar,

February 8, 2014 Short URLaccounting, California, California school districts, Education Code, principal apportionment, public education, public school finance, school financeAccounting, Finance, Laws and Regulations, Local Control Funding Formula, Procedures and Practices

Resources for Aspiring School Business Leaders

Continuing my series for future school business leaders, I offer short commentaries on some of the most useful technical and policy resources for California school business aspirants. In no particular order, here they are: 1. School Services of California. This is a subscription service. If you are in California it is likely that your school district is a

January 20, 2014 Short URLaspiring leader, auditor, business, California, California Department of Education, California school districts, career development, CASBO, CCR, Code of Regulations, Edjoin, Edsource, Education Code, fcmat, Google alerts, government, government spending, leadership, legislative analyst, Management, policy issues, PPIC, public education, Public Policy, public school finance, public schools, Sacramento Bee, school district business, school finance, School Services, technical expertiseCareer Development, Finance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Local Control Funding Formula, Management, Procedures and Practices, Public Schools, School District Jobs

Your Tax Dollars at Work! Headlines to Avoid

Mrs. Smith came into my office. She was angry, but controlled. Her practiced smile was plastered on top of gritted teeth. “Teachers just don’t get paid enough. Every now and then we have to do something nice for them.” What was this all about? My staff had rejected Principal Smith’s expense report where she was seeking

January 16, 2014 Short URLbest practice, California, gift of public funds, government, government spending, inappropriate expenses, Management, perks, public education, public funds, public school finance, public schools, school district business, school finance, tax, taxes, teachers, teaching professionAccounting, Finance, Government, Laws and Regulations, Management, Procedures and Practices, Public Schools

Oh Crap!

Some time back I was a passenger in a car that my friend was driving. We were sideswiped by a 17-year-old driver in a massive truck. This smashed the passenger side. We were pushed into the central freeway barrier. This smashed the driver’s side. Then we spun around several times and ended up on the shoulder,

January 9, 2014 Short URLaccident, best practice, career development, disaster recovery, firefighters, Management, problem solvingCareer Development, Management, Productivity, Risk Management, School District Jobs, Working Together

Excel Solver for Expense Transfers

Thank you Pronger for your post about the Excel solver function. Follow this link to view his explanation and instructions. The solver function is especially useful if you deal with a multitude of funding sources such as state and local grants, federal awards and bond funds. Each restricted funding source has very particular spending rules and most have

December 31, 2013 Short URLaccounting, Accounts Payable, analysis, best practice, data, Excel, Excel solver, Excel spreadsheet, Expense, funding sources, Funds, General Journal, government spending, governmental accounting, information technology, Invoice, Microsoft, Microsoft Excel, nonprofit accounting, problem solving, public school finance, school district business, school districts, school finance, solver, solver function in Excel, spreadsheetsAccounting, Finance, Government, Public Schools, School Construction

School Construction Law:

In Brief Lozano Smith recently posted this video on YouTube, covering changes in California school construction law. Do you need to watch it? Unless you are directly managing school district facilities and construction, probably not. But school finance leaders do need to be aware of new laws that affect their direct reports. So to save you and hour, here’s what

December 5, 2013 Short URLbidding, contractors, DSA, government, prequalification, public education, regulations, school construction, school district, subcontractorsSchool Construction

Arson

FIRE ACCOUNTING Click on the link for my manual on school arson. I have dealt with three major school fires in my career. And believe me, there was no manual. The first thing I did ten years ago when confronted with my first school fire was to Google “accounting for school fires” and couldn’t find anything terribly useful. I

October 12, 2013 Short URLaccounting, arson, best practice, burning schools, business, computers, fire, fire accounting, Management, peocedures, school, school district, school firesDaily Work, Risk Management

Stealing from Children, Part III

How do they do it? Sometimes the details of crimes are left vague. Probably the thinking is that if we provide an explanation of exactly how something was done it will be a blue print to thieves for future bad behavior. I take the opposite view. People who are bent on stealing already know how to do it.

September 26, 2013 Short URLASB, fcmat, fraud, school district, segregation of duties, stealing, student body, theftRisk Management, Working Together

FiscalShare