Update 14 Financial Accountability System Resource Guide PDF Print E-mail

1/8/10

The Texas Education Agency posted the preliminary version of Update 14 of the Financial Accountability System Resource Guide.  The Resource Guide contains rules for financial accounting and management for school districts, charter schools and regional education service centers.   Update 14 amends the Resource Guide to implement revisions resulting from statutory provisions passed by the 81th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, and other needed revisions.  The What's New module provides a summary of changes to the various modules of the Resource Guide. 

Because of ARRA funding provisisions under the Foundation School Program, many small enrollment school districts will be subject to the Single Audit Act for the first time in many years because the amount of expenditures of federal awards will exceed $499,999 for fiscal year 2010.  These school districts will be subject to additional auditing procedures from their independent auditors and, in some instances, may experience an increase in fees for the annual audit.  These school districts will need to prepare for the expansion of auditing procedures by their independent auditors. 

Significant amendments to financial accounting and management standards in various modules of the Resource Guide that will be effective upon posting the final version of Update 14 include:

  • Changes to Fund Balance and Cash Flow Worksheet (included in the annual audit report), in accordance with Government Finance Officers Association's best practices for the amount of fund balance for the General Fund;
  • New fund codes under the Special Revenue Fund for federal ARRA Stimilus and Stabilization grants (TEA announced new fund codes in the transitional amendment of the Resource Guide in April 2009);
  • New accounting standards for fund balance reporting effective for fiscal year 2011, in accordance with GASB Statement No. 54 - Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions;
  • Amendment of Program Intent Code 25, Bilingual Education and Special Language Programs, to exclude full salary of staff and limit reporting of salary to stipends (effective immediately);
  • New Program Intent Code 31, High School Allotment, effective for fiscal year 2010;
  • Update to filing instructions for the annual audit report under the Single Audit Act (see Section, 1.7.2 Financial Reporting and Data Submission);
  • Clarification that budget amendments must be adopted by the board of trustees no later than the last day of the fiscal year;
  • Increase to $50,000 for the competitive procurement threshold in Section 44.031, Texas Education Code (amendment of local board policies will be required in most school districts before this change will be effective);  and
  • Deletion of the 65% Instructional Expenditure Indicators in the financial accountability system rating system, School FIRST. 

Update 14 also amends the definitions to many account codes in the standard chart of accounts in the Financial Accounting and Reporting Module, which are effective immediately unless otherwise stated.

To access the preliminary version of Update 14 of the Resource Guide, click on the link below.

 http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=1222