accounting – FiscalShare

Tag: accounting

Coding the LCAP

A colleague at another district said “When you figure out how to reflect the LCAP in the budget, let me know.” Really? I think you have too much faith in me. For those of you not in California, the problem is this. When we adopt a budget we have to be able to show how our

July 6, 2015 Short URLaccount codes, accounting, chart of accounts, LCAP, Local Control Accountability Plan, local control funding formula, problem solving, SACSAccounting, Budget, Daily Work, Procedures and Practices, Productivity

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

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

Size Matters

In the course of my career I have occasionally heard some unsavory “us versus them” talk. Teachers versus non teachers Certificated versus classified Management versus non-management School versus district Parents versus school administration Some discussions of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) resort to this rhetoric, most notably the “school versus district” polarity. I have previously mentioned the

January 15, 2014 Short URLaccounting, best practice, business, California, California school districts, data, fairshare4kids, icr, indirect cost, indirect cost rate, lcff, local control funding formula, Management, return on investment, school administration, school district, school district business, school districts, school finance, us versus them, us vs themData, Finance, Government, Local Control Funding Formula, Management, Productivity, Public Schools

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

Governmental Cost Recovery

I have heard the mantra again and again “we don’t make a profit” meaning, if we charge for services it’s only on a cost recovery basis. Yet I just read that Inyo COE charges a flat 7% to its charter schools for providing business services. If a charter school now receives significantly more funding under the Local Control Funding Formula,

December 25, 2013 Short URLaccounting, analysis, best practice, business, business services, Cafeteria Fund, California Schools Accounting Manual, charter school, Charter Schools, cost accounting, Cost recovery, CSAM, education, Education Code, Excel, fee for service, fund balance, government, government spending, Inyo County Office of Education, Inyo Register, lcff, overcharging, public school finance, public schools, school district, school district business, school districts, school finance, surplusAccounting, Cost Accounting, Government, Local Control Funding Formula

Schrödinger’s Excel

Or, how to be deadly and awesome at the same time Is Excel good or bad? It is both. Are you good at Excel or bad at it? Probably both. Excel is extraordinary. In the wrong hands it also can be a disaster, Excel is just a tool, like a chisel. It is inspiring in the hands of a skilled carpenter and murderous in

November 25, 2013 Short URLaccounting, analysis, business, candidate, data, Excel, fiscal, Herb Kelleher, hiring, job candidate, Management, Microsoft, Schrodinger, spreadsheet software, testing, workAccounting, Excel, Finance, Government, Management

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

Taking a Position

The director and manager of school construction sat down in my office. They had made it clear that they needed to see me NOW. “What’s up?” “Well, you hired a supervisor. For the construction department.” “An accounting supervisor. Yes.” “We should have been consulted. After all, she works in our department.” “Yes, she’s physically located

October 15, 2013 Short URLaccounting, construction, construction accounting, hiring, hiring practices, human resources, job description, Management, Position control, positions, school district, school district business, school district jobs, supervisor, supervisor positionAccounting, School District Jobs, Working Together

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

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